by G. Jack Urso
I have nothing to say and I am saying it. – John Cage
Friday, October 31, 2014
Monday, October 27, 2014
Navajo Peyote Songs
by G. Jack Urso
Navajo Peyote Songs Volume 1, by Kevin Lewis, is a 1990 release by
Indian Sounds that I picked up on cassette while visiting the Little Bighorn
Battlefield the same year (then The Custer Battlefield). While I don’t
understand Navajo, and they are not indigenous to the Dakotas, I found the
recording a nice counterpoint to The Songs of the Seventh Cavalry. The rhythmic
chanting provides a meditative space to immerse oneself in another culture. The full recording is provided below.
Lewis, according to MTV.com,
is of Navajo/Cherokee heritage and a medicine man trained to sing peyote songs by
his grandfather Bud Lewis, who lived
to 116 years. As a result, the lineage of tradition from the Old West to our
ears is only one generation removed from that era. Herschel Kaulity, of
Cheyenne/Kiowa heritage, provides the drumming. No titles or times are provided
for the songs, which allow the listener to get lost in music that feels more
like an expression of nature than the typical over-produced commercial effort.
The one break in the spiritual tone
comes about 17 minutes into the recording when Lewis, caught up the ritual, begins
chanting “Happy Birthday” over and over. At that point, the listener realizes this
dude must totally be tripping. Well, they’re not called peyote songs for nothing!
Songs of the Seventh Cavalry
by G. Jack Urso
In order to get a fuller picture
of the lives of those who lived before us, listening to the popular music of
the era reveals much about their hopes and fears. Songs of the Seventh Cavalry, a 1989 release funded by The Bismarck Tribune for the benefit of
the Fort Abraham Lincoln Foundation, features music that was sung by the
soldiers of the Seventh Cavalry during the post-Civil War period through the
Plains Indian Wars. Of particular interest, some of these songs were sung to
General George Custer by his officers on the eve of his infamous Last Stand.
For more information on that momentous event, visit the Aeolus 13 Umbra article
The
Mystery of the Little Bighorn Battlefield.
I picked up this recording on cassette at the gift shop of
the Little Bighorn Battlefield (then called the Custer Battlefield) when I
visited in 1990. What strikes me the most about these songs is the melancholy, the
loneliness, and often the humor in the face of a dangerous and desolate
frontier on the plains. View the liner notes above for historical information related to each of the songs. There is a little bit of background hiss, but that
is expected considering it is a 25 year old tape. Nevertheless, the sound quality
is otherwise clear and offers a full, if frequently forlorn, picture of life in the Old West. The cassette recording is provided below:
Musicians:
Liner Notes
Musicians:
- Debi Rogers – Lead Vocals
- Tom Schafer – Fiddle, Mandolin, Vocals
- John Lardinois – Guitars
- Mike Hunt – Bass
- Chuck Suchy – Autoharp
- Produced by Debi Rogers and David Swenson
Following is the CD version for audiophiles:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)