The Powwow Rock Orchestra - EVERYBODY POWWOW!

The Powwow Rock Orchestra

EVERYBODY POWWOW!
Spiderhawk Records; 2015

3.6 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

The Powwow Rock Orchestra is a super-group comprised of members from some of the most notable bands from the last twenty years. The group consists of Robert Hart (Bad Company), Bernie Marsden (Whitesnake), Jimmy Copley (Tears For Fears) and Simon Edwards (Talk Talk). It’s an impressive line up to say the least. It goes without saying that the production is also stellar. 

Their release entitled EVERYBODY POWWOW! is huge in every sense of the word. It’s a double album with a whopping twenty-one songs but it also contains an ample amount of instrumentation. Trumpets, French horns, keyboards, guitars and much more occupy the frequencies within the songs. The structure of the songs themselves sounds huge. A majority of the songs burst off the speakers and sometimes have religious and even patriotic overtones. 

If you can take down this entire album in one sitting, more power to you, but I had to take a break around halfway through. When the music is this grandiose you can start to feel exhausted. The album starts with “Everybody Powwow!” which more or less sounds like the title. The vocalist sings about all races coming together for a powwow. There is a bit of irony here in that traditional powwow’s are usually a gathering of Native Americans. Regardless, the song is a good opener.

Any song that opens with the word “Amerikaye” has my attention. “Dream Overture” is more or less a mood piece revolving around ambient elements and amazing reverb effects (it would have sounded good in a movie like Avatar), which eventually leads into the song “Amerikaye.” ”Amerikaye” (while I’m not exactly sure what that song means) still feels patriotic when the vocalist sings it. “Shine On” continues with a patriotic sentiment that also has spiritual overtones. The vocalist sings “statue of liberty set me free” and “may your light shine on me.”

These songs are just the beginning of the album. As it progresses they were a number of tunes you won’t want to miss. I should mention that this album is more reminiscent of music from the ‘70s and ‘80s. I’m guessing when you looked at the cast members you might have figured that out.

EVERYBODY POWWOW! is an experience even if you aren’t crazy about some of the songs. The amount of effort put in the album like this is undeniable. Recommended.

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