Look at the Heart

Zema | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 15, 1999)
• Original Release Date: September 30, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Melchizedek
• ASIN: B00001ZWW2
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #537,156 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

12 TRACKS: 1) Open Up 2) Look At The Heart 3) Give A Little Love 4) Somebody Wrong 5) How Long? 6) Praise You 7) Their Own Sight 8) Gain The World 9) Who We Are 10) Praise B4 Battle 11) Dub Sight 12) Praise You Dub

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dubroom Review, January 31, 2002

By 

Messian Dread "DUBROOM.com" (Drachten, Fryslan Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Look at the Heart (Audio CD)

When you liked Zema's album Stranger in the gates, you will absolutely love this one, because it contains everything that "Stranger" lacked: a full band with well known members such as Haile Maskel and Zacky Bernard (Twinkle Borthers), an all-stars list of guest appearances (Ras Michael), more songs, and more dubs, mixed skillfully by Scientist. Where the music on Stranger was catchy, the vibes on this one rock hard!
Again, Zema comes up with a varied style of riddims, but they all stay with the realm of High Quality Roots Reggae. You can hear that the musicians are all very experienced. The dubs are mixed by the legendary Scientist, I wish that he would have dubbed all the titles, because they're really more than worth it!

The album starts of with "Open Up", a solid track with a nice guitar riff reminding me of Black Uhuru in their "Anthem" era. After this comes the title track, a heartical call to the hypocrites who like to judge their brethren and impress others by calling themselves "leaders". Third title is a cover of Johnny Osbourne's "Give A Little Love", which in my opinion is much better then the original (sorry, brethren Johnny). Or take the next one, "Somebody Wrong", created after a traditional, with special guest appearance RAS MICHAEL, who can be considered as the conga specialist of Reggae Music. Track 5 is called "How Long", with nice (male) backing vocals. It's a heartical sufferer's prayer that I'm sure many can relate to. Next up, "Praise You". In a one drop stop style, this a righteous track filled with praises to the Most High. It comes with it's Scientific Dub mix, skillfully mixed in the style of Scientist Dubs Culture Into Parallel Universe. "Their Own Sight", the next track on the album, is a Steppers Beat over a really powerful lyrics based on an ancient prophesy. Also this track comes with an accompanying Dub Version by Scientist. Followed is the song called "Gain The World", again in a One Drop style. A crucial One Drop style, because the drummer really knows how to play this rather difficult rhythm. One Drop continues in the next track ("Who We Are"), that Zema wrote together with Twinkle Brothers' keyboard player Zachy Bernard, her husband, by the way. There's a little guitar solo in the track as well. The last vocal is my absolute favorite: "Praise Before Battle": a rub a dub tune that I played five times in a row when I first heard it. I just can't get enough from this one, it's so strong, both lyrical and musical. Too bad there is no dub from this one on the album.

Speaking of dubs, I already mentioned them, Scientist has dubbed two tracks on this album. They remind me much of his Dub album from Culture's Payday, also reviewed in the Dubroom.

All in all, I consider this to be one of the better recent roots reggae releases. The sistren is gifted with a great voice, sweet yet strong, schooled yet heartical. Zema belongs to the absolute top of female Reggae Singers, and I am not alone in this opinion. In every critique and review I read, the writers are talking highly of this album. This is a must for your Conscious Reggae Collection!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From start to finish - Supreme!, February 3, 2012

By 

Huggy (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Look at the Heart (Audio CD)

This is a quality roots reggae album from start to finish. From lyrics that encourage wise living ("The things we do show who we are. The things we say come from inside. So be careful what you do. Be careful what you say. Out of the mouth comes the abundance of the heart..." [Who we are]) to the fantastic musicianship (love the keyboard work throughout by Zacky!), this CD does not fail to uplift the spirit. There's no doubt about it: Zema is a definitive reggae artist in her own right who is supported by top notch musicians who really know how to play reggae. Put it this way, if you don't have this album you really are missing out on something special, especially if you love reggae music.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ROOTS!!!, October 22, 2004

By 

Danna Neely (Maui, Hawaii) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Look at the Heart (Audio CD)

There has been a lot written about this album by more knowledgable reviewers, so I don't have many new words to add. However, I can say that I absolutely agree with them. ZEMA is, hands down, one of the best female reggae artists to ever bless the reggae scene. Traditional roots reggae is not dead in the 21st century! Buy it, you won't be disappointed.