Who was Exuma?
He was a spirit who came from a planet, now extinct, brought to us on a lightning bolt, who had communed with Charon, the ferryman of the River Styx and Vodun priests. When he informed the world of his travels and even warned of the armageddon, he left the Earth, perhaps tiring of the corporeal and moving to the ethereal. (Brian Philips, Exuma fan site)
Yeah, so this is what this and all other Exuma songs are about. He sings a sort of Bahamian jungle gospel, praising the greatness of himself, the lord.
The singing is astounding in its religious fervour and soulfulness, the arrangement is dense and playful, the back-up vocals are almost as insane as Exuma himself.
“When Exuma say the word, you gonna turn into a big black bird,” so watch out.
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Richie Havens - "Here Comes The Sun"
In trying to decide on a companion piece for Exuma, I first thought of Nina Simone. She covered a few Exuma songs (believe it or not), but I couldn’t find any of those covers. I did, however, listen to her cover of “Here Comes the Sun,” which caused me to think of Richie Havens’s cover of the same song. On a number of occasions during their respective careers, Exuma and Richie Havens shared a stage. It is also arguable that they shared a certain aesthetic.
Havens’s thumb-barred chords propel the band (pedal steel, bass and drums) forward. Atop the band, his voice floats with an ease and integrity that justifies his covering a Beatles song.