Total time: 45:48, 12 songs
Released 1996
i delve with greater detail in the individual song reviews, but
my main problem with this album is the lack of consistency.
some of the soloists are wonderful and some are clearly not.
some of the songs are very authentic sounding "folksongs," and
some are out of place jazz/gospel tunes. this group seems best
when mimicking arrangements done by professional a cappella
groups, as in "denko",
"the lion sleeps tonight",
"something within me", and
"the rainmaker" (i'm sure
there's others that i don't know of). if you're going to be a
cover band you have to do something new with the material.
that doesn't happen here. i have another problem with this
album, which is the lack of an insert. this may sound trivial,
but i find it inappropriate that a group would release an album
and not give any credit to the original writer of the song nor
the original artist, especially if the arrangement is lifted
note for note. they don't even give themselves any credit for
arranging anything. maybe they didn't arrange anything, maybe
it's all transcription, maybe the soloist on that last song was
a man maybe it was a woman, maybe they in fact wrote the
lion sleeps tonight, i don't know, and you'd never
know because they don't tell you anything! i just wanted some
information about the songs! not too much to ask, i don't
think. it's worth the extra hundred bucks to print on the
other side of the front tray card. anyway, besides all that
bitching, this group succeeds on the traditional african
folksongs relatively well, but i've heard it all before, and
i've heard it all better.
Rating: 4 (4.8)
This is a magnificent vocal group with some interesting arrangements, which are well produced and engineered.
The a cappella standards such as "Zombie Jamboree" or "Something Within Me" sound a little uninspiring, but it seems when the group is allowed some breathing room, the energy and creative juices really flow.
The arranger understands group dynamics as well as the differences between arranging vocals with or without percussion.
The back insert of Anthem states that this
album will "enliven the spirit and stir the mind". I'm not sure if I
have been enlivened or stirred, but I am quite sure that this album is
a fabulous example of great voices that any collegiate group would
want!
Rating: 8 (7.8)
This album sets rather high expectations for itself with the
blurb on the back cover listing Talisman's many accomplishments, and
while the album is certainly good — for the most part far more
professional-sounding than most collegiate a cappella albums — I
think I would have been a lot more impressed if they had let the
quality of the music speak for itself. Two songs
("Summertime" and "The Rainmaker") really do live up to their
reputation, and the others are nothing to be ashamed of. One thing I
_really_ miss, though, is the attributions, especially since at least
three songs on the album were taken from a cappella versions, and at
least a listing of group members — it's kind of weird to not even have
an idea of the group's size, let alone who sings what. The
jazzy/gospel songs are well-done, but they could use more real basses
and less faking it with processing. The traditional songs are also
good, but would be much improved by a little dynamic range. The
drumming is sort of whatever — I mean, I don't think it really hurts
or helps anything all that much, although I can see that if they were
to use vocal percussion instead on the traditional tracks, it might
make them a little less traditional, which would defeat the purpose of
doing them in the first place — so I have no problem with it. In
general, this album is an interesting and worthwhile purchase for
someone looking for a departure the college a-cap world of alternahits
and nostalgia rock.
Rating: 7 (6.8)
A mixed bag of an album, Anthem alternates between covers of widely done (heck, they're overdone) a cappella standards and more obscure "folksongs," some of which are in languages other than English. The "standards" are for the most part very weak, especially considering that the (much better) originals are easily available (no less than three of the songs are taken from Do It A Cappella).
I had a tough time judging the world music tracks (I'm making the assumption that they are African, but for all I know, some of them could be South American or even eastern European) — for the most part, I enjoyed them, but I'm not really familiar enough with the style to know if the way they are performed is appropriate. Generally, they are done with a fairly classical "choral" sound, with only the soloists putting in some "ethnic" style and embellishment.
