Genre: bizarre
Rating: 3 stars ***
Title: Miracles
Company: London
Catalog: XPS 608
Year: 1972
Country/State: Peru
Grade (cover/record): VG / VG
Comments: original London inner sleeve
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 5242
Price: $75.00
Though she had an amazing four octave voice, most of Yma Sumac's extensive and eclectic recording catalog is simply too MOR for my tastes. That said, Sumac's a fascinating character and someday I'll have to do some reading on her.
Depending on which story you chose to believe, she was born Zoila Imperatriz Charrai Sumac del Castillo (easy to see why she would have opted to shorted her stage name) and was part of a Peruvian family that traced it's roots back to Inca royalty. A competing story says she was an American housewife named Amy Camus. Regardless, by the mid-1940s Sumac's talent and exotic good looks saw her an in-demand singer, performing at nightclubs throughout the US and Canada. In 1950 she was signed by Capitol, releasing a series of quirk/exotic LPs ("Voices of Xtabay", "Omca Taqui", "Legend of the Sun Virgin", etc.) that were largely co-written and arranged by her husband Moises Vivianco. She coupled that with a modest film career, but by the late-1960s her recording career had largely run out of steam. That may have been the impetus for this early-1970s reunion with former producer Les Baxter.
So why's 1972's "Miracles" in my collection? Read the liner notes "Miracles re-unites the extraordinary five - octaves voice of Peru's Yma Sumac with Les Baxter, the producer of her first album, "The Voice of Xtabay" (released in 1950). Acclaimed for her powerful and unique artistry, Miss Sumac achieved world fame during the Fifties with the use of Mr. Baxter's productions. He has chosen to record Yma in a contemporary setting with a four-piece rock band and modern recording techniques. The results are a stunning showcase for an unparalleled performer. Yma is an adventurous musician. She as conquered many modes, from Peruvian folksongs, through operatic arias, as wall as popular Latin songs, and international folk music. Now., in her unique way, she tackles rock. Miracles melds the most extraordinary music of the century with the most extraordinary voice of three generations - an improvisational tour de force."
Well, those liner notes provided a pretty accurate description. Tracks like ''Remember, 'Medicine Man' and 'Flame Tree' surrounded Sumac with contemporary rock arrangements. Interestingly, though the album credited Les Baxter as producer, the actual producer was Robert Covais. Baxter served as the band leader and penned nine of the ten tracks (the lone exception being the strangest cover of Paul Simon's 'El Condor Pasa' you'll ever hear). While a couple of songs hinted at Baxter's MOR tendencies ('Tree of Life' and 'Look Around'), the songs were all pretty good. Sumac also benefited from a good support band in the form of guitarist Chuck Cowan, bass player Roger Cowan, keyboardist Richard Person, and drummer Skippy Switzer. Interestingly, for the most part Sumac didn't really sing and when she actually did ('Remember') you couldn't really tell what language it was in. Instead most of her performances were better described as scatting or vamping with Sumac frequently taking advantage of the songs to display her impressive range - literally going from a growl, to a stratospheric screech in a matter of seconds ('Let Me Hear You'). She also displayed her ability to mimic various instruments, including brass, a guitar voicebox, and even a theromin ('Magenta Mountain'). At least to my ears the effect was similar to riding an aural roller coaster. That probably didn't sound all that promising, but the funny thing was that the album was surprisingly good in a weird kind of way. Sumac subsequently panned the album, though she's admitted to liking her performance on 'Magenta Mountain'. A result of a lawsuit over production credits, the album was pulled from the shelves shortly after being released and is now fairly rare.
"Miracles" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Remember (Les Baxter) - 4:05
2.) Medicine Man (Les Baxter) - 3:02
3.) Let Me Hear You (Les Baxter) - 2:35
4.) Tree of Life (Les Baxter) - 2:53
5.) Flame Tree (Les Baxter) - 2:44
(side
2)
1.) Zebra (Les Baxter) - 2:49
2.) Azure Sands (Les Baxter) - 2:35
3.) Look Around (Les Baxter) - 2:15
4.) Magenta Mountain (Les Baxter) - 3:00
5.) El Condor Pasa (Paul Simon - J. Mitchberg - D.A. Robles) - 4:50