Search - Various Artists :: Real Bahamas 1 & 2

It's magic

Riccardo Pelizzo | baltimore, maryland USA | 04/15/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For those who love the blues, for those who like the gospel, for those who want to discover the roots of rock and reggae, the Real Bahamas is a great treat. The Real Bahamas reproduces some twenty-eight Bahamian songs recorded in 1965 and 1977 by Peter K. Siegel and Jody Stecher and released respectively in 1966 and 1978.
These songs, performed by extraordinary singers and musicians such as the Edith Pinder, Frederick McQueen, Sam Green, Bruce Green and Joseph Spence, are more than beautiful, they are intriguing. They seem to combine the gospels from the Southern plantations with the colors and the brightness of the Caribbean. They sound as if they were coming out from a watercolor by Winslow Homer. They bear the traces of African music, and yet anticipate in many ways the future developments of Caribbean music.
Joseph Spence's guitar in Won't That Be a Happy Time and in Don't Take Everybody to Be Your Friend are probably the most memorable parts of this great record and show that Spence was as good as some of the best blues guitar players.
There is a lot of magic in this music and this is a record worth having."

Essential Spence and Pindar Family

J. Hale | Juneau, AK USA | 02/15/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This recording contains a number of essential tunes by Spence and by the Pindar Family that are not available on his other records: Spence's "Won't That Be a Happy Time," and the Pindar Family's "Numberless Are the Sands," a simply amazing a capella performance that begins in topical lyrics but then drives deeper into a wild farrago of pure sound and emotion. This album was a high point--indeed, one of the highest--of my education in real music, and I'm sure it will be one of yours, as well. Not--I repeat--NOT to be missed."

A must for your desert island 10

nick.statman@merisel.com | Venice, California | 02/18/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a rare jewel. Simply some of the best music ever recorded - of any genre. This contains marvelous Joseph Spence along with the Pidar family and other artists. It includes a recording of what someone called "the most beautiful song ever recorded". This is 'I Bid You Goodnight'. It is a collection of various Bahamian artists performing mostly religious music. This is difficults for many people and on first listening the music is rough around the edges and primitive. With repeated listening one can understand why Ry Cooder and other artists have found great inspiration in these works. It is truly a CD you must have in your collection. The fact that the label has combined both parts 1 & 2 into one CD is a plus. Don't listen to this music to be eclectic - do it for your true self! Not enjoying this music is symptomatic of a hole-in-the-soul."