I would probably tend to give the group the benefit of the doubt, except
for the fact that almost all of the songs I am familiar with on the album
are direct lifts of arrangements done by other (and generally better) a
cappella groups. I would suspect that many of the other songs also have
been previously recorded, and that a listener might be better off finding
the originals and listening to those instead. Unfortunately, there is no
information on who the composers or original performers were for any of the
songs. Even worse, there are no translations for the songs that aren't in
English, or even any explanations of what the songs are about.
Rating: 5 (5.3)
Talisman is quite possibly the best African-influenced choir I've heard. They have a great sound, a good link to the words they are singing and a fullness and freshness that's hard to find. That being said, although I enjoyed this album, I cannot wholeheartedly recommend it to the a cappella community.
You see, of Anthem's 12 songs, fully half are more or less exact transcriptions of a cappella songs by some of the genre's best and most prominent groups. Some are good, some are better, but none are as good as the example set for them. As individual selections, most would be a credit to any set. But taken en masse, my instinct is to reach for the originals.
The other half of the album is a joy to listen to, from their classical rendition of "Summertime" to the inspiring "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize."
African songs take the spotlight in more than the Sweet Honey covers with "One By One" and "Sechaba." And of course there is "The Rainmaker." Talisman did this with essentially a pickup group — an assembly of past and present members and a Stanford percussion ensemble. I am awed that a non-fulltime group would even attempt such a thing, and can only imagine what it would be like to be part of such a magnificent undertaking.
Note to purists and drumphiles: "Percussion" in this review means real,
resonant drums, played with skill throughout. It is quite tasteful and
quite in keeping with the music they perform, so settle down and enjoy it.
Rating: 8 (8.4)
in an arrangement that lacks complexity, each part
must be extremely precise. the basses in this tune are
anything but; their high notes are consistently flat,
although they do get a little better as the song
progresses. the women sound wonderful, with very nice
blue notes all over the place. this song just lacks a
lot of excitement, and the arrangement seems somewhat
disjunct; different chunks just laid back to back kinda
haphazardly, with no real direction or forward movement.
Rating: 4
A fairly interesting arrangement, well produced and engineered.
Nice inspirational track to start the album with. There are some
very slight tuning problems, especially when the basses sing
notes at the top of their ranges, but nonetheless a great cut.
Rating: 9
A rather standard-sounding song, which is only
notable for the fact that the men are so high that they
might as well be women — _I_ can sing most of their part
(and I'm not even an alto)! It is well executed,
however — the women in particular have some nice bits.
The high-hat part doesn't really work all that well, but
it passes quickly. Also the snapping is a little thin.
Overall it's not bad at all, but I think the reason I
find it a little bit boring is that I don't get the
sense that they're really all that excited about it
either.
Rating: 7
An extremely square bass line gets the song (and
album) off to a clunky start. The opening sounded like
it was going to be a cheesy swing tune, but when the
female voices come in, I realized that they were going
for the gospel thing. The sound of the group is fairly
muddled; in addition to some general inaccuracy in the
singing (it sounds like there are just some wrong notes
here and there, particularly in the bass line), it
sounds like there are too many people on each part.
Rating: 4
I really like this song. It's a spiritual done in a
jazz-classical style, and one of those numbers that
you find yourself humming in all sorts of places. Fun
to jam with, too. :)
Rating: 9
uh oh. i just hate to see this song on any a
cappella album's tracklist. HOWEVER, i must say that
the woman singing the melody in this song and the women
in general in the foreground sound wonderful, and this
rendition is at once peaceful, and maintains a quiet,
lolling rhythm throughout. the men's backups are great
as well. what this song suffers from is similar to
track 1, which is just a lack of direction. there's a
vamp, there's the melody, and that's what you get, over
and over and over, with minor changes with each passing
chorus/verse/whatever-they-all-seem-to-meld-together.
maybe it's just my own personal bias, my own view of
what a song should have in order to keep the listener's
interest, but i like a. dynamics b. dramatic changes
and c. an overall direction, a point to which the song
builds, climaxes, and from whence we experience a
denouement. oh well. not in this one. my friend just
informed me that this arrangement is from a performance
by ladysmith black mambazo and the mint juleps singing
on the spike lee do it a cappella video. so much for
originality.
