Search - Various Artists :: Earthsong: Native American Chants & Dances

Great CD

moonchiald | Loganville, GA USA | 10/31/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD has a modern background with the traditional words and rythms mixed in the foreground. This is a great CD for anyone who want to hear traditional native american music in a setting other than meditation. This one will NOT put you to sleep!"

Weak new-age synth drones

Muskrat Rambler | New Orleans, LA United States | 04/08/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I honestly don't understand the previous review for this item, so I decided to offer some clarification. I have an interest in authentic native music and other folk recordings, so I am sometimes given recordings such as this one. Imagine someone playing a casio trying to emulate authentic native music based on his repeated viewings of Dances With Wolves, and you will have an idea of what this record sounds like. If you like club "music" and you need things polished for you to a nice "modern" sheen. If "old" is a pejorative term to you. If you are the type who would fall asleep at a powwow and feel bored by the sounds of human culture but somehow manage to feel enlivened by the repetitious computer-generated pounding of a mid-city singles bar. If you have classic novels on your bookshelf that you have never read. If you own a yoga mat and a hemp shopping bag and believe this brings you closer to the Earth Mother. If you're a liberal looking to show an appreciation for and tolerance of marginal cultures without getting uncomfortably close to "the other." If you own a dream catcher but would be more likely seen at a casino than the rez or a gathering of tribes . . . then this is the CD for you. If, like me, you are interested in hearing authentic Native American music, search elsewhere. This sort of melding can be tolerable, or even enjoyable, in the hands of a talent like Robbie Robertson, but there is no fusion here, only dilution.



Why did I give this a full two stars? Because it is not the worst of the type I've heard, and because I suspect there is a larger market for this than there is for authentic native music. I do not wish to warn everyone away from an inferior product. I merely wish to alert folks with a certain aesthetic to steer clear.



If you're curious about moving in the traditional direction, I suggest starting with "Creation's Journey : Native American Music" and working from there.



The rest of you, and you know who you are, make your purchase, don your turquoise costume jewelery and rock out!"