h33t - Burning Spear - Marcus Garvey [rockbox]

Quote:

For more than 35 years, Burning Spear's music-thus, his life-has inspired people on numerous continents. Since the beginning, his songs have implored listeners to fight oppression in all its forms, to work at improving their own condition and to consider the social impact of their actions.

Our Music builds upon the Jamaican native's legacy of musical activism. With its inimitable dancing groove, the album percolates and bubbles rhythmically in its call for unity between races, between nations, between individuals and even between business associates.

Our Music is the second album released on his Burning Spear label, following 2003's Grammy-nominated Freeman. In the midst of its expected messages about love, oppression and African history is the title track, a public confirmation that his brand of positivity is tempered with a strong sense of self. "Our Music" is Burning Spear's reclamation of his own artistry-a justification for establishing his record company and a challenge to all artists to commandeer their own future.

"A lot of artists just have no time to really look within the business section of the music business," Burning Spear reasons. "There's no one to really sit them down and give them some of that business understanding before they get into what they get into. So then people walk all over these artists and do things where it's not appropriate and it's not right. It's not in the artist's love."

Even more central to Burning Spears' mission - and it truly is a mission - was the doctrine of Marcus Garvey, a 20th century figure who pushed for a stronger black race through self-reliance. The Jamaican-born Garvey supported freedom and economic strength for all people, but made the African-originated population his focus and published his views in a New York-based newspaper, Negro World. Garvey was jailed in the 1920s and eventually exiled to Jamaica, though he never lashed out at the system that brought him down. His message survived, influencing the likes of Kenyatta, Martin Luther King Jr., Marley and Burning Spear, which titled some of its seminal albums Marcus Garvey and Marcus' Children.

"Those men wasn't preachin' any violence," Burning Spear says. "They were preachin' about Oneness and the struggles of black people about where they can live and having their voices heard. I don't see anything wrong with his plan and his direction. I think he opened a lot of eyes and opened a lot of mouths so those people could really talk and their voices could be heard. I think the time is right now to clear his name up and set his record free."

Burning Spear's mission remains rather unchanged today, though the act and the music have undergone some alterations. The duo grew into a trio, but has long since morphed into Burning Spear, a solo artist. And while his music has always been a vehicle for social change, his songs are now increasingly melodic, developed with catchy hooks that use short phrases and point more subtly to internal truths for those willing to go through self-exploration.

Burning Spear Website

Burning Spear @ Myspace

Review

Quote:

One of the must owns in reggae. Along with anything by Marley or Tosh, Burning Spear is essential reggae. Although this is not Burning Spear's first album (he released two albums on the Studio One Label before this) it is the one that busted through the Jamaican market and went international. It is his best album.

At this time Winston Rodney was with a band called the Black Disciples. Including names like Robbie Shakespeare, one of the best bass players in the genre, and Ashton Barrett, another bass player whose work with Marley is the best in the business, the Black Disciples added the sound that Rodney needed.

Rodney also had two backing vocalists, Rupert Wellington and Delroy Hines who compliment Rodney's vocals perfectly. Jack Ruby (aka Laurence Lindo) produced and made his name from this and later Burning Spear albums.

When "Marcus Garvey" and "Slavery Days" hit the domestic Jamaican market it made Burning Spear a star. The album, released after, hit a chord with Jamaicans. Having Marcus Garvey as its main theme, the man who started the UNIA (Universal Negro Improvement Association) and became one of the most well known black leaders in world history, was a boon. The roots nature of the music and its theme of oppression and redemption made this album a huge success and primed Burning Spear with what would become an international reggae success story.

But, when Marcus Garvey was released by Island internationally, starting in the UK; they remixed it to make it easier to digest by white audiences. It worked, the album became legendary, but it pissed so many people off, including Rodney himself, that Island released a dubbed version of the album (Garvey's Ghost) to mollify everyone. It didn't work as much as they liked. Rodney came to realize that he was never going to have control over his own music until he took over more of his output. He began Spear records in reaction.

As to the original form of the album that was released domestically in Jamaica, it was never released internationally. So if you have listened to this album it is probably the remixed version. When Marcus Garvy/Garvey's Ghost was released in 1990 it included the two mixed/dubbed version of the album.

Even in its remixed form, or because of it, Marcus Garvey became a reggae classic. It is also one of the greats in music history; a must listen and a needed addition to any music library.

Scott D. Brown

Review for Marcus Garvey

Category:

Music

Size:

66.04 MB

Files:

20 files

Added:

06/02/2009

Uploader:

RockBox

Downloaded:

736 times

Info Hash:

81979082f05368df5391a72f6579185a35c63a00

Peers:

Tracker	Seeds	Leechers	Complete	Last update
http://psychocydd.co.uk:2710/announce	4	1	736	10/02/2010 15:54:10

No comments...