Unsung Heroes

 | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• ASIN: B000294EKQ
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,111,304 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful without being preachy, February 8, 2005

By 

K. A. Smith (Santa Cruz, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Unsung Heroes (Audio CD)

Unlike Susan's earlier releases ("Arctic Rose" and "This Child") Unsung Heroes uses less traditional Inuit sounds and--with the exception of some refrains--all the words are in English. Songs on this CD are more like "Suffer in Silence", "Kathy I", "Slipping Through the Cracks", and "Breakin' Down" from her "This Child" CD. Despite this deviation, Susan's work remains flavored with textures and impressions not to be found in most popular American music. The percussion is dominant without overwhelming the rest of the music and words, but most importantly the lyrics and messages conveyed through the songs are meaningful and powerful without being sappy or preachy.

Susan strikes me as a woman who feels very strongly for her people and home, and she puts her emotion honestly into the music, backing it up with wonderful accompaniment. The songs reach across boundaries to include all humanity, even though they obviously come from her experiences as a Canadian Inuit. Although most of the songs do address loss or pain, the redemption is that Susan asks the question: how do you go on? Where do you find your strength? What can be learned? She says: Hold to hope. Never give up. Open your heart and mind. Her message is ultimately one of hope and strength.

Some songs, like "Never be the Same", "E186", and "Ghost of Cain" are melancholy, but as a whole I see this CD as very uplifting, hopeful, powerful, and optimistic. Listening to it brings me energy. It touches on morals, ethics, and even spirituality that can be embraced by all peoples of all religions and beliefs.

Some listeners may miss her exuberant Inuit-inspired music like "O Siem", "Shamaya", and "Hina Na Ho", but if a listener is not locked into the idea that the words have to be in Inuktitut then songs like "Stand up", "Turn of the Century", and "Find Something to Believe in" will fill the former songs' shoes fairly well. If reference to Inuit histories and stories is what a listener wants then "E186" and "Gathering Place" will fulfill that need.

I strongly recommend this album to anyone who likes Susan's work, as well as anyone who likes meaningful, powerful music. It's so refreshing to me to be able to listen to music that doesn't have to do with someone falling in or out of love or lust or their heart being broken or being cheated on...the list goes on. Susan may sing about herself sometimes, but she is really singing about all of us. There are messages here that many people in the world would do well to embrace.