''Exuma'' is the self-titled debut studio album by Bahamian folk musician

Exuma Exuma is a district of The Bahamas, consisting of over 365 islands, also called cays. The largest of the cays is Great Exuma, which is 37 mi (60 km) in length and joined to another island, Little Exuma, by a small bridge. The capital ...

. It was originally released in May 1970 on the Mercury label.

Background

In the early 1960s, Exuma (born Macfarlane Gregory Anthony Mackey) had moved to

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

, New York and started playing

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

and singing in the cultivating

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers s ...

scene developing in that area. After producer Bob Wyld came up to him offering a record deal, he chose to adopt "Exuma, the Obeah Man" as his name. The pseudonym draws from memories of

Junkanoo Junkanoo is a street parade with music, dance, and costumes with origin in many islands across the English speaking Caribbean every Boxing Day (26 December) and New Year's Day (1 January). These cultural parades are predominantly showcased in t ...

festivals from his childhood.

Production

Wyld adopted the pseudonym "Daddy Ya Ya" and recruited a few musicians for the album, including Peppy Castro of the Blues Magoos (who was credited under the pseudonym "Spy Boy Thielheim"). During recording sessions, Exuma would often turn off the lights and set up candles, recalling songs from his dreams. The album cover was painted by Exuma himself.

Release and reception

The album received positive reviews and moderate airplay at the time of its release. The opening track on the album, "Exuma, the Obeah Man", was released as a single. In a retrospective review, Richie Unterberger of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

wrote, "Exuma's debut album was a real odd piece of work...it's kind of like a combination of the Bahamian folk of Joseph Spence with early

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from ...

at his most voodooed-out...It's a little surprising that this stuff hasn't undergone a sizable cult revival."

In popular culture

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blu ...

recorded a cover of "Dambala" on her 1974 record, ''It Is Finished''. "Exuma, the Obeah Man" was featured (playing from vinyl, with the album cover visible) in the 2022 film '' Nope'', with the song being featured on the film's soundtrack.

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from LP liner notes: *

– lead vocals, guitar, bells, foot drum *Daddy Ya Ya – producer, vocals, bells, foot drum, "sacred sand" *Spy Boy Thielheim – backing vocals, triangle,

cabasa The cabasa, similar to the shekere, is a percussion instrument that is constructed with loops of steel ball chain wrapped around a wooden cylinder. The cylinder is fixed to a long, wooden or plastic handle. The metal cabasa was created by Mart ...

, whistle, bells *Lord Wellington – congas *Frankie Gearing – backing vocals *Geraldine McBride – backing vocals *Mildred Vaney – backing vocals *Princess Diana – backing vocals *Sally O'Brien – backing vocals

References

External links

{{Authority control 1970 debut albums Folk albums Exuma (musician) albums Mercury Records albums