Customer Reviews

Sacred Spirit II: Culture Clash

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
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As far as I can tell there are now "three" Sacred Spirit CDs. There is the original Native American/ambient CD which first came out in Virgin. That was followed by Sacred Spirit 2 (this CD--which I have seen in the US with ANOTHER title), also on Virgin. Now there is a "new" Sacred Spirit II (not to be confused with 2), whcih is also Native American music, but on the Higher Octave label. OK. Here's the skinny: Sacred Spirit 1 is excellent. It is great to listen to from one end to another and has a wonderful spiritual feel. Sacred Spirit 2 (not II) is a mix of African-American spirituals with overdubs of beats and vocals (such as a speech by the Reverend Martin Luther King, jr), with accompaniment by a cello (can that explain the cover picture?). Overall it is also a quiet, introspective musical delight for the mind. Sacred Spirit II is not as good as the other two. It is also Native American, but cannot compare to the original at all.

So there you have it. I highly recommend Sacred Spirit 1, it is a classic. I also like Sacred Spirit 2, although it is completely different. Sacred Spirit II is not worth it.

The genre of this CD is quite hard to pinpoint. It's blues, it's classical, and at the same time, new-agey. The beauty of this is that all these genres culminate in what can be described as pure ear candy. Stand out tracks include "Slow and Easy", a remix of an old John Lee Hooker classic. The remix surprisingly does JLH's deep, sorrowful voice justice, which is accented by blues guitar and cello. JLH also lends his vocals to the following track, "Sonnet XVIII", which concludes the blues journey Sacred Spirit have created. It is interesting to hear the classical music interwoven through each track, as apparently these musicians are playing entirely from the heart, blending so gracefully with the blues instruments and vocals. "Lay Down" is another fine example of how well blues and classical music mesh together. Sacred Spirit: Culture Clash is for all music fans who are open to new and old sounds, and for those that appreciate the Blues played in a different style.

As a blues fan, I immensely enjoyed Sacred Spirit 1. This album has sounds with classical roots that have similarities to the original but which head in other directions and still excite. The album's incorporation of traditional blues singers, particularly John Lee Hooker, are memorable. This album extends the blues in directions not previously anticipated. Not to be missed.

Sacred Spirit confirmed this CD is part of the Sacred spirit collection with their album Bluesy Chill Out and Jazzy Chill Out, where they include in the list the albums Sacred Spirit 1, Sacred Spirit 2, Bluesy, Jazzy, Classical Spirit, Morocan Spirit and Spirit of Silence. This album is wonderful. More in the felling of the Indigo Spirit album (name of this album in USA) can be found in Bluesy and Jazzy albums. I love Sacred Spirit

an excellent refresher in tight, focused music and a moving storyscape on african americans history as slaves. wonderful involvement of r.l. burnside only underscores the fact that this just might be a historic musical effort

Everyone who has heard this beautiful work has been captivated... They really spank our need to keep genres seperated

This CD is definately better than the original scared spirit. Do buy this and you will remember me.