Lester 'Winner Man' Lewis was at his best.
Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
IT WAS scheduled to be on the evening train, but Marsha Daniels' debut album Thanks left the station via the red eye special on Ash Wednesday.
The hometown lady came on-stage to a rousing reception from the packed St. John's Methodist Church Hall on Humber Avenue in Montego Bay, St. James, close to midnight.
She was the last of several performers for the evening, the first of whom, the superb Flagstaff Methodist Church Choir, came on nearly two hours after the slated 6:00 p.m. start.
However, if the launch had got going on time, the album train would have left most of its passengers behind, since most of the seats were empty at the outset. By the time things really got going, it was a case of standing room at the back of the spacious venue - not that they seemed to mind, as they moved joyful bodies to the Lord.
Marsha Daniels put on a well-planned performance, building a story song by song, using the steel of her strong voice to anchor the structure and cementing it in place with her between song chatter. The glossy finish was the extreme pleasure which radiated from her face as she delivered her material.
"God has called us to this ministry, and we must rescue the perishing and care for the dying," Ms. Daniels said, opening up with an up-tempo rendition of Rescue The Perishing.
"You see when you rescue the perishing and are compassionate to the dying, Jesus will do the rest. Jesus has promised to be a bridge over troubled waters," she continued, going into the Simon and Garfunkel classic. Doing it reggae style, she dropped in an enthusiastic 'Puuuullll uuuup' which aroused the crowd.
"When God has delivered you from any circumstance, you have to hold on. This song is an original. I wrote it on my back step. I was washing and I was frustrated. I could hear God talking to me, saying that when all around you crumbles he still cares," she said.
On Hold On there was a switch of musicians on keyboards and, as a piano tinkled through the speakers, Ms. Daniels turned and smiled her appreciation at the musician.
"Now, when you hold on with him as the vessel, you can smile at the storm," she said, proceeding to do Smile At Your Storm, even as there was a change of bassist as well.
"When you smile at the storm you must give thanks. You have to give thanks when it rains and when it does not rain," Ms. Daniels said, doing the up-tempo Give Thanks.
The Gleaner left the St. John's Methodist church hall to the sights and sounds of Marsha Daniels rocking to Never Give Up a la Shaggy.
While the audience was appreciative of Marsha Daniels as she launched Thanks, their unbridled dancing was spent on some of the earlier performers. Chief among these was Lester Lewis, accompanied by his Singing Rose, who preceded the 'album girl'. An extended jam on a semi-autobiographical take-off of The Mighty Diamonds Pass De Kutchie, in which he sang 'Pass de Bible pon de lef an de right it haffi read', simply flattened the venue and all therein.
His Dominion band sounding as if they could ably back the heavenly host, Lewis also did the classic Winner Man, an impressive rendition of the slow, imposing In Your Presence and ended with a declaration that 'I will not die, but live and declare the works of the Lord'. Lewis led a standing audience in a series of 'Amens', leaping and giving praise as he left the stage.
Earlier still, Judith Edwards put on a powerhouse of a performance, her voice belying her small frame. Opening with a Nyabinghi style rhythm, Ms. Edwards' first low, soulful 'Hmmmm' caused ripples in the audience. When she sang 'I hear the voice of my Jesus say, Lucifer yu throne gone dung', the people moved. As she sang 'Fly away home' the hands went up like wings.
Asking the unsaved to hold up their hands, she said that she had come to give them Jesus, doing I Give You Jesus, at one point holding a note longer than it must have taken for the seven seals to be broken. After Going Up Yonder, Judith Edwards left the raised stage to come directly in front of the audience. 'I want to be close to my people', she said and, by their reaction as they stood and danced along with the up-tempo I Want To Tell The Story, they did not mind at all.
The move also gave her more room to dance and that she did, Ms. Edwards being in constant motion as she told the story with body and voice.
Terry Lewis' voice came from his toes and hit high heaven, as he started out with Jesus' Blood Governs Me. He did not dance, but stood still and poured his voice out, singing 'I've got Jesus and that's good enough for me'. Acting out Jesus lifting him up when people put him down, Lewis left the audience dancing in the aisles.
