Disco de BlackHawk: “Spirit Dancer”

True artists are driven by the need to express human nature. The best song is a reflection of the writer. This makes a song real, adds a dimension, allows all who listen a more personal identification with the music.

Love, loss, determination, spirituality, self-discovery, and starting over are just a few of the themes addressed by the songs on Spirit Dancer.

Standout tracks include "One Love," which opens with the lines "We are just children in his hands/Two in a million precious grains of sand/We sift through His fingers dancing on the wind/We find each other." Love, in its purest and most beautiful form. "Days of America" takes a Mellencamp-esque approach in saluting the American working people in triumph over adversity. "Brothers of the Southland" speaks for itself as a Southern Rocker's anthem to his brethren. Native American flute and chant haunt "Spirit Dancer," the song written for the late Van Stephenson. More than a tribute, the song addresses the questions and beliefs that affect anyone who has lost a loved one. Anyone who has flipped through an old yearbook or lost touch with an old friend will relate to the youthful innocence paired with adult realizations of "Gloryland." From the opening instrumental strains through deftly crafted lines like "Can you find beauty in the beast I've been/Is it too late for me to start again", "Forgiveness" stands out as a strikingly honest and direct piece of music.

The album is filled with the harmonies and instrumental arrangements that have become BlackHawk trademarks, but the band has outdone itself this time around. This album is quite possibly one of the finest CDs of the decade.

This CD is wonderful. I highly recommend "Spirit Dancer" to everyone out there who is a country music fan. This CD has a collection of songs that make you laugh, cry, want to get up and dance, and makes you reflect on lost loves and times gone by. I own all of Blackhawk's CD's but this may be my favorite. GREAT JOB!

This CD took a long time to get here, however it is worth the wait. The vocals are everything you expect from Blackhawk, their harmonizing is perfect and the instrumentation is equally as good. I strongly reccomend this CD.

This is a great CD. All the songs are catchy and well crafted, just what I would expect from Blackhawk.

I don't think anyone buying albums really misses Van Stephenson all that much, though that's the tone for this overall delightful album. Van, an integral part of Blackhawk for years, and talented songwriter was kinda like Ronnie Dunn from Brooks and Dunn. You appreciated that he was there, but you'd rather hear the lead singer sing everything (Henry Paul). That being said, this album will make you feel (in all sorts of ways) what the band was going through after the death of Van Stephenson. Songs like "Brothers of the Southland" and "Spirit Dancer" will surely make you think of that close loved one you've lost. But not really in a sad way. Blackhawk has a knack for making you feel the music and the words. You feel the pain, but are settled with it through their soothing melodies and lyrics. It takes about 2 times all the way through to really get it, but then, this CD won't leave your player for at least 3 months.

Not the most commercial, but probably the most brilliantly crafted album of Blackhawk's carreer. The instrumentation and harmonies are second to NONE. For people who hate TWANGY country, try this one out...Henry Paul leaves the harsh "twang" out of it, but keeps all the power.