Customer Reviews

Forces of Victory

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

 

 

This is LKJ's second album, by far his best, and it is reggae like you've never heard it before: It avoids many of the cliches of the genre and charters new territory for music in general. It features LKJ's distinctive deep, mournful voice, reciting his poems over wonderfully complex and layered productions. Each song ends with extended jams, full of heavy dub-style effects and very elegant lead guitar work. The lyrics are primarily about battling racism in England, continuing his theme from his first recording, Dread Beat and Blood. Each song is a gem to be listened to over and over. This is meditative, deep music, filled with tension and menace, but has an intelligence and hypnotic mood that is very rewarding.

Acquired the LP in the early 80's at the recommendation of a friend from Senegal (Senegambia then). In the 90s made a cassette copy of the album & wore out the title track on the drive in to work every day; it's phenomenal. Deeply appreciate LKJ, Dennis Bovell, & whoever made it available on CD. . . keep it alive & morphing with the tech, OK?

From memory:

We're the forces of viktry and we're comin' right through
We're the forces of viktry now whatcha gonna do. . .
Dressed in red and feelin' dread
Dressed in green and feelin' mean
Dressed in purple and dressed in yella
Dressed in blue and we're comin' right through. . .

The instrumental behind & beyond lifts your mind into eternal sky while never forsaking the earth of your manifestation. As another European poet expressed it earlier in the last millenia (likewise with sublime instrumental):

Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen
Durch des Himmels pracht'gen Plan
Laufet, Bruder eure Bahn,
Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen!

Brilliant anti racist lyrics against reggae beat. Sonny's Lettah is a classic but anti fascist Fite Dem Back and Independent Intavenshan are also fine tracks. In fact the whole CD is excellent.

One of the greatest poets of our time, he also happens to be a tremendous reggae artist. He has a master guitar player and lays down some classic tunes on this, his finest recording. A must have for anyone who enjoys reggae. Fight dem bak, down de road are 2 totally unique songs that defy classification.

This is one of my favorite recordings of all times.

The only reason its not an inside the parker is because its just too damn difficult to match or surpass Dread Beat an Blood, Linton's stunning debut and statement of intention. Mind you its not easy finding a dud on this album. Kicking off with Want Fi Goh Rave, you immediately realise that LKJ's got himself a seriously tight set of musicians behind him, bass, horns and drums interlocked and funneling LKJ's message of "mi life ghat no meanin, just livin witout feelin". The strength of message continues with It Noh Funny, a poem about youth running wild in no certain direction, with no certain destination. Linton hits the heights with Sonny Lettah, just his voice and a wearisome bassline narrating a tale of police harassment gone wrong.
In the end, you've got striking poetry with a tight roots reggae beat that leads you to inspiring, conscious, often times dramatic, music. Linton followed this up with Bass Culture and the man did not let anyone down. To come up with three masterstrokes in the span of 5 years can be accomplished by very few. Within reggae music, it's almost unheard of.

The quality of the arrangements and the way it's played equates with the best in jazz, I cannot think of any other reggae album deserving such a compliment but this could be due my non-extensive knowledge of this music (I only have about 80 reggae albums)