Exuma - Exuma (1970)

     Exuma is the recording name for 'Macfarlane Gregory Anthony Mackey', a 70s freak-folk artist from the Bahamas.  The first album, self titled as "Exuma", was released on Mercury Records in 1970.  Exuma never broke into the mainstream or anywhere near there.  Exuma have under 10,000 listeners on Last.fm.

      I saw the album cover near the top of a list on Rateyourmusic a few weeks ago.  I found the cover quite interesting.  It eventually lured me into actually listening to the album.  Exuma's music can best be described with tags such as "Caribbean Folk", "Freak Folk", and possibly some 'soul', and other Caribbean influences (Reggae).  The songs are all very emotion and cathartic.  The album's lyrical topics include 'voodoo', 'zombies', 'demons' and other dark spirit related concepts.

      The album starts off with dark ambient noises; an animal howling then the sound of frogs and bugs in the night;  accurately foreshadowing the overall feel of the album.  The first three songs are linked together in that they have a dark overall sound, feature multiple singers and have prominently featured guitar.  Macfarlane has a fairly scratchy voice that, when contrasted with the smoother voice of the other singers, sounds amazing.  Exuma have several background singers adding emphasis to certain lyrics and to the overall feel of the songs.  The second track features dark, apocalyptic lyrics and overall feel.

"You won't go to heaven
You won't go to hell
You'll remain in your graves
with the stench and the smell"

(I used http://www.songmeanings.net/ for the lyrics)

          The first and second songs have minimal percussion while the third and fourth are led by a powerful drum beat.  "Mama Loi, Papa Loi" continues with the dark lyrics and imagery of the first two songs while being led by a deep percussive beat.  The fourth song, "Junkanoo", marks the beginning of the change.  Junkanoo is the first and only instrumental of the album being entirely percussion.  Junkanoo sounds like something you would hear at a carnival.  Junkanoo wears out its welcome, ending nearly a minute after it becomes boring.  The fifth song, "Seance in the Sixth Fret", is the most boring track of the album, over seven minutes long.  The song features a long (1:00) intro, some spoken word vocals and almost in-audible guitar.  Like the rest of the album, track five tries to maintain some sort of dark, spiritual atmosphere, but unlike the rest of the album, it falls apart, feeling incredibly forced and cheesy.  

      The last two songs, "You Don't Know What's Going On" and "The Vision" are very unalike.  "You Don't Know What's Going On" is the second (Junkanoo) 'happy' song on the album, much more upbeat and with optimistic lyrics.  "You Don't..." has a powerful anthem of a chorus.  The final track, "The Vision", continues in the vain of the first three songs: dark and mythical.  Track seven is also the longest on the album.

      Overall, Exuma's self titled album ("Exuma", 1970) is an enjoyable listen.  Exuma focuses on topics such as "Voodoo" and "spirits" delivering the lyrics through a wide range of genre influences.  Aside from the easily forgettable "Seance In the Sixth Fret", this approach holds up well, offering an enjoyable and memorable listen.


Album Artwork - 7.5/10

1 - Exuma, the Obeah Man -  7.5/10

2 - Dambala - 8/10

3 - Mama Loi, Papa Loi - 8.5/10

4 - Junkanoo - 7/10

5 - Seance In the Sixth Fret - 4/10

6 - You Don't Know What's Going On - 7.5/10

7 - The Vision - 7.5/10

                                               7.5/10