Rating: 4
This is not my favorite version of this song (and I
would hate to find out which is). I like the idea of
doing a more "African" take on the song, however, this
one sounds like the arranger was inspired by the Eddie
Murphy movie "Coming to America". In the second verse,
the volume slowly drops which I don't like. I think
they were trying to make the verse sound more dynamic,
but the result sounds more like the beginning of a fade
out.
Rating: 8
A more or less straight rendering of the Ladysmith
Black Mambazo/Mint Juleps version of the song, as seen
(or heard) on Spike Lee's "Do It A Cappella", plus
sort of half-hearted percussion and minus the strong
bass sound that is the underpinning of that version.
They pull off most of it, but are practically inaudible
on their lowest note. Again, nice work by the women
(despite some overly heavy vibrato) goes a long way
towards making up for it. All said, not many collegiate
groups could pull this song off and sound as much like
the original, but I would be a lot more impressed if
they had tried to make it their own.
Rating: 7
A lift of the Ladysmith Black Mambazo/Mint Juleps
version from Do It A Cappella. I suppose it's pretty
enough, but why listen to this when you can hear the
real thing? And at this point, a comment on this tune
being overdone would be almost as cliché as the
song itself.
Rating: 3
Even mellower than the original groups to do this arrangement.
It's a note-for-note copy of the "Do It A Cappella" arrangement for
Ladysmith and the Mint Juleps, and almost as good.
Rating: 8
this song made me wish there was an insert for the
cd that had some information regarding the arrangements,
the origin of the songs, the singers, SOMETHING. i just
wanted to know where this song came from. it sounds
like a traditional african song to me (i profess to be
no expert on this music, but i think i will be safe
calling it african in origin). the soloists are great,
the backups suffer from some pitch problems, especially
in the lower male voices. but this song moves, thank
god. exciting, cool changes, a nice breakdown,
authentic rolled r's a la ladysmith black mambazo, they
succeed here.
Rating: 6
Interesting arrangement, a lot middle and high range
voices resulting in very tight harmony. Amazing tuning.
I even heard the coveted overtones at one point in this
song!
Rating: 9
A strong traditional song which is marred by a lack
of balance among voice parts — only the middle ones can be heard, and
they're blaring, whereas the low and high parts are more or less
nonexistent. This gets wearying over time, as the song doesn't really
have much of a melodic range. Also one female soloist towards the end
has a rather pinched and unpleasant voice. The men sound exceedingly
processed, which is a little jarring.
Rating: 6
A repeated vocal riff provides the base of the
arrangement, with multiple soloists singing different figures over the top
of it. I particularly liked the higher female soloist, although some notes
seemed to be on the verge of getting away from her. A cadenza-like section
in the middle provides some nice variety, as do the occasional percussive
accents.
Rating: 7
Classical African music. Inspiration makes the
language barrier nonexistent, particularly if you
listen to it loud. I like the powerful contrast
between the chest voice of the altos and the strong
head voice of the sopranos. The Talisman basses once
again sound nice too.
Rating: 9
i'm sure this soloist has had much praise in the past, but i was not a huge
fan. all the overly emotional stuff was lost on me, the grunting in the
high range, i didn't go for it. i was much more interested in the
background, which was, well, pretty boring. so i guess i didn't like this
song, since it was simply a showcase of the soloist.
Rating: 2
A very soulful soloist is highlighted here, but perhaps he should
worry a little more about those untuneful notes. Background
harmonies are very tight and incredibly tuneful as well.
Rating: 8
Talisman achieve an interesting
old-time gospel sound here, and combined with a soloist who sounds a
_lot_ like Sweet Honey in the Rock's Bernice Johnson Reagan, this song
works pretty well. However, the recording quality is odd — the solo
slips in and out of focus in a distracting manner, while the
background is a little too far away. Overall, though, this track
almost lives up to the hype.
