Customer Reviews

Voices

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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

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!

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.

Having very little exposure to Native American music, a chance meeting with Douglas Spotted Eagle and Meade Steadman on an airplane and subsequent two hour layover airport discussion propelled me to purchase Spotted Eagle's newest release, "Voices," out of curiosity. Never before have I had the opportunity to be so deeply moved by such a dynamic score of melodies, story telling, and tribal chants; not to mention what I have come to learn as Spotted Eagle's signature flute playing. The strength of "Voices" is that it combines the old with the new while still preserving the spiritual essense of the Native American culture. "Voices" captures the healing spirit that resides within us all and provides it with a "musical voice."

The vocal talents of the Begays and Wheelers along with Greyhill, Rainbow, and Ward that Spotted Eagle has chosen to incorporate into "Voices" is outstanding and like nothing I have ever heard before. Although "Voices" represents an excellent introduction for those of us with little exposure to Native American music, it also provides a touch of mainstream jazz with such songs as "I Miss You," in which Mead Steadman rocks on the sax! If "Voices" is any indication of what the Voices of Native American Tour is like, then we are all in for a spectacular performance. (I add Two Thumbs Up along with my five stars.)

Douglas Spotted Eagle truely has a gift at blending native flute and rythyms with contemporary music. The members of his band are all top notch musicians. Get this TODAY!

I have eclectic taste in music- classical, reggae, folk, blues, blue grass, "oldies". I haven't figured out why anyone would buy a CD mass produced from Hollywood, et al for the last 15+ years. They don't deserve payment for the slop that's shamelessly marketeted like toilet paper. This guy is the real thing- talented, gracious in crediting others for their work- and able to cross cultures. Do yourself a favor and give this CD a chance-you will not tire of it. As others have already said, this music will permeate your soul- get ready for a unique "voice".

I was completely taken away with this CD. It is a new, wonderful sound that really reaches out to you and pulls you in to the music. It's one of those CD's where you love the whole CD. "I miss you" is a favorite of mine.

I (used to) live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, and towards the end of every Summer, we host a Native American festival called "Indian Summer". Douglas Spotted Eagle often plays at this festival, along with many other native groups. In 1999, we attended and were given the privilege of seeing many of these songs performed live on stage. Believe me, you talk about a spiritual experience! After the show, we bought the Voices CD, and Mr. Spotted Eagle autographed it for us, so now we have a very special memento of the occasion. If you enjoy and understand Native American culture, this CD is essentially a required - maybe even sacred - item.

VOICES is a colorful journey that represents a bridge between eras, a bridge between emotions, and a bridge between cultures. The recording is a multi-cultural, multi-genre, interdisciplinary experience.

While listening to VOICES, I enjoy thoughts of nature, dance, military bands, Santana, and this land's glorious past (prior to 1492). The recording reminds me that I need to learn some Native lullabies.

Each musician, singer and speaker performs with great skill. Participants from various age groups use Native American and European insturments to compliment words of wisdom spoken and sung in Navajo.

The CD contains many peaceful, relaxing tunes (tracks 2-4, 6-10), but also "Dance" -- a song of great joy. "I Miss You" is the most emotional tune mainly because the instruments seem to "speak" in an audible human voice. They communicate loss and pain in a clear, passionate language.

One of the surprises is "We Are Still Here." This defiant claim of continued cultural existance is appropriately sung in English. It begins with a jazzy techno-urban beat, but adds a Native chant and instruments performing with high energy.

"Red Storm Rising" is another wonderful surprise. This tune is a unique interplay between military drums, Native and non-Native percussion instruments, and Euro-Native sounds from an electric guitar. But it works! This dance tune will place you in an electrtonic pow-wow.

I want to know more. I try to visualize people moving to "Dance." I wonder how the ensemble would incorporate the sounds of the berimbau and the kora into a recording. I dream of the band and dancers collaborating with the Utah Symphony, the NY Philharmonic, and other orchestras.

The Creator endowed Douglas Spotted Eagle with many talents and he uses them wisely.

I have all of Spottedeagles CD's each one is better than the last. But this one, the music is full of so much love and sorrow that it pulls at the heart strings. His musical style will pull you in leading you on a inner journey to another place. A place where dreams can come true if only we believe. One person can make a difference and Spottedeagle is one of those people. I would highly recomend the CD "Voices".