Search - Scott Fitzgerald :: Thunderdrums

Gayle V. from CLARKSVILLE, TN
Reviewed on 6/9/2007...

Great drum music!

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

A butchered version of the original

Brian K. McCrary | Phoenix, AZ USA | 10/16/2002

(1 out of 5 stars)

"In 1989 Scott Fitzgerald first released Thunderdrums on an audiocassette from Nature Recordings. Every piece was emotional and evocative, and the title piece of the recording, "Thunderdrums", was one of the most powerful pieces of music I had ever heard, capturing the primordial energy of the thunderstorm and melding it seamlessly with the strength and energy of tribal drumming. This was, at the time, one of my favorite recordings.Imagine my delight when, a few years later, I discovered what I thought was the same recording, now transferred to CD. No longer would I have to worry that my audiocassette would wear out from repeated playing! Now I could select my favorite track and set it on repeat, and sink into a trance as the music washed over me! But the recording on the CD is NOT the recording that was originally released on audiocassette. For some reason, every single track had been remixed, some slightly, some horribly, and the title track was the most hideously butchered of all. In place of the original, intense piece, there now exists a new-agey, overly instrumentalized, sanitized version of the original. Where the original starred the majesty of a thunderstorm as its central element, now it seems added as an afterthought, an accent. Where the deep thrumming of tribal drums sank into your bones, now they are flat, with riffs and flourishes of other instruments adding 'texture'. Where the original evoked the spirit of the Thunderbird, and called the stormclouds into the sky, now it evokes nothing more than a yawn.If you can find the original, 1989 release of Thunderdrums, buy it and treasure it as a masterpiece. If, however, all you can find is the new version (which I believe is the only one released on CD), save your money. There are far better recordings out there."

Primordial Music to Get You Through the Day

Zekeriyah | Chicago, IL | 01/07/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is an excellent CD. The cover art may be a little misleading. Its not really Native American. Native American influenced, maybe, but its completely original and uniquely Fitzgerald, and at the same time its something else. Something deeper. Almost primordial. This music is some of the most emotionally charged pseudo-ethnic drumming I think I've ever heard. I love it. Just listen to it and let it take you on a wild ride through the jungles of Africa or wherever else you picture yourself. Primal and beautiful. If you like the music of Mickey Hart, you'll love this."