Change is happning

I am going to try something new. I am going to actually WRITE about the CD I review. You know- break it down song by song. I will toss in talk about the riddims, the players and the producers. Maybe I will even throw in a little bio about the performer. Maybe even cut and paste up some photographs to dress it professional. Hmm? What record is a good start for something new?

Something old! BLACK UHURU'S RED



MICHAEL ROSE on lead voice. He sort of has this AFRICAN/ARABIC tribal JAZZ thing happening.Nobody sounds like MICHAEL ROSE then or now. PUMA adds just the right extra touches. What I mean by that is- I would not call PUMA a traditional back-up singer. She just wails or moans out the words. Original founder "DUCKIE" SIMPSON fills in what empty spots are left. The two other original members; DON CARLOS and GARTH DENNIS split early on to find fame as a solo star (DON) and a stand in with WAILING SOULS (GARTH). Oh yeah, the band that powered this trio was vintage 80's SLY and ROBBIE.



SLY beat the skins and syndrums while ROBBIE filled the bottom in with four strings. Lots of thick fat fingered steppers riffs. Individually or twinned together, it is believed they played on some outrageous number like 300,000 classic sessions. They are the RIDDIM called REGGAE!



This stunner was released on Island Records using their big company muscle to smash through to the international market. Mr. Marley made sure Reggae was no longer just a Jamaican secret. Reggae belonged to the world. England's disenchanted youth were hooked on this Soul Rebel music and needed more to fuel their fight. SLY and ROBBIE had their ears tuned to the post punk and new wave that was all the rage then. They took their own sound and that English sound and come up with something completely different!

Song break down:

1.) Youth of Eglington- The album Red jump starts with SLY and ROBBIE knocking on your frontal lobes. So open your mind because BLACK UHURU is coming in. This group is always welcome in my subconscious! Truth is I catch myself humming that bass walk all the time.

2.) Sponji Reggae- BLACK UHURU began life as old fashioned roots rockers but with SLY and ROBBIE sitting behind the control desk as producers, they took the group's sound for a tour of exotic places. Most of them you can not find on a map because these places only exist in SLY and ROBBIES herb superb induced imagination.

3.) Sistren- ROBBIE slapping and popping bass notes like he's jammin' in some funked out fusion band! ROBBIE does not just explore possible music, he goes deep into what the bass guitar is capable doing. Of course, SLY is pounding out some syndrum beats like he is a Nyahbinghi warrior from the future. This gives the trio a riddim to ride their magic on.

4.) Journey- When MR. ROSE chose to part ways with the band, his shoes were filled with the young JUNIOR REID'S feet. I would never call JUNIOR a carbon copy but his vocal stlye definetly overlapped MICHAEL'S. Interesting thing is YAMI BOLO sorta has both a MICHAEL ROSE and a JUNIOR REID thing going on! But more about the song....

5.) Utterance-

6.) Puff She Puff-

7.) Rockstone-

8.) Carbine-

9.) Sponji Reggae-

10.) Trodding-

I have a sneaky suspicion that when I am done breaking RED down song by song, I still will not have told you shit about it, other than this record would be packed in my luggage if I were to crash on a deserted isle. Yeah, why pack communcation devices when you can bring your top dozen favorites CDs!