Medwyn Goodall is no stranger to fans of world and new age music. Having released well over 20 albums, this is one of his more appreciated albums. "Medicine Woman II: The Gift" is the second in a 4 volume series of Medicine Woman albums and it topples the previous release effortlessly with this relatively perfect collection of songs.
One of the amazing factors of this album is that all ten tracks are instrumental pieces as vocals become part of the arrangement and there's not a word that is sung, but the messages and feeling are successfully conveyed through the use of various instruments such as the Spanish Guitar, Bamboo Flute, Mandolin, authentic South American drums along with a host of other instruments.
"Celebration" the opening track sets the mood for the album. It's an uplifting, positive track that sets mind at ease and takes you to a different place. Where you imagine you are standing within an exotic tropical rainforest and the unique sounds only helps to provide you with a more vivid picture. "Invocation Part 2" seamlessly follows through with the positive theme and the rest of the album flows effortlessly from one track to the next. The stand out track would have to be "The Gift", instantly attracting you with it's unique guitar arrangements and it's soothing Enya-like vocals.
Unfortunately, the main downfall of this album is that after listening to the first five tracks, the next five seems like a semi-altered collection of the first five tracks and you get the idea that no new grounds are broken into or explored and you get the feeling that you've heard it all before. As a whole, this album seems relatively complete even if it was released only with the first five tracks with "The Gift" being a severely major reason for purchasing the album itself. Some of Goodall's other releases are not as easily satisfying on the ear as this release but this is definitely the one that is set to please. The album actually is a mediocre 55 plus minutes but the first 28 minutes or so should do the job at setting your mind at ease.
Tracklisting:
1. Celebration 6.43
2. Invocation Part II 5.46
3. Jungle Heart 5.43
4. Orchid Potion 5.24
5. The Gift 6.24
6. Talking To The Sun 5.24
7. Sacred Ground 4.56
8. After The Rains 5.31
9. Emerald - Mayan Relic 7.00
10. The Gift (Single Version) 3.33
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