Search - Luciano :: Hail the Comforter

Now Where Did This Come From?. . .

Achis | Kingston, JA/Philipsburg, SxM | 11/09/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There are many many good things about being a reggae fan these days. With the exposure level of our music rivalling that which it attained during Marley's heyday all over the world, reggae has become almost an inescapable as any form of music, even outside of here in Jamaica. But perhaps one of the 'coolest' things about being a reggae fan is that, if you listen to really really high quality reggae from some of the very top artist, you'll never find yourself wondering "when is he/she going to have a new album come out?". It will never happen, mainly based on the torrid recording schedules most of our artists keep and the equally hectic schedule a great deal of our producers keep as well. It is not all that uncommon here for an artist to release 4-6 studio albums a year.



And I, (as you can see if you go through my reviews) should be the last person to complain about such a thing, as I virtually live, breath and eat reggae music. However, the problem of overexposure occurs when one of the best in the business has an album which goes so far under the radar that it basically becoems unnoticed.



Such is the case as this downright mysterious Hail the Comforter album, which I came across while shopping for his new Child of a King album. Not surprisingly, this album is released by JetStar who does such a fine job of underpromotion that its amazing they are still in business in the west at all.



However, taking no fault at all in that is Luciano, who mores than delivers his typically A+ level material throughout Hail the Comforter. This album might actually be amongst the top half of albums for the amazingly prolific artist. While not being terribly melodic or vibrant, its darker and more old school and traditional vibes carry on a very very fine album.



The best tune is Glory to Jah. The song is not unlike probably dozens of previous Luciano records, and just like them, it has such a powerfully crafted vibe (particularly the female backing singers during the chorus) that it really carries strong and becomes the major highlight on the album. The second best tune is without a doubt the title track which is oddly probably the best (slow)dancing song on the album, cut over the ridiculously nice one drop 'Handcart Bwoy' riddim. Luci probably makes the best go over the riddim besides Perfect who adorned the riddim with his name.



Also check Herb Minister, Luciano is notorious for cranking out some of the finest herbalist tunes in all of JA. 'Minister' is almost an herb JOURNEY that he goes through, all the while demanding one of his favorite things; Check the only combination Too Greedy, with Anthony B. which is an apparent remix of the closing track Crafty, which is the same track minus Mr Blair, another fine combination in their nice but too short history together (remember Zinc Fence Jungle! Loved that song!).



Another song which I love is Lonely Sheep over the same riddim which Dennis Brown cut his legendary Money In My Pocket tune over; and by the same token Loves Me Strong which goes over Brown's Sitting and Watching riddim (Luciano has a direct cover of that song which gives even the Prince's version a run for its money). And give a listen to the beautiful beautiful Wandering Woman and Stop the War.



Overall, I could probably give a rather healthy recommendation to each and every tune on Hail the Comforter. And I will! Chances are, even if you pay attention as well as I do, that you didnt even know it was released (and chance are even greater that you didnt know the followup to this one has been released already, its called Shallow Water)due to the numbskullness (is that a word?) of JetStar. But dont fault the artist, or yourself for that. While not being amongst his most harmonic or melodic (probably want to check the Jah Words for that distinction) Hail the Comforter is without a doubt one of the most well-rounded and solid of Luciano's brilliant career.





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