Unbearable Love

Amazon.com
Reprising the trio harmony of Walela's debut, vocalist Rita Coolidge is joined by both her sister Pricilla and her niece, Laura Satterfield. The group leans further into their easy blend of Native gospel pop, venturing into a deep country soul a capella in places, most successfully on the first cut, "Gathering of Eagles." "I Have No Indian Name" employs some nice fiddling, and elsewhere banjo, pump organ, and piano serve to accent primitive percussion. The Robbie Robertson Native-rock influence is heard on several of the moodier arrangements, such as "I Know I Don't Walk on Water" and the "When It Comes." Strongest of all, "Cherokee Rose" is a powerful anthem and sister to the title cut on Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt's Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions. "When Love Was All We Knew" is over the top and a little too much like a Coca-Cola commercial, and the overall listening experience would benefit from more warmth and grit in the production. --Paige La Grone

Tracks:

Gathering of Eagles
The Sequence
Cherokee Rose
I Know I Don't Walk on Water
Smoke in the Wind
Bright Morning Star
I Have No Indian Name
Tell Them They Lie
When It Comes
When Love Was All We Knew
God Save Us from Ourselves
Unbearable Love

Amazon.com

Reprising the trio harmony of Walela's debut, vocalist Rita Coolidge is joined by both her sister Pricilla and her niece, Laura Satterfield. The group leans further into their easy blend of Native gospel pop, venturing into a deep country soul a capella in places, most successfully on the first cut, "Gathering of Eagles." "I Have No Indian Name" employs some nice fiddling, and elsewhere banjo, pump organ, and piano serve to accent primitive percussion. The Robbie Robertson Native-rock influence is heard on several of the moodier arrangements, such as "I Know I Don't Walk on Water" and the "When It Comes." Strongest of all, "Cherokee Rose" is a powerful anthem and sister to the title cut on Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt's Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions. "When Love Was All We Knew" is over the top and a little too much like a Coca-Cola commercial, and the overall listening experience would benefit from more warmth and grit in the production. --Paige La Grone

Customer Reviews:

Unbearable songs..........2006-06-27

These ladies have some great vocals, but the Native American aspect here is overhyped. If you're looking for music by Native women that has a lot more power and originality, check out the trio, Ulali...the group whom Walela has tried to copy. This CD is not the same quality as thier first, and is more gospel and country rather than New Age Native American.

Strictly New Age Christian.......2006-02-27

This is beautiful New Age, Christian music sung by women who are exploiting their Cherokee ancestry. This is nice music if you're a New Ager, a Christian, or a Christian Cherokee. But if you are a Cherokee who holds the traditional Cherokee beliefs dear, you might find this music downright insulting.

Disappointed.......2004-11-17

I purchased this CD thinking it was a follow up to the first. Wrong. I love love love the first CD. I've been listening to it daily for over a month now and have turned others on to it as well. However, this CD just does not have the Native American flavor I was looking for. There's no magic. I am still listening to it, but the spiritual high I get from the first CD is definitely not present on one. All in all Rita Coolidge is still one of my favorite vocalists.

Totally disappointing..........2004-01-18

That's the best way I can describe this album. After buying and falling in love with Walela's debut album, Walela, I was eagerly looking forward to this one. But, sadly, it's like comparing apples and oranges. The songs on this album are unremarkable and seem to my ears to be thrown together. Their first album was incredible and I listen to it daily. I don't see how they could go from amazing to pitiful from one to the next. Listening to this one just doesn't bring forth the same emotion as the first. It's just like listening to any old other country song...there's nothing spiritual about it. And the beautiful harmonies that they displayed in the first are nowhere to be heard. The songs are choppy and vary so much from line to line that it doesn't even seem like the same song sometimes. Very little sound from their Cherokee roots and turns into a total copout. My advice...pass it up. Save your money for something else...I wish I had.

Sweet sounds........2003-07-14

Christian/Native/New Age?? Labels don't work for this CD. It is sweet stuff for the soul. Perfect for a Sunday afternoon when you only want to sit on the porch and swing gently...I will play this again and again.