The “Listen Again” series went over well enough here in the Los Angeles area that your favorite rockin’ record reviewer decided to follow the lead of some L.A. TV execs and do a spin-off. In this series we once more examine previously-released albums BUT the platters we shall peruse in this particular series will be (Rolling Stone magazine) FIVE-STAR albums. In this edition we discuss Burning Spear’s Marcus Garvey on Island Records (owned by California’s Universal Music Group).
For my readers not into reggae, Mon, here’s a bit of an introduction. Burning Spear, born in 1945 as Winston Rodney, is a Jamaican roots reggae musician and singer best known for his Rastafari movement messages. Rodney was born in Saint Ann’s Bay, the same place as two of his major influences—reggae legend singer Bob Marley and political activist Marcus Garvey. Some sources say Marley helped Rodney with business connections and Garvey influenced Rodney’s personal political philosophy.
Originally, the name Burning Spear applied to Rodney's first act—a musical duet. It was named after Jomo Kenyatta. Kenyatta was the first Prime Minister and President of Kenya. The group included vocalist Rupert Willington in 1969.
The duo quickly became a trio with the addition of tenor singer Delroy Hinds. In 1975—after already recording some records--they began working with producer and sound system man Jack Ruby. The group then consisted of: Rodney as lead singer and Hines and Wellington on vocal harmonies. They were backed by a group of musicians known as The Black Disciples which featured: Bobby Ellis (trumpet), Vincent "Trommie" Gordon (trombone and clavinet), Carlton "Sam" Samuels (flute), Herman Marquis (alto saxophone), Richard "Dirty Harry" Hall (tenor saxophone), Tyrone "Organ D" Downie (piano, organ), Bernard "Touter" Harvey (piano, organ and clavinet), Earl "Chinna" Smith (lead guitar), Valentine "Tony" Chin (rhythm guitar), Leroy “Horsemouth” Wallace (drums) Robbie "Rabbi" Shakespeare, and Aston "Family Man" Barrett ( both on bass).
Their first single together, “Marcus Garvey”, was supposedly only going to be used with Ruby’s own Ocho Rios-based Hi-Power sound system. After some further discussion, however, it was decided that the track would be released as a new single and it would become the title track for their third album, Marcus Garvey. Released in 1975 on Island Records, this 10 track album contained almost 34 minutes of music largely co-written by Rodney.
By definition reggae is political music. Burning Spear is perhaps the most stridently political singing group in the genre. Naming both after the national hero from the 1920s who gave Rastafarianism its cultural impetus was no mere coincidence. The single was an instant hit upon release and soon followed by the second single, "Slavery Days".
There was no doubt that this was a great reggae record. The group had a great sense of groove and Rodney’s lead vocals were nothing short of sporadically brilliant. (In fact, four months later it would be followed by the release of all the instrumental tracks from the album’s recording sessions heightened for increased intensity and titled Garvey’s Ghost. In this genre this type of recording is called “dub”.)
The album itself was also critically-acclaimed. In fact, it was such a commercial success that the group was quickly able to cut a deal with their label to give the LP a wider release. Unfortunately for Rodney, Island remixed and even altered the speed of a few of the tunes. This bothered not only the artists but some of the fans as well. In fact, Rodney would look upon this as the major inspiration to later create his own label.
While they would never quite repeat the performances they captured on these recordings, their music would not be forgotten. In 1990 both Garvey works would be released together and be sold as a cassette, CD and even an MP3 download. This important reggae work would even live on into the new millennium.
In 2003 Marcus Garvey would be remastered and rereleased on CD. The next year (2004) would witness the original album and the double album both available as imports. More recently, Allmusic, like Rolling Stone all those years ago, would also give the disc a five star rating. Just last year (2010) the CD also became available as an import and less than a year ago the project was once again remastered and released by Universal's Hip-O Records along with the dub version on one CD. Burning Spear’s Marcus Garvey/Is. 9377 is not only a reggae masterpiece but is historically significant as well.
My name is Phoenix and . . . that’s the bottom line.
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