Customer Reviews

Chant Down Babylon: Island Anthology

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This collection of songs by one of the mainstays of reggae is priceless, old school reggae for the new millennium. The recordings are remastered from the originals and sound pretty good.This CD chronicles Winston Rodneys rise to stardom which began in 1969 up to the present. The classic reggae beat is sweetened with the voice of Rodney as he chants and works his magic on the mic. The Rastaman gives his message that is filled wiith references that are political and spiritual. Marcus Garvey is a favorite theme with his Pan-Africanism as is the religion of Rastafarianism. Although many of these songs are from the mid 70's to the early 90's they still sound good. The classics abound on this CD, notably work from "Man In The Hills" and "Marcus Garvey's Ghost", two of his best works, IMO. If you like dub there are some great dub numbers here, with their haunting rhythmns and bass lines that drop out intermittingly. Thirty five songs and a booklet that give a little history on Burnibg Spear make this a good musical package that pays tribute to one of the superstars of reggae, Burning Spear.

Burning Spear is a great reggae singer, and this album certainly shows that. Unfortunately, all the songs begin to sound the same! There's simply not enough variation (as there is with a lot of his other albums) to make this a representative of Burning Spear as a whole. There are many jems, but not enough to make it an album you can put on 'repeat.'

This is going to sound like a mildly negative review, but it would truly be hard to slag the first disc on this set. Some of these tunes are high water marks in reggae. I'm a fan of early 70's reggae and late 60's ska. I don't care for watered-down, drum machine (1980's) reggae music. The problem with this collection is that the first disc makes the second one sound weak. Too many songs on the second disc slide into UB40 territory w/out the hooks. And I can only take so much Marcus Garvey talk... it's harder to take the music seriously when you kind of just want to roll your eyes over the worship of this guy (or ANY man).

I would suggest looking into his early albums before purchasing this set for full price.

Given the short life expentancy of a reggae musician in Jamaica, at age 55, Burning Spear has become the elder statesman of reggae music. The native of St. Ann's parish is a mezmerizing performer whose live performances weave a spell of firey intensity and rastafarian redemption. He is one of the last of the old school rastafarians committed to conscious lyrics and the one drop riddims of classic reggae music. "Chant Down Babylon", a collection of Spear's early music, should be on any short-list of reggae music fan's CD collection. It contains most of his breakthrough Marcus Gavey album, the crucial cuts all of his watershed albums, plus a generous sampling of dub versions of his music. There are several Burning Spear collections around, but "Chant Down Babylon" trumps them hands down. I have seen this double CD ...used on Amazon which is a real bargain for the fan or newbie who wants to check this righteous rastafarian.

This is one of the greatest reggae albums, and captures all the best of Burning Spear with excellent production value. Every ting i-rey!

The master has been chanting down the walls of Babylon for 30 years in this business and a set of his hit are a collectors item. Spear relives the teachings of "Mosiah" with 'Old Marcus Garvey', 'Wa Da DA', 'Recall Some Great Men'and others. Spears voice is 'Dry yet still Heavy' as he delivers over 32 BIG, BIG, BIG, TUNES. You can feel the power in the music as he renders my personal favorite: "Door peep shall not enter, this here holy land, where wise and true man stand, sipping from the cup of peace..." {Door Peep:#7 CD #1}

No door peep shall enter. simply that, once you listen to any cut for this anthology , there are only two choices in or out. Into the chanting that some so called musicians refer to as annoying and repetitive , into the chanting that reinforces the values of tacks such as Recall Some Great Men,chanting all the vibes of the music over and over and if you don't get it,the musical great called Winston Rodney will get you.The hypnotic afro-centric beat will transform the inner most Mother Land movment in the best of us . I have seen many diverse cultures en-mass rock to the beat of Burning Spear's hypnotic chant ,as if they were easily walking out of babylon in through the door leaving it ajar for all those who choose NOT to enter.

This anthology has everything and gives a very complete record of the incomparable Burning Spear. The first disc has the older stuff from the Marcus Garvey era that most fans die for. The second disc is weaker and has more of a crossover feel that is less interesting. Some of the later songs like 'Social Living' are very good however. The live version of 'Jordan Live' especially is classic. In college I used to use the opening to that song for my reggae show. This is definitely a CD worth having.

Like another reviewer, I greatly prefer Disc One. I prefer "old school" reggae, in particular the 70's sound. Earlier stuff is too ska or too derivative of American soul; later stuff is too techno. Just so you can know my perspective, I like Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff, Toots & the Maytals, Bob Marley. Disc one lives up to that high standard. Disc Two, to my ear, is self-indulgent poetry recitals over dub music. Not offensive, but nothing that makes me want to hear it twice. Disc One would be 4.5 stars, Disc Two is one or two stars. A very important collection, nonetheless.

Chant Down Babylon: The Island Anthology is an amazing collection of all the best Burning Spear. This CD contains 35 Burning Spear classics, starting from his early days. Winston Rodney has hypnotizing chants mixed with some of the best reggae music your ears will ever be lucky enough to hear. The Invasion (A.K.A Black Wa-Da-Da), Tradition, Slavery Days and the live Jordan River are the best tracks on the first CD. Social Living, My Roots and Jah Kingdom are the best tunes to grace the second CD. Another great option if you prefer live Spear is "Live In Paris: Zenith '88."