Burning Spear
Creation Rebel
Heartbeat/Rounder
Winston Rodney, aka Burning Spear, is by most accounts the man who put the “roots” into “roots reggae.” By some accounts, he’s the man that put the reggae in there too.
The great majority of Creation Rebel was recorded in 1969 and 1970. Rodney (Mr. Spear?) had a love of good Jamaican pop music and melody, but began experimenting with an earthier sound that deepened that music’s ska-style syncopation. Occasional keyboard flourishes or percussion rat-a-tats would ring out as rejoinders to the vocals, which took a decidedly more political bent (see Marcus Garvey) as social discontent in Jamaica was on the rise.
These are among Rodney’s very first efforts at this style of music, but the groundwork for the rise of 70s-vintage reggae is immediately evident. The ominous “Door Peeper” — also known as “Chant Down Babylon” elsewhere — starts things off with a bang. Though barely three minutes long, the song’s loping melody and chanted chorus give the song an almost epic sweep, a little trick Bob Marley would pick up on about a year later on African Herbsman. “Door Peeper” is followed by four songs never before released on CD: “This Race,” “This Population,” “Bad to Worst,” and “New Civilization.” Also included are seminal tracks like “Get Ready,” “Free,” and the title track. All are well worth hearing for anyone with anything more than a passing interest in reggae and Jamaican history.
Shit, add rock history in there too. With or without the sacred herb, it doesn’t take a whole lot of imagination to see Burning Spear sprouting branches that would grow to include people like The Clash, The Specials, The Only Reggae Artist Ever Played on American Radio, and loads of others too numerous to mention. While America “tuned out” around 1969, Jamaica seems to have dug in, rediscovered its roots, and reached once again for the Most High. And it’s that combination — a focus on spiritual unity, righteous anger, and knowledge of myth (both the symbolic kind and that which spews out the side of a politician’s mouth) — that makes this record, and this music, so timeless. Long may he burn.
Rating: 
1/2
Track to Burn: “Door Peeper”
–Timothy C. Davis
Josh Hodges
Sexton Blake
Expunged
Maybe the first thing you need to know about Josh Hodges’ debut is that his lawyer started his own label in order to get Sexton Blake (named after a fictional Victorian-era detective) out to as many listeners as possible.
But because the 24-year-old home recording artist/multi-instrumentalist hails from Portland, OR, and uses song titles like “Want to Die,” “Better Off Dead” and “Doesn’t Matter,” many critics are succumbing to Elliot Smith analogies, which is a real stretch. Hodges’ songs are primarily keyboard-driven, unlike Smith’s mostly acoustic-guitar dominated work. In addition, the record’s overall sound is far more upbeat (okay, minor-chord upbeat) than Smith’s brooding works.
More apt comparisons would be Mutations-era Beck, or, on pulsating cuts like “Emma” and “Know the Way,” Pinback without all the guitars.
What Hodges does share with Smith is a strong sense of melody and an obvious talent for songwriting. Hodges also shows a healthy sense of restraint, adding accents and flourishes when the songs call for them, rather than just because he can, as is too often the case with many home-recordings.
There’s plenty enough talent here to hail this record as a strong debut and Hodges as an artist to watch, especially if Sexton Blake, rather than Elliot Smith, is the yardstick.
Rating:
Track to Burn: “Emma”
–John Schacht
Neko Case
The Tigers Have Spoken
Anti
Live records usually represent artistic holding patterns, “greatest hits played faster” as Camper Van Beethoven once put it.
But Neko Case’s live release bucks the trend — only two of the songs have appeared on her records, one of them (“Favorite”) on a hard-to-find EP, Canadian Amp. More importantly, those songs, as well as the five covers and four never-before-recorded originals, sound as fresh as any studio release while managing to capture one of roots rock’s most exciting performers. Case’s powerful voice plays a huge role, naturally, but equally important are the covers she’s chosen and the band surrounding her. Among the gathered are pedal steel guru Jon Rauhouse, Jim & Jennie and the Pinetops, and frequent recording mates Kelly Hogan and Carolyn Mark. But it’s the Sadies, who’ve served as Case’s backing band for years, who really push Case to new heights, and when Hogan and Mark add their sublime voices, songs by Buffy St. Marie, the Shangri-Las and Loretta Lynn sound as fresh as their originals.
Speaking of which, “Hex,” “If You Knew” and the title track suggest that Case’s new disc, tentatively scheduled for Spring “05, may just rival her critically acclaimed Blacklisted from “02. For a holding pattern, this sure is an intriguing one.
Rating: 1/2
Track to Burn: “The Train From Kansas City”
–John Schacht
This article appears in Dec 15-21, 2004.
