Voices

Douglas Spotted Eagle | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 24, 1999)
• Original Release Date: August 24, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Higher Octave
• ASIN: B00000JYQQ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #208,734 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Douglas Spotted Eagle is a man of many talents: flautist, film score composer, producer, author, activist, and performer with the Voices of Native America Tour. As a young man, he abandoned his rock & roll dreams for family, returning to music by his mid-20's in the wake of his late marriage. Spotted Eagle picked up the flute of his boyhood, and shortly thereafter distinguished himself as the first recording artist to combine Native American flute with synthesizer. And here, on his 14th solo recording, during the making of which his teenage son died, Spotted Eagle has again channeled his considerable loss into a work unlike any other. More fiery than earlier recordings, Voices is a blend of ethnic contemporary: jazzy horns and guitars, a dense undercurrent of meaty drum & bass beats, R&B-style crooning, and traditional Diné vocals by friends and tribal elders. And at the center of it all soars Spotted Eagle's unmistakably flamboyant flute lines. A bit rich for some tastes, Voices is a sonic journey of absorption. --Paige La Grone

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thanks again, Spot., October 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Voices (Audio CD)

I first heard "Voices" this past summer while staying with my father on a "transitional care" floor at a hospital in Springfield, Missouri. My father, and most of the other patients on this floor, were facing the last stages of living with cancer. My wife, who was hosting an upcoming performance by Douglas Spotted Eagle and Herman Begay brought up a promotional copy of "Voices" that she had recieved in late August, and I popped it in the walkman that I had set up in his room. After about 30 seconds, he asked me to turn it up, and then up again as "Dance" began to build. I had the walkman hooked to a pretty good set of computer speakers, and was sure the volume would cause a nurse to appear and tell us to turn it down. As soon as "Dance" finished, a nurse did appear, and motioned me out into the hall. But instead of asking me to turn it down, she told me that other patients on the floor had asked where the music was coming from, and could they please turn it up!

We did turn it up, and played it loud and often during those final weeks in the hospital and at home. My father was a teacher, a scientist, and a very spiritual man in tune with the cosmos. He told me that each time he heard "Voices" he felt a little stronger, a little more peaceful, and especially more hopeful, even as his time came an end on this world.

Thanks again, Spot

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yet another phenomenal release from Spotted Eagle!, October 5, 1999

By 

Judy Markworth - See all my reviews

This review is from: Voices (Audio CD)

While Voices still bears Douglas Spotted Eagle's unique signature, with it he has proven that he's not afraid to take a risk and push the envelope a bit. If you were hoping for another Pray, Voices isn't it. However, I feel that Pray bore signs of what was to come whether intentional or not.

To my ears, Pray's premier cut was "First Contact". It combined traditional Native vocals with Gregorian chants and pulsing dance rhythms. I couldn't get enough of that piece and I wanted more! Voices had barely begun to spin for the first time when I realized I was going to get what I wished for! It's filled with enough energetic drum tracks to keep you moving for nearly an hour.

These rhythmic enhancements aren't the only alterations Spotted Eagle has made to his music. "I Miss You," the only track in which he ventures into pop-jazz territory features Meade Steadman on sax and Douglas as the lead vocalist.

Voices includes more vocals than anything Spotted Eagle has done in the past and incorporates everything from spoken word to Native American chants. Six of the disc's thirteen cuts contain some lyrics. The advanced copy I received didn't include liner notes but a Dine' (Navajo) translation of each song name is listed on the sleeve. From that, I can only assume that most of the lyrics and spoken word are also Dine'.

English was chosen only for the last lyrical cut, "We are Still Here." In live performances, I've heard Douglas say, "After Custer, after the Trail of Tears... we are still here!" and that's the gist of the message in the song. Its message is even more powerful when the lyrical pieces that preface it are sung in a language you may not understand.

I love the change in overall rhythmic direction on this release but there is something else... a deep emotional undercurrent that runs the course of the entire album. The first track, "Dance," combines an upbeat backbone with a "weeping" flute. Your body says, "dance" but your heart receives a different message. "Tears Alone, " a solo Native flute piece conveys a sense of emptiness and sorrow as each phrase echoes into silence.

For over a week, Voices went everywhere with me. I heard little else. It owned my heart from the first note. Not only does it include some of the most emotional music I've heard come out of this man; it's a nice change in his musical direction. If you're a long time Spotted Eagle fan, I think you'll be pleased. If you're unfamiliar with his music and like the rhythms of Enigma and newer Delerium or if you enjoyed Brule's We the People, check this out!

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What was the Irish guy listening to?, December 4, 1999

By 

David Lomahefteya (Flagstaff, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Voices (Audio CD)

I bought this CD after hearing it on Native American Satellite. When I went to order it from Amazon, I see an Irish guy complaining about it? What does he know about our culture. "VOICES" doesn't have any totally traditional music in it, nor does "PRAY", nor does anything else Spotted Eagle has done since "Canyonspeak". Our people are an amalgam of many things, and Spotted Eagle provides a role model for many of our kids to look up to, and they listen to his music. A sell-out? No way. He's bringing our music to the forefront of culture. Anyone who claims to be making 'traditional' flute music is dishonest, because public performance of flute music is strictly a contemporary thing. "VOICES" speaks to our culture with dignity, strength, and hope. It celebrates our languages, and honors our ancestry. Spotted Eagle has made the second of 2 very powerful recordings. I like "VOICES" the best because it features so many traditional lyrics and spoken words. Go back to watching 'Riverdance'. VOICES is more traditional than that mess is.