1998
By Limeygit
January 12, 2000
Thunderchief (Francis Steindorf) is a musician, actor, speaker and educator. He is also a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation (Wisconsin Winnebago). So whilst others with much fanfare have mixed Rap and Rock, musical forms that really aren't that different anyway, Thunderchief has quietly gone about the much more arduous tasks of taking traditional tribal music and culture and blending it with a modern musical style.
The result on this, his second album, is a warm, enjoyable set of tracks that tell tales both ancient and modern. The lyrics cover historical subjects on tracks such as 'Standing on the shore', with its opening lines "Standing on the shore, watching those ships come in. Ships filled with strange people and wonders, where will it all end?" In other areas he recounts the modern problems of Native Americans, deals with
the environmental problems of the late 20th Century and on the title track just rejoices in the simple things that make life worth living.
He also makes good use of his fellow musicians on this project, in particular Joe Ebel whose Electric Violin dances across most of the
tracks, providing a good contrast to Thunderchief's voice and guitar. The use of Native American chanting is also very aptly applied, it is easy to imagine how it could have ended up as jarring or even humorous, but it fits into the overall scheme without a hitch.
Thunderchief takes his music and teachings across the United States, working with everyone from 1st grade up to College. Thunderchief is first and foremost an educator and his music is a little bit more than just entertainment, although he has no problems creating a very catchy tune. If you want something a little different, with more depth than your average album, but without any pretensions, then give this CD a
chance.
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