Rating: 8
The soloist has way too many
mannerisms for my taste — it seems like he's trying really hard to fake
being "emotional." On the other hand, the backgrounds are too stilted and
precise to match what the soloist is doing — they should have met halfway.
There is also a lack of pulse — with so little going on rhythmically, the
tempo is often completely lost.
Rating: 4
Lovely soulful tenor solo. Truly an uplifting song. Gets a
perfect rating for more reasons than just musicality. (A jazz chord or
two might even have missed here and there.) But like most of the music
that came out of the American civil rights movement, it conveys true
faith in an incontestably right cause and a hopeful certainty in the
struggle, a sense that justice will prevail. A sense that is very much in
need in today's world.
Rating: 10
ahh. very pretty, nice percussion (not vocal, but actual shakers, just for
your info). this song emphasizes to me how much this group owes to its
women. they carry the group, and while the men serve their function
relatively well, when you listen to these songs, it's the women that make
the real music. (this might not be true! it could be that all the
arrangements were done by men! but you'd never know 'cause there's no
fucking liner notes!) this song has a gentle rise and fall between
subsequent verses/choruses, and the lyrics help maintain interest as well.
i was entranced by this one. at least for the first 4 and a half minutes,
until the lyrics stopped and there was some vocal improv that was flat as
my tire the other day on the 405. but mostly very nice.
Rating: 6
A simple arrangement. The background consists of first year bass
and descant arrangements. The rest of the arrangement is almost
all simple choral harmony, nonetheless, simplicity works in the
song. Unfortunately, the song also drifts sharp about a quarter
tone.
Rating: 5
Speaking of Sweet Honey in the Rock, this
cover is pretty similar to the original except in two respects — the
cool percussion (which is more or less central) is buried in the mix,
and it's _way_ too slow. This would be less of a problem if the
original weren't also four minutes plus — they stretch it out to 5:48,
which is a little ridiculous. They also flatten out much of the
interesting rhythmic variations in the lyrics. It's pretty, but
compared to the original it comes up lacking.
Rating: 6
This simple tune has a very relaxed, almost
floating feel, a nice match for the nostalgic lyrics. I liked it for the
first couple minutes, but it just goes on forever — almost six minutes!
Rating: 7
This is a lovely rendition but it suffers from being a replicated approximation. The song was written for the tight, rich voices of Sweet Honey in the Rock and, like the other Sweet Honey covers on Anthem, suffers most because a larger, younger choir cannot capture the emotional clarity of one of the most inspiring groups of all time. The original is not as slow and is more hopeful — Talisman sounds more poignant. The only thing that could have lifted the song up would have been a truly inspiring solo — the group melody is fine, but nothing memorable.
As I said earlier, if this were just the one song I
might well be raving, or close to it. But their
extended attempts at duplicating what has already been
done so well — even the track number is the same —
cannot quite match an original that holds such a dear
place in my heart. The art critic and the activist in
me are sparring a bit — I _am_ glad that this music is
getting such talented and widespread exposure. It is
undeniably music to be shared. The women of Sweet Honey
in the Rock must be proud.
Rating: 8
more real percussion instruments, played well, very appropriate. this tune
was probably done by zap mama. it sure SOUNDS like them, but i don't know
for sure because there's no liner notes! AAAGGGH@*&%! oh well. the low
low alto woman sounds great. love her. this song grooves, and the small
ensemble of women are nice and tight. sounds like, well, zap mama.
Rating: 8
The lead singer's vibrato sounds forced and untuneful when
approaching phrase endings. The group tuning is good. The
voices are arranged well relative to the percussion.
Rating: 6
Traditional song plus drumming, which sounds like it was
recorded in a different room from the singing. If it were a little
bit closer to the rest of the mix, though, it would sound fine. Too
much vibrato on the part of the soloists, some of which seems a little
forced. Nice harmonies, although it sounds like they need to complete
a chord or something.
