Mr. Bucher (Cherokee/French) has a beautiful Baritone voice and accompanies himself with his acoustic guitar and "Seven"; his newly released CD has several guest appearances by competent side people that know what they are doing. The overall sound is something that lives in the space between folk and country with a Native American flavor. He is very strong musically and I particularly enjoy the mix of various instruments; percussion, bass, guitars and the voices are mixed well and there is a nice balance. The sound is spare from many standpoints. There aren’t a lot of synthetic sounds.
The song "Don’t Forget About Me" deals with the desecration of sacred burial sites. Right away you’ll notice Mr. Bucher’s strong Baritone singing voice. There’s some interesting guitar work in the intro to the first track. In this song, he tells us “if they have no honor, they have no shame.” This particular track is receiving a lot of airplay on several Native American radio stations.
His second track, Cherokee Rose is an actual flower that grows along the Trail Of Tears. In the spring of 1838 Andrew Jackson had the Cherokee of Georgia rounded up, the agency provided them with spoiled rotting food that made them sick and held them in stockades or concentration camps. They prayed for a sign that their journey would never be forgotten and the flower that’s called the Cherokee Rose began blooming along the trail.
In track three he says “and so for our children’s sake, we do what we must, we do what we must.” This is a profoundly insightful lyric because not only do we do what we must for our children’s sake on a deeper level it’s a call to a collective survival. It’s called a Diaspora.
I, at first, was not completely taken with the song “The Awakening” but, I had the opportunity to speak with Michael over the phone and he told me that this song was written for a grandmother that died on the Trail of Tears. But then he began to realize that he had indeed learned much from all his grandmothers. He had to put what he’d learned into that context and he feels blessed to have learned from them. It is important to Michael how they influenced his journey home, to the center, back to balance.
I also spoke to Mr. Bucher about the Eagle Song and the nice guitar intro to flute leads into a song that describes an epiphany surrounding the acquisition of an eagle feather. He utilizes his traditional instruments sparingly, which in the contemporary musical idiom is the only appropriate way to do it. In his encounter with the eagle, the narrator claims the eagle didn’t want to know his blood quantum. This single event had changed Michael forever.
In the title track "Seven", the lyrics go “enjoy the journey you’re on.” This is an Ode to several traditional Indian concepts. Including the seven generations prophecy. But it’s sung so seriously that I’m wondering about the actual basis for the sentiment but just generally speaking it’s a really wonderful sentiment for a song. It might be the grief that exists surrounding the philosophy that makes it seem tragic rather than pathetic and lighter. I can identify with the sentiment that this journey through life including our grief and suffering can be enjoyed and life is the gift that the creator gives freely and the suffering is there so we can rise above it and become worthy of that life.
The final track of this beautifully spare CD starts with an acoustic finger style guitar intro. It is very evident that Michael can sing. This is a beautiful sentiment written in a strong lyrical style. The narrator of the story is intent on letting people know that there is something larger than us that binds us together and that tie that binds includes our collective suffering.
As a published author with several books of poetry to my name, I am particularly impressed with Michael’s facility with a lyric. He has several very strong performances in that regard. In particular, “Don’t Forget About Me” and the somewhat spiritually cryptic sonnet titled “You’re Not Alone”.
It’s easy enough to hear the country influence in his music, the result of tastes in music like; Buddy Red Bow, Neil Young, Johnny Cash, Buffy Ste. Marie and Bill Miller.
I always appreciate it when an artist lets me in on the lyrical content of the work. It’s such an important piece of the puzzle and I know enough to expect that if someone bills themselves as a Story Teller they damn well better understand that I listen to lyrics. If a person is a Troubadour the essential part of the music is then the lyrics and Mr. Bucher doesn’t disappoint. He can deliver a lyrical story with a message much to our satisfaction.
There are a lot of Troubadours out there that need to get with Michael Bucher and learn the tricks of the storyteller’s trade. Michael Bucher’s CD Seven lives up to our expectations of a brilliant and talented storyteller. This is one CD that will show you your way when you get lost and we all know that sometimes the trail is covered with snow.
