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Medicine Songs Image
Metascore
81

Universal acclaim - based on 7 Critic Reviews What's this?

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  • Summary: The latest release from the Canadian Cree singer-songwriter features two new songs with 11 rerecorded versions of her older songs.
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  • Record Label: True North Records
  • Genre(s): Folk, Pop/Rock, Contemporary Folk, Political Folk, Protest Songs
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 7
  2. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. 100
    The result, in tracks like “You Got To Run” and “No No Keshagesh”, is uniquely uplifting, a powerful affirmation of steely spirituality.
  2. Jan 18, 2018
    80
    While some older fans who haven't kept up with Buffy Sainte-Marie's work from 1992's Coincidence and Likely Stories onward might be surprised by the sound and spirit of Medicine Songs, this music leaves no doubt that she has no interest in aging gracefully; at 76, she's as fierce, aware, and committed as any artist a third her age, and these tunes speak to the madness of 2017 with a stunning clarity.
  3. Jan 18, 2018
    80
    Unlike her Polaris Prize-winning 2015 record Power in the Blood, there are no love songs; Medicine Songs is unflinching in its focus.
  4. The Wire
    Feb 23, 2018
    80
    Most songs are laid over a percussion track that despite the occasional presence of Max Kennedy Roach is mostly programmed and staccato. It’s not a classic, but the songs are as urgent and effective as ever and you’re recommended to complete the course. [Mar 2018, p.53]
  5. Uncut
    Jan 18, 2018
    70
    [She] breathes new life into past glories. [Mar 2018, p.32]
  6. Jan 18, 2018
    60
    Another artist might show signs of disappointment or uncertainty when faced with the notion that not much has changed in half a century, but on Medicine Songs, in the face of the unchanging nature of the oppression she’s expressed through her music, Buffy Sainte-Marie has chosen to be just as determined, unflinching and constant in her own art.
  7. 60
    Make no mistake, this is an angry record made by a protest singer whose rage hasn’t dimmed with age (she turns 77 this year), though there are shards of positive light sneaking through.
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