feel: A Review of Sam Turton's primal CD

On Wednesday, December 10th, Sam officially released his CD—feel—in a great concert at the Bookshelf, in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

The turnout at the club was excellent (over 120 people!), and the audience was attentive. Sam and his band, including his partner Jane and his son Jesse, kept hearts and souls full of touching, fun, heart-wrenching, inspiring, and catalyzing lyrics and melodies.

Sam’s music, from his bio, is a “unique distillation of all the styles and artists he has been influenced by—Delta and Chicago blues, traditional folk, New Orleans soul, classic R&B, Motown, and The Beatles.” From a primal perspective, each piece is a unique journey. Masterfully woven together, they reflect various facets of a primal way of life, fully feeling, engaged, and genuine, and they map various paths towards freedom and health.

Sam’s background in primal as well as his orientation towards zen and conscious living manifest right from the beginning in More Than Anything and You’re My Friend. In these songs he shares his experience of being present, embracing his feelings, and honoring connected relationships. In Nobody Sees Her and Without Love, he does not shy away from the painful, and conveys the depth of his understanding of suffering. Here he illustrates the impact of neglect and loveless upbringing and the damaging patterns people adopt in a frantic effort to get what they most need(ed).

His work goes beyond the personal. In More to Life, he speaks of our current schooling system, its function in society and its impact on young people’s spirit. In Somebody, he
presents his insights about the roots of our modern day plights, linking early trauma to the horrific reality of the slaughter of early tribes, invasions, colonization, religious wars, the growing investment in security and the rise of corporate ruling. And Empires Fall, another window into history, or perhaps a Taoist insight, just speaks for itself. The commentaries posted on his website unpack his messages and are a worthwhile read.

Throughout the CD, Sam articulates the antidote primallers know well. In Feel, he encourages people to be in touch with all their experiences and to express themselves through moving, crying, yelling, laughing, and singing. In My Children and Little Tayler, a tribute to his children and his first grandchild, he shares what one can learn from the younger ones. In Love of Freedom he highlights that while one’s true nature might be veiled or seemingly out of reach, it is never completely lost and can be reclaimed. And in I Am My Wilderness, the IPA conventioneers’ favorite, he acknowledges that while it is not an easy path, when we merge with and become our feelings, we find our treasure . . . ourselves.

Before 8 to 4 schooling and our reliance on written media, important knowledge was passed from generations to generations and between groups through the spoken word, music, and rhythms. This way, knowledge was kept alive, and transformed, and at times healed those who received it. This was
virtually lost with colonization, industrialization and the rise of corporate capitalism. Sam’s CD is timely and ties into that tradition. His work goes beyond the evocative. It is both primal theory—made palatable for a wide audience—and great music. It may invite some to start or deepen their feeling work. People engaged in primal will recognize or resonate with the various “feeling realms” presented, and it may inspire veterans to continue sharing their knowledge of the primal process with others.

Sam is living his bliss, à la Joseph Campbell, and clearing his own path. In doing so, he is making a priceless contribution to the field. The lyrics and commentaries for each piece, as well as information about live gigs and how to order his CD, are available on Sam’s website: <www.samturton.com>.

Primallers Respond:
I consider myself one of Sam's number one fans—have been since I first met him several years ago. I think his talent, depth of feeling and intuition all contributed to this beautiful, emotional CD. I love singing with him and always look forward to our cabaret performances.

I feel that all of us have been there in the conception, pregnancy and birth of his “baby”—the CD—and I feel privileged to have been a part of his process. My absolute favorite tune on the CD is Nobody Sees Her.The song blows me away every time I play it (which may be several times a day!) I don't know any other performer who has incorporated—so purely—his primal process with his music as Sam has.

Shelly Beach
Manhattan, New York, USA

I especially liked the first song, More than Anything, although so many were so very validating because the lyrics are in the first person! And, I did take the CD to my swing dance (weekly) and played it, and danced west-coast swing to that first song!!—because it sounds like rhythm and blues. Very cool! and warm all at once. :)

Dianea Kohl
Ithaca, New York, USA

The album Feel made me: cry with Nobody Sees Her, smile with Little Tayler, Feel, and More to Life. It made me happy about my true, recently discovered freedom with I Am My Wilderness, and made me bitter about the ills of the world with Empires Fall and Somebody. In other words, the album made me . . . FEEL! Many thanks to Sam, Jane, Jesse and other members of the group for making these easy listening, very real songs!

Maja Zilih
Athens, Greece

While the songs sometimes bring me to tears, Sam’s CD Feel makes me smile—in recognition of a common path, in resonance with the feelings, in joy for finding songs that express what I would have but didn't know how, and in appreciation for the life force so beautifully captured and generously shared with the world.

Terry Larimore
Larkspur, California, USA

This article appeared in the March 2004 IPA Newsletter.