Sacred Spirit, Vol. 2: More Chants and Dances of the Native Americans

"Sacred Spirit II again successfully combines ancient Native American cermonial chants with modern instrumental arrangements through a cycle of CELEBRATION, WISDOM, REVERENCE, AND REBIRTH. The music focus on authentic vocal chants sung by Native American perfomers. SSII deliberately downplays specific song academia but rather allows the chants and arrangements to Affect the listener on a much more PERSONAL LEVEL--SOME THINGS ARE BETTER LEFT UNEXPLAINED." [a sample from the cds pamplet]

I love unique cds like this! Great Music takes me on a Journey; however, this cd does even more. THIS Journey is Inside myself--I am Connected to these Chants. They are Powerful and the music syncronizes so perfectly that the sum total comes Alive in a way I can not fully grasp, let alone, explain! Rarely do I come across something so beautiful that I feel I can not adequately review it. This is one of those times, but I am going for it anyway. Why? If just one other person in the whole world buys this and is touched the way I am, I will be happy.

Reviews are many things to many people. For me, they are a discovery of something beautiful and intangible--something inside myself. I am growing and I trust you are too. Good luck on Your Journey. Don't stand still--Soar!

SOARING HEART


Understanding the Sacred Spirit CD title confusion   February 17, 2001
Guardian of the Zen Sea (Looking after the sun and surf)
16 out of 22 found this review helpful

OK, get your Sacred Spirits Straight

As far as I can tell there are now "three" Sacred Spirit CDs. There is the original Native American/ambient CD which first came out in Virgin. That was followed by Sacred Spirit 2 (NOT this CD--AND I have seen "2" US with ANOTHER title), also on Virgin. Now there is a "new" Sacred Spirit II (not to be confused with 2), whcih is also Native American music, but on the Higher Octave label. OK. Here's the skinny: Sacred Spirit 1 is excellent. It is great to listen to from one end to another and has a wonderful spiritual feel. Sacred Spirit 2 (not II) is a mix of African-American spirituals with overdubs of beats and vocals (such as a speech by the Reverend Martin Luther King, jr), with accompaniment by a cello (can that explain the cover picture?). Overall it is also a quiet, introspective musical delight for the mind. Sacred Spirit II is not as good as the other two. It is also Native American, but cannot compare to the original ("1") at all.

So there you have it. I highly recommend Sacred Spirit 1, it is a classic. I also like Sacred Spirit 2, although it is completely different. Sacred Spirit II is pretty uninspired....


A great sequel to a classic   December 1, 2003
J. Wong (Jackson Heights, NY United States)
14 out of 14 found this review helpful

I consider myself pretty well rounded in terms of musical tastes, and have hundreds of CD's from all genres. That being said, I can't explain what it is about the Sacred Spirit CD's that is so fascinating to listen to, such that I can listen to the tracks a million time over and never get bored!

As the other reviewers here have stated, this music in this CD is so amazing, that you can it can affect you when you listen to it. The fusion of the modern instruments with Native American chants can only be described as "perfect." There is a perfect balance of the new and old.

Even Enigma's fusion of Gregorian Chants and synthesizers isn't as well done as this album (or it's predecessor). Enigma's music more heavily leans towards "rock" compared to Sacred Spirits'.

I liked the first Sacred Spirits CD better, but this one isn't far behind. As with the first CD, this music is great to listen to in the background as you go about your other business.

I can't recommend this CD enough to people interested in ambient/mood type music.


Not as good as the first   December 22, 2000
5 out of 9 found this review helpful

This cd isnt as good as the first album. To me it just doesnt have the same catch as far as the music goes as the first did. If you have the first album then you may or may not like this one, but if you dont have the first I recommend buying that one first.


GOOD   January 25, 2001
anonymous (Madrid)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

This CD has a different feel to Sacred Spirit I. Some of the raw emotion of the original has given way to mellow renditions of traditional chants. The two CDs actually complement each other. So contrary to a previous suggestion to only get one I would suggest getting both but for different moods. The haunting emotionally charged chants of Sacred Spirit I are like an ancestral war cry demanding to be heard above the din of contemporary American culture. Sacred Spirit II is evocative of the natural world in which the Native Americans, lived. The forests, streams, animal life and sense of community they once knew and this music is their interpretation of their place within it. Hence the different tone. This is a wonderful album and deserves more air play than its been getting.