Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The World Dreams in Music, August 13, 2003
Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born. ~Anais Nin (1903-1977)
The first time I listened to this CD, I listened to "All Alone" obsessively. I became so intoxicated with a feeling of immense completeness as every sadness in my soul dissolved into pure love.
The world could have disappeared and I would have been standing in the middle of a field of crimson roses all blooming to the sound of Duncan Bridgeman singing: "If you stay or if you go." The friend who sent me the CD said to listen to the track before I went to bed and I've never experienced such a healing gift. In life, you often meet people who will give you gifts your soul needs and then at times friends can work together to heal the world.
When Jamie Catto met Duncan Bridgeman it was a random moment in time. Like most creative friendships they found they had so much in common. Once they started talking they realized they had similar beliefs about the state of modern music. Jamie was the singer and keyboardist in the UK band Faithless and Duncan Bridgeman had been mixing albums for big-name artists. Together they have created a CD I can hardly believe exists.
I had no idea the impact it would make on me. I also didn't realize you could fall madly "in love" with a CD. ;) Once "My Culture" takes off, you are going to understand the meaning of "primal high on a soul level."
"I'm what I feel, what I'm feeling is surreal
I'm a mass of spinning wheels
Always digging in my heels
Now I've got the faith to
Fall back again
Crawl from the warm waters
Don't ever forget
You're on your feet again
Your feet again" ~My Culture
This CD is a spiritual journey into a land where you can escape from ordinary consciousness. You will feel you connect instantly with the universal wisdom in the lyrics. There is a richness of culture in the freeing dance of philosophy and world music. Multicultural voices mingle with beautiful intellectual tangents. Visual images dance through your mind as the music creates a deep soothing soul vibration that radiates through you like the most comforting feeling you have ever experienced.
"The Way You Dream" is one of my favorite songs as it blends the mysterious voice of Indian star Asha Bhosle with the completely intoxicating voice of Michael Stipe.
This CD also features Dennis Hopper, Kurt Vonnegut, Robbie Williams, Tom Robbins, Senegal's Baaba Maal, Ram Dass, Gabrielle Roth, the South African Mahotella Queens, Neneh Cherry, New Zealand's Whiri Mako Black, Revetti Sakalar and Eddi Reader.
1 Giant Leap is a fusion of sound and word captured through travels in Senegal, Ghana, South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Bombay, New Delhi, Calcutta, Bangkok, South East Asia, Los Angeles, New York, India, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand. This CD is the result of recordings from 25 countries.
Jamie Catto and Duncan Bridgeman literally spent six months traveling across the globe with a mobile studio and crew. Together they recorded storytellers, shopkeepers, authors, artists, philosophers and even cabdrivers. Each song contains a mixture of sounds and lyrics from various parts of the globe.
The chants, ethereal cries and primal rhythms will at times send chills up your spine. When Michael Franti sings "We are alive with the spirit of our passion" you can't help wanting to live, and live for a long, long time so you can see all your dreams become a reality.
The entire CD really represents a unity humanity could strive for if they could find peaceful resolutions to the issues haunting us all. The themes of the album are death, confrontation, sex, money, blasphemy, faith, happiness, inspiration, time, masks and unity.
Healing, loving, intoxicatingly spiritual and poetic beyond words. Perhaps the most beautiful music I've ever heard. 1 Giant Leap shows our humanity, the wide diversity of cultures and the beauty of unity through music.
