The Ultimate Yma Sumac Collection

Yma Sumac

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 6, 2003)
• Original Release Date: January 11, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: The Right Stuff
• ASIN: B000031VZ7
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #38,144 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
In 1950, at the dawn of an era of musical exotica (in which composers such as Esquivel, Martin Denny, and Les Baxter would test the limits of hi-fi strangeness), Yma Sumac entered the scene. She was a diva from the Andes with a four-vocal octave range, an unrelenting trill, and great looks, and she became an overnight sensation. Within years of her debut LP, Voice of the Xtabay, Sumac recorded more concept albums, starred in a Broadway musical (Flahooley), and appeared onscreen with Charlton Heston in 1954's Secret of the Incas. Truth be told, exotica music's popularity was short-lived (only to resurface again with the '90s lounge culture), and many would claim Yma Sumac was merely American housewife Amy Camus spelling her name backwards. No matter. This is still great, hilarious music unlike any other. With composer-husband Moises Vivanco, Sumac created a hybrid jazz, mambo, and world music that was the perfect showpiece for her vocal pyrotechnics. She scats, she trills, she bellows, but--mostly--she entertains. This disc collects Sumac's very best works, three unreleased tracks (worth hearing for the opening to "Negrito Filomino"), and extensive liner notes. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FINALLY!, February 22, 2000

By	A. M. Smith (RICHMOND, VA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

At last: a well-chosen overview of Yma's work at Capitol! (Which covers just about everything except her '70s rock sides, recorded for another label and not widely commercially available.) It's a boon not only to those not familiar with the diva's huge body of work, but also to collectors who have had, in the past, to pick-and-choose from her many specifically-themed albums, to create their own collections of her many different styles in a single package. The remastering is impeccable, and the liner notes/bio surpass anything previously released with her recordings - featuring photos of her from the '50s to the present. (The fairly recent shot of her mugging before a replica of the Capitol Records tower is a hoot!) Much of the shrouded romantic mystery of the famed Sun Virgin has been replaced by factual, but no less intriguing, biographical and professional information. Definitely a must-have for the Yma novitiate, and a nicely rounded-out addition for the true enthisiast. (No more dragging out all those LPs and CDs to find one or two definitive numbers!) Thanks, EMI!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great buy for Yma Sumac fans, February 14, 2000

By	Brad Smith (Santa Cruz, Ca.) - See all my reviews

I was first turned on to Yma Sumac when a friend played my "Mambo". I was hooked, it's still one of my favorite albums. When my girlfriend got me this for Valentine's day it opened up a whole new level of appreciation for Sumac's talent. The vocal gymnastics (not to mention the absolutely unique style of the songs) on this disk surpassed everything I had heard her do before. If you're curious, this is a great one to get!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sheer power and beauty in an amazing vocal range, April 20, 2004

By	Susan (Valencia, CA United States) - See all my reviews

I love this recording! Wow!!!! I have been singing for over thirty years and this is the first woman I have EVER heard who can sing both higher AND lower than me! "Chunco" is unbelievable! Her singing, coupled with the brilliant music of Vivanco, makes her recordings an essential part of any serious musician's collection. Folks, don't wait, don't think, just buy this woman's music! I will say that I enjoy her voice more on the earlier music, as they seem to be more fitted to her big, vibrant, exotic, Incan priestess vocal pyrotechnics. I find myself just listening over and over - she is truly amazing, and is in a class head and shoulders above all other coloraturas, because of the sheer power she has in the entirety of her range.