Rating: 7
A feature for the women, this one starts off with a nice
call and response section (the soloist is particularly strong), then adds
percussion and builds nicely into an energetic groove. The recording has
that sort of lo-fi "field recording" kind of sound, which adds to the
character (not sure that was intentional, but it's pretty cool).
Rating: 7
See above for philosophy — suffice to say this is excellently
done. I miss the incomparable Dr. Reagon, but I understand they couldn't
just arrange her in.
Rating: 9
i don't like this soloist either. i realize i'm kind of a jerk for being
so biased, but i can't help it. so i'm not gonna focus on her. (let me
just say that she sounded very broadway, and out of place on an album that
is filled with music that is far removed from that scene.) ok. wait a
second. this whole tune is out of place on this album! what? why is this
jazz tune on an album filled with traditional sounding african music? this
tune sounds ok, but i don't understand why it's here! oh well. i do
believe, honestly though, that it does not belong, and therefore cannot
rate it too high.
Rating: 3
Incredible voice on the lead singer. Such control over her
vibrato! Well done! Simple background arrangement, not always
perfectly tuneful, but nothing too serious sticks out. Nice
group dynamics.
Rating: 9
*Ravishing* soloist — perfect tone and amazing
control.She's all over this song without even breaking a sweat. A
professional-caliber performance on her part. The only complaint I
have is that I'd like to hear her more forward in the mix. The
background is also quite good, however — they mysteriously find
something approximating a real bass for this track. In one part it
become obvious that the soloist is the only high soprano in the group,
and I could have done without the excessive reverb on the background,
but the whole thing sounds so good, I'm not really complaining.
Rating: 9
A very classical rendition of the Gershwin classic.
With the exception of a tutti section in the middle, it's all just a female
soloist over sustained (and fairly repetitive) backgrounds. It's also kind
of odd to hear Gershwin's "colloquial" lyrics done in such an
over-enunciated manner.
Rating: 5
The beginning of this reminds me strangely of the beginning of
the old Eagle's song "I Can't Tell You Why" before the solo comes in.
That aside, this is a beautiful classical rendition of a jazz standard.
More like Jessye Norman than Ella Fitzgerald, but the quality is there.
Rating: 8
the percussion in this tune gets off occasionally. this arrangement is
very tight otherwise, though, with nice rhythmic changes and variety in
vocal range. the men on this tune are featured a little more than in other
tunes, and they do an admirable job.
Rating: 5
Tight vocal harmony. Well mixed and arranged relative to the
percussion. Certain notes are out of reach for some of the
vocalists. The background doesn't really blend, but it appears
that was the effect the group was going for. Group dynamics are
well done.
Rating: 8
Breaks the mood somewhat by being just a little too
loud and brassy. The drumming sounds nice and crisp, though the
singing is a little fuzzy/processed in comparison — it sounds like
they're singing in a vacuum. The whole song is also blasted out at
the same volume. I think they boosted the basses artificially. I
like this song, though.
Rating: 6
Another fairly simple, rhythmic tune. I liked the
interruptive soprano solos in the middle — they are almost abrasive and
squawky in their tone (and intonation — they seem intentionally slightly
out of tune), but they work as a good contrast to the rest of the piece.
Rating: 7
A lovely song with skilled light percussion and overprocessed
vocals. The sopranos do a wonderful job with a difficult part and make
this entirely African-language choral number a joy to listen to.
Rating: 8
basses are all over the place, and they're given
pitches they can't hit in their lower range. the
soloist is nice. the women are cool. i don't know.
what the hell? i don't know. this song has been done a
thousand times by a thousand groups and i don't find
much original here to get excited about.
Rating: 3
Unoriginal arrangement. The group's energy sounds a little down
in this rendition and it also could have been taken at a slightly
faster tempo.
