Robbie Robertson tried to fuse Native American and rock sounds a year or two ago, but like most appeasement, it turned out to be neither fish nor fowl, merely a disappointment. Jerry Alfred is a Tutchone, from the Yukon. And, by God, he"s made a cracking album. The fusion of native and nonnative is what Robertson"s should have been, voice and drum to the front, the rest adding color and ambiance, never hurried. This is a different world slowly showing itself. Songs like "Taan Mun," with its water sounds, wouldn"t be out of place in a chill-out room. About the only time this doesn"t work is when it gets folksy and loses a touch of its mystery. Still, these places are few and far between. If you don"t believe there"s still magic in the world, listen to this record and learn the truth. --Chris Nickson