By Adrian Frater, Staff Reporter
Spear
WESTERN BUREAU:
THE HYPNOTIC musical power of reggae icon Burning Spear took roots rock reggae to another level on Saturday night at Reggae Sumfest 2002, as the cumulative effect of his compelling vocals and the stunning impact of real drums, horns and bass lifted mesmerised fans into sweet ecstasy.
It was authentic reggae at its very best from the moment Burning Spear's distinctive voice echoed over the rich delivery of the Burning Band, bringing the appreciative audience to rapt attention as he chanted, "Burning reggae... burning reggae" from somewhere backstage.
While the lyrics remained the same, the tempo changed when the greying veteran, sometimes dubbed the 'voice of reggae', emerged from the shadows and into the full glow of centrestage still chanting, "Burning reggae... burning reggae" to the cheers of the fans.
After briefly attacking a pair of Congo drums with his flaying fingers against a backdrop of instrumental music, the Burning Spear, clad rootsman-style in jeans pants, sneakers, a multi-cultured T-shirt with a portrait of Emperor Haile Selassie and his trademark leather hat, went into overdrive.
It was classical reggae in it's purest form as, inbetween taking small steps and bouncing around the stage, the legend marched into the consciousness of the fans with songs such as Call On You, Creation Rebel, The Youth and the long time crowd favourite, Rocking Time. As the perspiration on his face became more obvious, Burning Spear, who regularly tucked the cordless microphone into his back pocket and continued his wonderful union with the Congo drums, had the crowd roaring in delight as he scored well with the triple of Swell Headed, Marcus Garvey and Foggy Road.
For a moment the band looked like upstaging the vocals of the spear as lead guitarist Cecil Ordurez and drummer Michael Ramsay joined forces in an enterprising drum and bass style as the master skipped around to the pulsating beat of Foggy Road. However, Burning Spear made it a musical trinity when joined in first on the Congo drums, then with his vocals. The pace of the music turned frenetic when the Burning Spear's voice echoed, "Christopher Columbus... damn blasted liar" as he rolled majestically through the song Columbus. He set the mood at fever pitch as he proceeded to chant Jah Nuh Dead, Old Marcus Garvey and Slavery Days.
With the crowd deep into the music, Burning Spear, whose 75-minute set seemed to have rolled by far too fast for the fans, abruptly announced, "It was good to be here' and he 'skanked' backwards and off the stage.
After a brief lull, during which MC Cordell Green reminded the fans that they had just seen history being created by the Burning Spear when , the man from the home parish of reggae king Bob Marley and international hero Marcus Garvey was back at centrestage to give the encore the fans pleaded for.
In another alluring 15 minutes, it was all musical joy for the fans as the Burning Spear delivered, Man In The Hills, which was punctuated by long periods of heavy drumming and the final bidding farewell with Postman, which was also flavoured with heavy drum and bass.
In bidding farewell, the Burning Spear, who reminded the audience of his role as one of reggae's premier messengers, told them to, "Take care of yourself... walk good and cover yu back."
[See report of Junior Gong's performances at Sumfest in today's Star.]
