Miracles

by Joe ViglioneThe album cover of Miracles is a striking gold on blue with imagery of modern technology meeting the old world. VU meters adorn steps next to a mini sphinx with boats and electric/acoustic guitars in the water. The first song on this disc should've been a hit; "Remember" begins with a hard rock explosion and Sumac exploring what the liner notes call her "extraordinary five-octave voice." There are no lyrics here, just Sumac's vocal flights which ride over rock & roll textures. Although the rock here sounds like it is straight out of the Berklee College of Music, jazz influenced organ courtesy of Richard Person, Chuck Cowan's guitar, the bass of Roger Cowan, and Skippy Switzer's drums all shine here. On "Let Me Hear You," Sumac reaches down into her gut and comes up with a sound Peter Frampton utilized on his 1976 hit "Show Me the Way," the amazing thing is, she didn't have to use the mouth instrument employed by Frampton! "Tree of Life has keyboards licks from a Monkees album track ("(Look Out) Here Comes Tomorrow"), while "Azure Sands" on side two emulates "Music to Watch Girls By," the Bob Crewe hit from 1967, with an on-key Yoko Ono, that being Sumac. The similarity to Ono is worth noting. Where she is all over the map, Sumac is controlled, passionate. Ten tracks is a bit much of vocal exercises, chirps, and incessant styling, but the music on this album with bandleader Les Baxter has merit.