Album Review: Yothu Yindi - Healing Stone: The Best Of

It's difficult to envision a musical landscape here in our great southern land without the storytelling force of Yothu Yindi, the brothers and sisters of both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal heritage who performed on a global stage under the steadfast and enigmatic leadership of singer, songwriter and guitarist Mandawuy Yunupingu. They crossed the cultural divide of the tumultuous social and political landscape of the late-1980s by creating a sound that was both unique and at once accessible to Australian and overseas audiences, and Healing Stone celebrates over two decades and six albums of Yothu Yindi and their contribution to the ongoing process of healing the rift in our modern social and political outlooks.

This best of is a succinct summation of the group's output since 1986, yet it covers a requisite number of tracks that facilitated talking points surrounding their powerful message. As the first songs to gain extensive airplay largely using Aboriginal language, Treaty, Djäpana and Tribal Voice appear first as the three most commercially successful singles, released at a time when Bob Hawke still ruled the roost. Yunupingu's spirit-evoking chant on the former is still as enthralling now as it was more than 20 years ago. The years onward are spaced apart with Timeless Land, One Blood, World Turning and Yolngu Boy aptly representing the band's evolving knack for blending western rock with ancient north-east Arnhem Land song cycles and combining them with traditional instruments and dance performances.

In garnering eight ARIA Awards and touring the world alongside the likes of Midnight Oil, Tracy Chapman, Neil Young and Santana, this retrospective collection perfectly highlights Yothu Yindi's legacy, with the hope it will continue to reap positive change.