The Original Burning Spear

Performer: Burning Spear
Producer: Jack Ruby
Distributor: (Independently by Label)

Notes: Burning Spear: Winston Rodney (vocals); Chinna Smith (guitar); Carlton Samuels (flute); Trommie Gordon, Dirty Harry Hall, Herman Marquis, Bobby Ellis (horns); Tyrone Downie, Touter Harvey (keyboards); Robbie Shakespeare, Family Man Barrett (bass); Horsemouth Wallace (drums). Engineers: George Philpotts, Errol Thompson. The 15-track compilation THE ORIGINAL collects much of the best work of Winston Rodney, better known as reggae pioneer Burning Spear. With a one-of-a-kind voice that combines the simple, R&B-inflected earthiness of Bob Marley with the keening melismas of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and a devoutly spiritual lyrical passion, Burning Spear is one of roots reggae's most compelling performers. Opening with the brilliant call to arms "Get Ready," THE ORIGINAL takes nearly half of its 15 tracks from the classic 1975 LP MARCUS GARVEY, gathering seven out of that album's 10 songs. The remaining eight tracks are more equitably spread out through Burning Spear's long and illustrious career. While the Island disc 100TH ANNIVERSARY, combining MARCUS GARVEY with its dub doppelganger GARVEY'S GHOST, is the definitive Burning Spear release, THE ORIGINAL is a fine introduction to this important performer.

Burning Spear (born Winston Rodney) was originally a protege of his neighbor Bob Marley, but even his earliest music exhibited his characteristically unique and intense style. His lyrical concerns--black culture and history, a hybrid form of Pan-Africanism, Garveyism and Rasta tenets, and (especially) universal love--have been consistently and powerfully expressed throughout his lengthy recording career. Perhaps most memorable is his 1975 breakthrough masterpiece, MARCUS GARVEY, where he emerged as one of the most distinctive and original talents in the history of reggae.

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