Sacred Spirit II

Given the multi-million-copy selling success of Sacred Spirit: Chants and Dances of the Native Americans, its follow-up, Sacred Spirit II is bound to have a built-in audience. Like its predecessor, the collection mixes chant and song with dance beats and electronic instrumentation. While tracks such as "Dela Dela" and "Yane-Heja-Hee" meld these elements most effectively, the overall effect of the synthesized sound is heavily over the top and distracting from the gentle melodies and heartfelt cries of Native music at its best. A prime example is the tender and lovely female vocal on "May You Walk in Sunshine," obscured by overly aggressive accompaniment. A more solid and aesthetically pleasing choice for the genre is Prophecy: A Native American Collection, which achieves a finer balance of modern and ancient. --Paige La Grone