Rating: 7
A direct transcription of the Rockapella
version, but minus the energy of the background and the limberness of
the solo. The whole thing sounds a little bit _lame_, actually. The
soloist in particular, even though he has a nice voice, simply can't
pull off the interesting bits of the song. He also is too slow
throughout the entire song, even more so than the background, who are
a little slow but would sound fine with more spunk. The background
also sounds stilted and stiff. Basses can't hit their lowest note.
The women on the top parts are enunciating too much. All together not
as successful as the other songs.
Rating: 5
Ouch. This had to be one of the longest
continuous cringes I've had in a long time. The soloist is dismal — the
fake accent is just bad, he doesn't go for any of the high notes (even
though they've dropped the key by a half step), and generally, his voice
just annoyed me. The worst thing about this rendition is the total lack of
energy from the group — they sound like they recorded this five minutes
after they were all suddenly woken up. I can just see them all huddled
around a mic in their bathrobes and bunny slippers.
Rating: 1
Remember the King's Singers covering the Beatles and the Beach
Boys? Good arrangements, good singing and the occasional missed point. In
this song Talisman isn't quite as much fun as the British icons, but
there is the same juxtaposition of misapplied chutzpah. Here we have a
perfectly lovely choir, reasonably with it, singing what was originally
the grandaddy of a cappella pop songs. The catch is that they're singing
essentially Rockapella's arrangement, and in the unavoidable comparison
inevitably come up short.
Rating: 6
this song starts off extremely cool. the percussion groove is steady, the
first female vocal is sweet and stylish. i love the voices in the
background just kinda hanging out having a little party. more percussion
is added after the short breakdown. this is what i wish some of the other
tunes would have done in terms of "direction:" it really moves, pulls you
in all the way to the end of the tune. cool.
Rating: 7
The percussion and voices on this cut are arranged similarly in
that they both start simple, moving to more complex and full
arrangements. Good group dynamics. The energy in this song just
keeps building.
Rating: 9
The shortest song on the album, this song is
refreshing as the energy that was missing from "Zombie Jamboree" is
plentiful here. However the pinched woman from track 3 dominates the
entire song, which is unfortunate. If it weren't for her, this track
would be quite a bit better.
Rating: 6
More chant-like vocals over a percussive groove.
The energy and dynamics are nice, and the repetitiveness doesn't get old
simply because the song is over before you have a chance to get tired of
it. The "party atmosphere" sounds throughout were a bit overdone, and a
little distracting.
Rating: 6
I like the way they built off their numbers to give
the song a very "village" feel to it, as if a
community were singing it even as their life went
about its daily business, which I suspect is the
point of the song. Talisman can't replicate the
richness that Sweet Honey in the Rock brings to this
arrangement, but their more youthful rendition is lots
of fun. Great percussion.
Rating: 9
this is a gospel tune by take 6. to do this kind of
song, the soloist has got to be beyond belief, which
this one is not. (the whole point of a gospel solo is
the improvisation, and this soloist sings EXACTLY, note
for note, what the soloist in take 6 sings on their
album.) the main problem i have with this song is not
the soloist, however, nor the performance, which is
fine. but it's another song on a self-proclaimed album
of "folksongs" that just doesn't seem to be in the
spirit of the rest of the album. we're immersed in an
african village singing the monophonic stuff that
babethandaza is made of, and all of a sudden we're in a
southern baptist gospel church singing about jesus. the
only notes that give a hint as to what this album is
about are on the back tray of the cd, where we're told
that the album is a collection of folksongs, and where
we see a "tribal symbol depicting the unity between
different groups of people, afuntun mmireku — denkyem
mmireko." so the listener expects a certain sound,
which is found all over the cd, but then stuff like
"something within me" and
"summertime" and you're
like what? this is not in keeping with the theme of the
album, and it's just kinda outta place. whatever.
Rating: 3
Unoriginal arrangement. The lead vocalist sings on
closed sounds such as consonants, which is not conducive
to the melodic flow in this case. The snaps and
handclaps sound too artificial. The overall tuning is
excellent.
