Jah Kingdom

Performer: Burning Spear
Distributor: Fontana Distribution

Notes: Burning Spear: Winston Rodney (vocals, percussion); Lenford Richards (guitar, piano, keyboards); Linvall Jarrett (guitar); Mark Wilson (saxophone); James Smith (trumpet); Charles Dickey (trombone); Jay Noel (keyboards); Paul Beckford (bass); Nelson Miller (drums). Additional personnel: Dean Fraser (saxophone); Chico Chin (trumpet); Nambo Robinson (trombone); Robby Lyn (piano, synthesizer); Richard Johnson (piano). Recorded at Grove Studio, Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Burning Spear (a.k.a. Winston Rodney) spent most of the '80s bouncing between labels after establishing himself thanks to a string of legendary '70s albums released on Mango Records. The early '90s found Spear back with Mango and 1991's JAH KINGDOM was the last album he released on this Island Records offshoot before returning to indie label Heartbeat. Staying consistent to his long-standing devotion to spreading his faith, Spear filled KINGDOM with words of praise for both Jah and Rastafari ("Praise Him," "Call on Jah") as well as pride in his roots ("Land of My Birth"). Guest musicians include legendary Jamaican instrumentalist Dean Fraser, and the rest of the collective plays with a lighter touch than what was normally heard on Spear's previous albums. This approach enabled Spear to put more of a steel-drum flavored, Caribbean spin on "Come, Come" and also redo the Grateful Dead's "Estimated Prophet," originally done for a Dead tribute album.

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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