Yma Sumac - Voice of the Xtabay (16 tracks) +Album Reviews

A 50's cult hit lives on...and on.. because it's cool!

Joanna Daneman | Middletown, DE USA | 10/16/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"How ever did this exciting and exotic album see the light of day during the 50's? (You know, the era of Perry Como, Patty Paige, Dean Martin...all the sloopy, stringy-swoopy sounds of big orchestral pop hits with smooth crooning vocalists.) But this recording somehow caught the imagination of the times, perhaps as a crossover during a Latin music fad. However it came about, this CD has some of the most unusual and enjoyable songs. It's still in print--so it's gone from hit to cult. Supposedly Yma Sumac is the daughter of the last remaining Inca King and was abducted by anthropologists, seduced by her five-octave range and incredible bird-like trills. As they fled down the mountains of the Andes with their prize, they were pursued by wildly angry natives, distraught over the loss of their Princess-Songbird (picture all this in black and white, like a B-grade movie.) Or, as some would have it, she's really Amy Camus, (Yma Sumac spelled backwards) a Jewish gal from Brooklyn with a fantastic schtick and a great voice. She is supposed to have written 5,000 songs and can sing coloratura opera. Her concerts still were selling out in the 80's, though she really was a 50's phenomenon. What to believe? Is she Amy Camus of Brooklyn, or Yma Sumac, neé Zoila Emperatriz Chavarri del Castillo of Peru? Well, I like fairy stories, so Yma Sumac is an Inca princess, and these are genuine songs of the lost people of the high Andes. Whatever..."

One of the finest albums EVER!!!

truthseeker1 | baltimore, maryland USA | 10/09/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love this album. Not a bad track on it! This cd contains 2 complete 10" original lps from 1950 and 1953 respectively, Voice of the Xtabay and Inca Taqui. The highest note from a human voice can be heard on Chuncho (The Forest Creatures). High Andes! is a magnificent majestic piece of music so far ahead of it's time it's not true! The songs on this album are like cinema music for the mind...you hear the most spiritual profound sounds that have such incredible vibrancy and color...the range of the voice is unheard of, the music itself is masterful (from Moises Vivanco), and there is a reason why this album has never gone out of print in over 50 years! Buy it and hear for yourself what makes Yma so special!It's truly one of the best albums -ever-!!"

Very Unusual And Incredible

Anthony Early | Cardiff, Wales | 08/13/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is incredible. I am 15 years old, and a massive fan of hip-hop, RnB and pop, and yet this unusual indescribable album is incredible and I love it! The music and that stunning voice is completely in a league of its own. The songs are incredible; a heady mix of mambos, salsas and sambas along with steady and engaging beats. The voice itself has the 'stop you in your tracks to listen' effect as it is mesmerising and incredible; it truly has to be heard to be believed. The best song, by far in my opinion, is the incredible 'Chuncho'. The range, technique and beat in this song is unique; out-standing. This album is a musical and vocal masterpiece."

Who is this woman? One of the most exciting singers....

Rachel Howard | ocklawaha, Florida United States | 05/30/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"you'll ever hear. I've owned this on vinyl since the late sixties, and I've never grown tired of it. I don't know the answer to the controversy over whether she is a Peruvian princess, or a home grown lady named Amy Camus... and frankly, I don't care. Yma's vocal chords must be one of the seven wonders of the world. It ranges all over the map, from super high down to sub-contralto depths with everything in between. If I remember correctly, she's still singing and still beautiful... though I can't vouch for the accuracy of that claim personally.I can add little here to what the other reviewers have written. Xtabay is a gorgeous number, reminiscent of the winds blowing through the mighty peaks of the Andes. Monos is amusing, as is Andean Don Juan, which has a really catchy beat to dance to. Then, there is Chuncho- a one woman display of the varied and weird sounds of rain forest animals all doing their best to out-sing one another. As one of the other reviewers said, you'll hear one of the highest notes a human ever put to disk. But there's far more to it than that- this high note is part of a series of incredible trills and runs, which covers about 5 octaves. It literally has to be heard to be believed. All this goes onward insanely to another catchy beat. If you like unusual music and a rather strange mixing of styles (Yma sounds everything here from operatic to country to Peruvian to several things I can't describe!), then this is a wonderful album to have."

AMAZING VOCAL GYMNASTICS

Pieter | Johannesburg | 11/28/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The range of this singer's voice is truly incredible - one moment she sounds like a twittering nightingale as her voice quivers along the highest of the high notes, the next it's down to the ground in a rumbling thunderstorm or shuddering earthquake. There's nothing quite like it. Some info on Yma can be found in the Re/Search publication Incredibly Strange Music by V Vale & Andrea Juno, available here on amazon.com. I recommend this album to all who are interested in the exotic, like world music or the equally strange sounds of Meredith Monk."

Search - Yma Sumac :: Voice of the Xtabay

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