I started to have some doubts when I received a copy of the CD and looked over the track listing. I saw titles that looked like they stepped off the shelves of a bookstore from my worst nightmares: "I Sing For The Animals", "Buffalo Said To Me", and so on. While I did my best to set aside any prejudice, I have to admit to a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that there wouldn't be anything new under the sun, the moon, or anybody's sky here. Unfortunately, what I heard on the CD didn't do much to dispel that original feeling.
Now, I wouldn't know a Lakota Sioux song if it hit me in the face, so I can't dispute the claim that some tracks on this CD have their origins in traditional Lakota ceremonies and are songs that Kevin learned from his great uncle. The thing is though, that just because something is beautiful and spiritual when performed in the right setting and at the right time, doesn't make it interesting to listen to on a CD no matter how you dress it up. (I'm not even going to go into the whole issue of commercializing stuff that's supposedly sacred under the guise of "keeping it alive" - keep it alive by observing it not by selling it - oops I went into it) While there's no denying the technical accomplishments of everybody involved with this recording from the two people providing vocals on a couple of tracks, the accompanying musician, and Kevin himself, the music on Earth Gift is pretty much interchangeable with any other flute disc you'd off the shelf in the world or new age section of your local music store.
While it's true that some of the instruments that have been chosen to accompany Kevin, the zither, nail violin, and the marxophone, may sound more appropriate in that they are acoustic and from an earlier age, the flute itself is still being confined to a very narrow view of its potential as an instrument. Not only is this a disservice to the instrument, but to the culture that they are supposedly trying to preserve. Culture should be a living and breathing entity that continues to grow, not something that allows itself to become hidebound in the name of tradition solely for the sake of tradition.
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