Burning Spear: Marcus Garvey

Burning Spear: Marcus Garvey

1975

Total Sounds Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Marcus Garvey  2. Slavery Days  3. The Invasion  4. Live Good  5. Give Me  6. Old Marcus Garvey 7. Tradition  8. Jordan River  9. Red, Gold & Green


This album always seems to be a fixture on everybody's list of "greatest reggae albums of all time" but I had never really gotten around to hearing the whole thing. Just a few listens to the title track on ye olde Limewire and youtube (is that the RIAA I hear knocking?)...

Given the amount of Jamaican music I consume, its absence from my record shelf seemed somewhat odd...Anyway, I rectified that oversight about a year ago when I found a used copy...To be honest, even if I was utterly unaware of its reputation, I probably would have been so enticed by the shiny silver cover and stately drawing of Marcus Garvey that I would have bought it anyway...That pic of Garvey is incredible...It looks like it should be on a dollar bill or something...

 

And man, are people right...This is an excellent album...Deep, deep roots reggae...Thick, spare and hazy with heavy political lyrics...Although the thickness, spareness, and haziness may vary based on the version you buy...The common Island records version was remixed and cleaned up...I don't have that particular version, but I have listened to it online and it is indeed clearer and punchier, which may enhance or detract from your enjoyment based on your tolerance for murkiness...See, I love the stormy feel of the original mix so I'm glad I have the version I have (minus the mis-drilled hole which is basically a given when you purchase Jamaican vinyl)...

 Singer Winston Rodney (who I believe was originally just a member of the band Burning Spear but eventually started referring to himself as Burning Spear) kinda reminds me of a chantier version of  Culture's Joseph Hill (although I should point out that Burning Spear predates Culture)...Often finding that sweet middle ground between singing and toasting...

 The best tracks are any one that has "Marcus Garvey" in the title (by my count, Burning Spear has written around a dozen songs about Mr. Garvey)...The title track (just plain ol' "Marcus Garvey") is one of the defining moments in reggae history...Did roots ever sound deeper? Did a reggae performance ever sound more righteous?  Although "Slavery Days" is just as potent...The lyrics are incredibly brutal and to the point:

"Do you remember the days of slavery?

And how they beat us,
And how they worked us so hard,
And they used us,
'Til they refuse us..."

So yea, if you're drawn to reggae for the good vibes and "one love" mentality this album might be a hard pill to swallow at times...But y'know what? People should swallow some hard pills every once in awhile...And without a glass of water to wash it down...

 Just a big, dry pill...Swallow it, baby!

So yea, total classic...I'll throw it in the top-whatever reggae albums of all-time...Nary a Friday Night has gone by where I haven't spun at least one track from this album, so that's got to count for something...

Here's "Marcus Garvey" by Burning Spear (Island mix...I can't find the Jamaican mix on youtube and I don't feel like converting the vinyl...I have things to do...TV to watch...)...Enjoy...