Rating: 7
Background too slow, and the solo is nice but at
times she sounds like she's in a different key than the
background. Snapping and clapping are nice on this
song, both well-performed and well-recorded — many
groups would do well to take note of how Talisman make
them sound at once natural and on-rhythm without being
robotic. Overall this is a good attempt at a difficult
song.
Rating: 7
Yet another verbatim lift of a well known a cappella
tune. This one was actually better than I expected -
they come pretty close to the Take 6 arrangement, but
what's the point? The group can't even approach the
tight sound that T6 gets, and the solo isn't nearly as
exciting performed by a woman.
Rating: 5
Really the only thing you can say about this is that
Talisman ain't no Take 6. Which is _not_ a fair thing
to say about anybody — this is a good song. The
background translates well to a larger choir. The
solo does quite a job trying to duplicate the vocal
gymnastics. Part of the time she is a bit overwhelmed
by the technique and loses sight of what she is
singing — without emotion the acrobatics go hollow,
and if one had to suffer I think she picked the wrong
one.
Rating: 7
this is from the power of one (although you wouldn't
know it from the lack of liner notes...), a movie with
tons of african folksongs performed exceedingly well on
the soundtrack to the film. this is a highly successful
remake, featuring the men of the group more than in
previous tracks on this album, and tons of percussion
instruments, notably a great cymbal swell (one of my
favorite orchestral effects). the overall pitch of this
track falls noticeably flat, and the choral section just
past the middle has major pitch problems, but when the
groove kicks back in at about 6 minutes we're back in
it. this is one of the few songs on this album that i
assume must sound tons better on the album than it ever
could have live. the reverb on the voices overall
(especially the basses) and percussion effects could not
have been too successful live. not that that really
matters. i'm all for studio a cappella, and this is
wonderful. the changes are great, as far as i can
remember that's the responsibility of lebo m., who
directed the singers on the power of one soundtrack.
anyway. nice track to end the album. must have taken
forever to learn...
Rating: 7
Parts of this eight minute (plus) tune sound so diverse that it
is more like a medley. Sure, pretty long tune, but still an
interesting arrangement which takes the listener through a range
of musical styles and emotions.
Rating: 8
They used quite a lot of effects on this song,
which don't sound misplaced for the most part, but one does notice
them. It also sounds like they used another instrument other than
drums. I sort of hate the choral part in the middle, but some of the
others are quite nice. In one part a strange pop sound creeps in,
then segues to a strangely commercial-sounding section, which I don't
quite know what to make of. I'm certainly _impressed_ by this long
and complex song, and for the most part it sounds really good. I do
think that some parts could have been handled differently, but it's
more or less a matter of taste.
Rating: 8
Seeming more like a medley than like one song, this
one alternates between slow, sustained sections and rhythmic, percussive
ones. The overall effect is very majestic and powerful, building from a
haunting opening to a triumphant end. In spots, it almost sounds like a
world music version of Carmina Burana. The opening soloist has a great
sound, very raw. There is a surprising amount of percussion for an a
cappella record (some spots are all percussion with no voices), but it
works well.
Rating: 8
Pretty damn cool. I adore the solo at the beginning — amazing stuff. The more choral sections work too, and the percussion has some wonderful rhythms to it. Never fear, you a cappella purists — the drums are by no means the center of the song and when present add far more than a basic beat.
I'm not familiar with the original from the "Power Of One"
soundtrack, so I can't speak with any certainty on the influences and
origins of the piece. Heck, I haven't even seen the movie. But when I
listen, I hear a merging of African themes (I'm guessing South African
from the lyrics, but the percussion and opening solo sound like stuff
I've heard coming out of Senegal) with classical and even new age music
— and some lines that sound to my under-educated ear to be of more East
African/Arabic influence — not unlike what Peter Gabriel did with his
"Passion" soundtrack.
Rating: 10
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