~The Rebecca Review
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Spiritual & musical journey - easily the best album of 2002, January 4, 2003
1 Giant Leap is a stunningly ambitious, moving and uplifting project featuring some of the most amazing musicians on the surface of the globe. It takes you on a spiritual and musical journey, evoking and stirring emotions, bringing a sense of unity and joy for the great artistic creativity in the world. 1 Giant Leap has a message; a purpose.The album opens with Baaba Maal evoking sunrise over his native Senegal on 'Dunya Salam'. The spiritual, prayerful, soulful vocals are stunning and truly beautiful. It then moves into single 'My Culture' featuring British popstar Robbie Williams and rapper Maxi Jazz, whose unlikely pairing results in a strangely moving track with urgent lyrics, a sense of joy and fantastic production, with funky bass, trumpets and ethnic percussion. When all the music stops and Maxi says 'If I don't see that I'm strong then I won't be' it is a spine-tingling, affirming moment. Next is 'The Way You Dream', another amazing track which again sees an unlikely pairing in REM's Michael Stipe and Indian superstar Asha Bhosle. It begins slowly with aromatic drums, atmospheric acoustic guitar and ethereal vocals from Bhosie, then a darker sounding guitar comes in with synths giving the track a mysterious feel. Michael Stipe sounds right at home in the ambient surroundings although it sounds nothing like REM, and then the music quietens before building into full on rave with trance keyboards, very fast drums, but still the vocals of the two singers sounding perfect. Fourth is 'Ma'Africa', beginning with Ulali's sweet backing before moving into a fast, funky global dance track with the energetic vocals of the Mahotella Queens and a beautiful poem by Moseo calling for African unity. This is very powerful. Braided Hair is next, probably the most straightforward pop song it features Speech and Neneh Cherry who offer nice vocals and fantastic lyrics. Its great though not as ambitious as other tracks. Ta Moko opens with a sample from Tom Robbins who offers very important advice that our regrets are over not spending enough time with who we love, not over work or money. When the track proper begins its a slow-burning, darkly mysterious track with vocals from Whiri Mako Black of New Zealand. Bushes again features vocals from Baaba Maal and while not quite as stunning as Dunya Salaam his vocals are always delightful. Passion features a beautiful poem written and read by Michael Franti in his deep voice and then spiritual vocals from Uganda. Daphne opens with the great quote 'music is proof of the existance of God' and suitably is a spiritual track with jazzy bass and guitar. When the track gets into full swing its Eddi Reader, a UK folksy singer who takes the main duties. All Alone on Eileen Shore is a mostly Western track, mostly because of the fact that Duncan, one of the two British instigators of the project, takes vocals. The track is the most similar to Faithless on the album (Faithless being the band that Jamie and Duncan are involved with). Although the vocals are vocoded, something I don't usually like, it makes them strangely sweet and ethereal and perfect here. The backing is mellow, ambient acoustic electronica. It the middle of the track it gets darker and we get Ram Dass, a philosopher, reading important, touching words. Parts of the track then are more ethnic. It is one of the album's best. Racing Away is fantastic as we get the reggae vocals of Horace Andy over an ethnic electronica canvas which is amazingly effectively, and it has the spirit of peace and nature that is important in reggae. Grant Lee Phillips offers more conventional American pop-rock vocals but the melody and lyrics are still groundbreaking. Overall it is again one of the best tracks. The album closes with the eerie 'Ghosts' again featuring Eddi Reader which is haunting and a perfect closer. Overall, this is a perfectly constructed album. It is for everyone, not just fans of world but of dance, electronica, funk, rock, pop, philosophy or just great music. Its message and ambition are so huge that it is enormously important. Its a true spiritually uplifting experience. Its the best of 2002 and one of the great world music albums ever. 5 stars.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The album of 2002? Quite possibly., April 14, 2002
Jamie Catto and Duncan Bridgeman are geniuses. Travelling the world with a laptop to record a wide range of musicians, scientist, authors and thinkers on is unusual to say the least. However, they've produced what may well be some of the most beautiful and haunting music ever heard. They describe it themselves on the back of the CD as "exploring the unity in the diversity" and that it is.
Spanning all genres and all the world, this album truly is a masterpiece that deserves a place in everyone's collection. Featuring international stars such as Robbie Williams and Michael Stipe to relative unknowns like Baaba Maal and Speech. None of these artists recorded together yet the songs are contructed so masterfully that you'd never know. The vocals of Speech and Neneh Cherry on 'Braided Hair' are particularly impressive as it sounds so much like they recorded with each other.
The wonderful fusion of different styles in exceptionally good, "Ma' Africa" mixes an African womens choir with modern dance to great effect.
'The Way You Dream' is one of the standout tracks, Michael Stipe's voice will haunt you and effect you more than you can imagine.
This album will leave you enchanted and you can't fail to fall in love with it. Likely to be labelled "World" music which may put some off but don't let it for this really is an outstanding work which will appeal to everyone and deserves huge recognition, let's hope they do it all over again.
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by 1 Giant Leap 
