Who was Exuma?
He was a spirit who came from a planet, now extinct, brought to us on a lightning bolt, who had communed with Charon, the ferryman of the River Styx and Vodun priests. When he informed the world of his travels and even warned of the armageddon, he left the Earth, perhaps tiring of the corporeal and moving to the ethereal. (Brian Philips, Exuma fan site)
Yeah, so this is what this and all other Exuma songs are about. He sings a sort of Bahamian jungle gospel, praising the greatness of himself, the lord.
The singing is astounding in its religious fervour and soulfulness, the arrangement is dense and playful, the back-up vocals are almost as insane as Exuma himself.
?When Exuma say the word, you gonna turn into a big black bird,? so watch out.
***
Richie Havens - "Here Comes The Sun"
In trying to decide on a companion piece for Exuma, I first thought of Nina Simone. She covered a few Exuma songs (believe it or not), but I couldn?t find any of those covers. I did, however, listen to her cover of ?Here Comes the Sun,? which caused me to think of Richie Havens?s cover of the same song. On a number of occasions during their respective careers, Exuma and Richie Havens shared a stage. It is also arguable that they shared a certain aesthetic.
Havens?s thumb-barred chords propel the band (pedal steel, bass and drums) forward. Atop the band, his voice floats with an ease and integrity that justifies his covering a Beatles song.
Posted by Jordan at January 26, 2005 4:22 AMPeter Tosh does a great rendition of "here comes the sun"
Posted by vaq at January 26, 2005 1:31 PMExuma is indeed similar in some ways to Richie Havens, who is still touring BTW, amazing.
Posted by Matthew at January 26, 2005 2:23 PMBlind Blake was a Bahamian folk singer in the 40s & 50s. His hits were Delia's Gone (covered by Johnny Cash), John B. Sail (covered by the Beach Boys), J.P.Morgan, Jones Oh Jones and Run Come See. I found a Japanese CD pressing of The Goombay Rock on Art Records, JASPAC PCD-2861. Highly recommended.
The Mighty Sparrow did a song called Obeah Wedding, but I think he was from Trinidad...
Posted by Theo at January 27, 2005 4:45 AMexuma!!! and richie havens!!! these are two of my favorite musicians that my dad introduced me to through his vinyl collection. awesome choices.
peace.
This is a kicking track by richie havens. even better than the original dreamy track by the beatles. I like the driving drum beat and the steely sounding bluesy guitar sound on it, and his rough voice against the chick-a chick-a rhythm. Awesome. :)
Posted by jessi at January 30, 2005 2:36 AMsalut toi witila moi jidi atonder avec toi martuno aplemoi sur laboite ovoir
Posted by 554 at February 3, 2005 6:30 AMI wish that i had a copy of an Exuma album a friend of mine has, with a song i think is called "Mephistopheles". We'd practically do karaoke of that one.
Posted by badger at February 3, 2005 4:16 PM
and it will begin playing. All songs are also available to download: just right-click the link and choose 'Save as...'
