Naturally 7 Live at Montreux 2007 DVD Review by Gary Hill How you feel about this DVD will probably be influenced most by your interest in acapella sounds. I've always loved music where voices create sounds that emulate instrumentation. I remember the first time I heard Bobby McFerrin I was blown away. The thing is, the full orchestrations that he did using his voice for various instrumentation were brilliant, but probably relegate to the studio. It's hard to have your voice do four or five things at a time live. Naturally 7 have solved this problem by adding more people to the mix. Imagine if you will an orchestra of McFerrin's producing music that is rooted both in the past but also in the present with a bit of an urban bent. You will have a pretty good vision of the sound of Naturally 7. These guys put in a great performance for the Montreux audience and thankfully it was captured on video for us to enjoy over and over again. This is great DVD. It might not be an obvious choice for those unfamiliar with this powerhouse outfit, but well worth the effort of trying something new. I'd highly recommend this to just about anyone.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2008 Volume 2 at lulu.com/strangesound.
