Search - Douglas Spotted Eagle :: Voices

Thanks again, Spot.

10/14/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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"

Yet another phenomenal release from Spotted Eagle!

Judy Markworth | 10/06/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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!"

MUSIC THAT HEALS

David Lomahefteya | 10/09/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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.)"