Search - Lutan Fyah :: Live in San Francisco (W/Dvd)

Wasn't Expecting This One. But I'll Take It!. . .

Achis | Kingston, JA/Philipsburg, SxM | 09/13/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In reggae music, maybe even more so than in any other musical genre than I know of, a strong performance ALONE will take an artist quite a bit of distance in his/her career and a not-so strong stage show can definitely harm one's standing. As it is, very few Jamaicans who still call the island home actually buy music in any form and are generally only through television and radio and of course, they never-ending, ever-expanding and always active festivals and stage shows. And that route, for an amount which I would quantify as MOST, is the way MOST artists actually get their start, be performing their own original or (as is usually the case) performing the tunes of others looooooooooong before actually reaching the studio with their own vibes. You can definitely pinpoint several artists, even currently, who have been effected, for better or for worse, by their ability to perform live in front of the masses, or their lack thereof abilities. Of course the easiest and most popular example for the good side would be Ninjaman. I'd be surprised if the Ninja has actually taken time out of his not so busy schedule to actually WRITE and go into the studio and RECORD more than twenty or so tunes in the past decade of time. It simply isn't his area of expertise, it doesn't show him at his very best and to be perfectly honest he just isn't that good at it, despite his ridiculous longevity in the dancehall. HOWEVER, should you desire to see the Ninja with his full array of skills at his disposal ALL of the time, then simply limit your interaction with him to a visual-audio experience, rather than strictly audio (which isn't that hard, as he doesn't release much tunes these days). On a stage Ninja's greatest musical asset, his nearly PEERLESS and lethally QUICK wit and ability to string together freestyles on the spot, be it in a clash setting or simply for the moment: He is truly a performer who `makes it up as he goes along' and Jamaican and international dancehall audiences everywhere have been enjoying this quality in the Gorgon for well over two decades. On the other end of the spectrum would be someone like Sean Paul. The current reggae poster boy DEFINITELY doesn't need much help or critique from me or from anyone else to step his career up a bit, but if there were one area he could work on it would be his stage show. I believe he has asthma which would prevent him from being in a stressful situation, like the pressure of a stage, but fans rarely get to even HEAR the sometimes downright BRILLIANT flow Paul exhibits at his absolute best on record, in person which is something which would definitely improve his standing locally (and if you happen to be a casual fan of reggae and don't know much more than Sean Paul, I could probably name you full on twenty artists more popular in Jamaica than the dancehall superstar). Being nice on stage is just simply SO important in reggae, definitely.



Which, in my opinion, makes the lack of actual LIVE recorded albums in dancehall and in reggae altogether for that matter even more confusing. Even for Ninjaman, whose live performance EVERYTIME is truly something to behold (even if he never gets to perform: see Sting 2003), has never had a completely live album to my knowledge. This absence of our modern artists dipping into the Live release also tends to (at least from me) generate quite a bit of interest from the masses when they do reach. Recently, the continuously over-active (to say the least) superstar reggae band from the Virgin Islands, Midnite, released their own (SHOCKINGLY) very first live album, Live 94117, and it has become one of their most talked about pieces in quite awhile. And now, one of my personal absolute favourites does the same to not much fanfare, but quite a bit of interest to the hardcore reggae heads. Lutan Fyah is an artist who, at least to my ears, HASN'T DROPPED A SUB-STANDARD VERSE IN WELL OVER THREE YEARS! (much less an entire tune, I said VERSE). And in doing so has definitely proven himself, to me and a whole heap of others, one of the most skillful young rootsmen to reach the scene in the modern era, period. To date, Fyah has remained VERY active in the local scene, releasing a steady stream of singles throughout the years and (as is NECESSARY for an artist of his caliber) he has scored a solid number of hits also along the way. He has also given pieces to the international ears in the form of six albums (prior to this one) from dropping his first, Dem No Know Demself (for Minor 7 Flat 5) in 2004 which was IMMEDIATELY followed the same year by Lustre Kings Productions' EXCELLENT Time & Place just a month or two later. Then in 2006 Fyah again reached twice with his VP Records debut, the solid Healthy Lifestyle and then, of course, his Greensleeves debut with the best effort of his career, the MASSIVE Phantom War. 2007 saw him debut for fine UK outfit Cousins with the outstanding You Bring Blessings. Now, for his first effort of 2008 (and YES I have been waiting) Lutan Fyah delivers his most creative effort to date, his very first live album, Lutan Fyah - Live in San Francisco for San Franciscan based 2B1 Records. The label is somewhat of a specialist in that they pretty much ONLY release live albums and DVD's for a wide variety of artists, with very few purely studio releases under their belt (probably the most high profile of which being the notoriously difficult to find Up In Flames by Sizzla Kalonji). The label has released VERY SOLID live efforts for the likes of Capleton, Luciano, Junior Kelly, Gregory Isaacs, Yellowman and (my personal favourite of their bunch) even Lady Saw. 2B1 is, quietly, one of the labels I really look forward to hearing from. They actually PROMOTE what you hear on their releases and at the Maritime Hall (where I hope to go someday) in San Francisco and have been full on in operations for nearly fifteen years. Lutan Fyah's first dance with the 2B1 crew is yet another impressive release for artist and label alike.



