Buffy Sainte-Marie, out of the distant past

From 1992 published in The Welcomat: Peter reviews ‘Coincidence and Likely Stories’

By Peter Stone Brown

Out of the distant past is Buffy Sainte-Marie with her first new album in 17 years: Coincidence and Likely Stories (Ensign/Chrysalis).

Those who remember Sainte-Marie from the '60s will most likely be startled by her latest incarnation. Gone is the acoustic guitar, the mouth bow, the unique reinterpretations of traditional ballads and blues. The wavering vibratto that was her trademark is only occasionally apparent now and quite a bit smoothed over. But, Sainte-Marie had moved on long before the '60s were over, trying something new on each album with varying results.

The '90s Buffy Sainte-Marie writes and records her music on a Macintosh computer — the guitar augmented and usually replaced by a synthesizer. Sainte-Marie may not have been recording, but she's been listening. Her music has touches of all the soun…