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VARIOUS ARTISTS
Reggae on the Rocks: Voodoo, Sacraments, Oddities and Other Holy Anthems (What Are Records? Ltd.)
Reviewed by Eric Steiner
Just when I thought I'd heard it all there was to hear in reggae, I discover Reggae on the Rocks, an annual reggae festival held every August at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado. Voodoo, Sacraments, Oddities and Other Holy Anthems features 53 minutes of live reggae and world music from last year's show, including Nigeria's Majek Fashek, ska vocalist Justin Hinds, and Haiti's Boukman Eksperyans. Fashek's "African Unity" is a political anthem buoyed by optimism and a refrain that recalls Peter Tosh and Mick Jagger's "Walk and Don't Look Back." "Teach the Youth" and "Carry Go Bring Come" are outstanding examples of ska by Justin Hinds and the Dominoes, but there's one thing that separates ska recorded in concert and ska laid down in the studio: a live audience. Justin seems to feed off the crowd's energy, just like the Long Beach Dub All Stars do in their opening cut. The set's closer, "Whirlwinds of Revolt" features space age dub and sound effects laid over speeches of Martin Luther King Jr., reminding us of the politically sensitive times in which he lived. Those times, though, aren't ancient history. One of this year's acts, Boukman Eksperyans, can't play in their native Haiti due to their "inflammatory" lyrics and are considered political outlaws in their own country. Reggae on the Rocks brings Boukman Eksperyans and other international artists to a wider audience through What Are? Records and this year's disc carries on a tradition began in the dancehalls and protest songs of Jamaica more than 30 years ago.
Track List:
Astro Dub/Long Beach Dub All Stars * Teach the Youth/Justin Hinds and the Dominoes * Tipa Tipa/Boukman Eksperyans * I And I Survive/Long Beach Dub All Stars featuring HR * Majek Beware/Majek Fashek * Let Jah Arise/Justin Hinds and the Dominoes * Mariaj A Zeke/Boukman Eksperyans * African Unity/Majek Fashek * Carry Go Bring Come/Justin Hinds & the Dominoes * Whirlwinds of Revolt/Heavyweight Dub Champion
© 1999 - Eric Steiner