If you've never had the opportunity to see Lutan Fyah the best way in which I can describe him is as `streaky'. He doesn't insist on clubbing you on the head with his vibes (like Capleton or Sizzla) and he doesn't fully focus on his music in the situation (like Vaughn Benjamin of Midnite seems to). Instead he quite nicely mixes the hype tunes and the slower tunes together and gives you his roots, highlighted by one of the deepest bags of lyrics the roots scene has EVER known. This DVD is very well put together and the visuals are quite nice throughout and (as is their 'calling card') 2B1 does a very fine job of covering the show. Getting things started here is a tune I'm not very familiar with actually, the very nice Thanks and Praises. I immediately recognized the riddim as Delly Ranx' Serengeti, which was a very HEAVY one drop, the type of riddim which is a virtual `can't miss' for Fyah. And he doesn't miss none at all as he delivers a high order tune exhibiting what I meant when I said streaky, even on just the one tune. Very impressive praising tune for His Imperial Majesty. Next up is the much more familiar Bits & Pieces (you can find it on the Phantom War album, which you should have already if you've read this far) over Pow Pow's popular Blaze riddim. He floats through the tune (accompanied by very nice backing singers, one in particular) the tune ever-so-slightly tones back the somewhat urgent nature of the original (that riddim is URGENT sounding), but is still pretty good, comes off very nicely and is the first piece of any kind of extended crowd interaction we see here. Completing the intro for Lutan Fyah - Live in San Francisco is another very familiar piece (also from the Phantom War album) on the wicked Blood Stain. The tune was originally for Rudolph Morrison's WICKED Labalaba riddim and probably one of the more underrated tunes on the album (might be one of the most underrated of Fyah's career as a whole). The real highlight of the performance is a nice extended guitar solo later in the tune which is definitely well enjoyable.



Live In San Francisco doesn't really feature most of the tunes which the Lutan Fyah really CRANKS in live performance (such as St. Jago Dela Vega or ESPECIALLY No Peace in Spanish Town), but it does feature a very healthy bit of vibes and some of Fyah's top tunes along the way and some mighty fine performances, of course. The show really hits its highpoint for me much later on things when he reaches with what is typically one of his better performed tunes, Save the Juveniles. The tune is one which has really attracted quite a bit of attention since its release almost two years ago at this point and become one of the more unlikely hits (as it didn't seem to differ much from much of his other material) of his career. Anytime can you really take in the vibes of that one, its definitely an experience and because of its original nature, it so easily lends itself to the live show, especially given such fine backup singers. Definitely the highlight of the show and one to spend quite awhile on (even though it comes and goes rather quickly). Interestingly enough, Save the Juveniles comes just after another of Lutan Fyah's more popular tunes and an odd one here, Rasta Still de Bout (Phantom War album). The original tune (which is downright MAGIC) features Fyah alongside underrated chanter Josie Mel. Mel didn't make the trip to San Francisco, but, again, serving in his stead are very strong backing singers. Certainly it would be better with Mel himself (who, to my knowledge, wrote the original tune), but it still doesn't lag too much behind the original and is still fairly mandatory for a Fyah show with or without Josie Mel. In that same swing of tunes, Rasta Still de Bout follows the LOVELY Screaming For the Poor (Phantom War). The tune originally played over the RIDICULOUSLY BEAUTIFUL Triumphant riddim from Kemar `Flava' McGregor and I don't think I've ever heard it done in a live show. It comes off quite nicely and the band is really pinpoint for the tune as far as what one might expect in a live show, definitely. Going back t o some of the earlier pieces which come off quite nicely for the show; check Looting N Shooting. Probably the most unfamiliar tune to me on the list here, it provides a VERY strong for performance from Fyah, excellent usage of the background singers and even quite a nice crowd participation segment as well on the higher vibed and intensity tune. Definitely the tune here which most surprised me on its presence alone is one of my more recent favourites, Mightier Than Them from Dangerzone' outstanding Jam Down riddim. I wouldn't have guessed he would have put it on such a play list, yet I'm SO grateful that he did, anyway that tune can be exposed to the masses even more so than it already has been, has to be a good thing and we're definitely looking forward to it being included on a future Lutan Fyah album (Save the Juveniles as well). Was also quite nicely surprised to see two other more strong recent efforts, the wonderfully peaceful and serene Is This Love (from McGregor's Trumpet riddim, not a Trumpet in site) and the very nice Is This the Way over Don Corleone's sublime Cruising Altitude riddim (check Pressure's WICKED cut of that riddim, Jah Alone as well). As the album winds down it does offer one more surprise listening to the CD, a bonus track after Fyah ends the show with the DIVINE She's Like the Rainbow (Time & Place riddim). The tune, People Cry, is a WINNER, definitely. Its more of a `quietly intense' sort of vibes which I don't actually recall hearing previously and it was more than just a NICE touch from 2B1, People Cry is something serious and I'd love to see it show up on another Fyah studio album as well. Here, it serves a purpose as a wonderful addition to end things on a show/album which really didn't need the help anyway.



Overall, like I said, you'll be able to find a better show of Lutan Fyah's definitely complete with a larger arsenal of his bigger tunes and performances, but you wont be able to find such things on an album as Live In San Francisco is his first (and only at least for awhile I'd be willing to guess). The DVD and entire project is well put together and some of the bigger reggae labels (ESPECIALLY VP, who I've always felt should have had a running Live release series of sorts) would be wise to linkup 2B1 Records to maybe even runit for them as they continue to very finely run their own special niche of the vibes. Also big respect goes to the band who maintains a very high performance throughout and features veteran musician/producer/artist Wadi Gad (I actually THINK that Ras Attitude may have opened the show, which, if true, HAD to be something special indeed). As I mentioned, the live reggae album for modern artists these days is becoming somewhat of an endangered species, so definitely if this is on your vibes, check Lutan Fyah - Live In San Francisco from 2B1 Records: A very healthy injection to the very thin genre.

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