Search - Singers & Players, Prince Far I :: Staggering Heights

THE FIRE OF LIFE...DARK & BUBBLY

Larry L. Looney | Austin, Texas USA | 07/20/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This disc by Singers & Players, the rotating amalgamation of the finest S & P's in the incredible On-U talent stable, showcases not only the amazing abilities of these performers, but stands as a tribute to the unparallelled mixmaster touch of label founder/producer Adrian Sherwood as well. Sherwood's touch is as distinctive as ever -- and it's easy to hear why he is so highly regarded by afficianados of roots music. His love of the form, coupled with his studio instincts, elevate his role from producer to a level with that of the performers themselves -- for without him, even with their considerable talents, they would not wind up sounding like this.The vocalists on this release are some of the finest Jamaican music has offered to the world -- all have released fine recordings of their own. Congo Ashanti Roy peforms his compositions 'African blood' (a perfect opener for the set) and 'Snipers in the street', his great voice delivering lyrics crying for an end to violence that can destroy a people. Prince Far I, in his own inimitable style, delivers to the listener the (true) story of 'Bedward the flying preacher' (about a man whom, shall we say, overstepped his own earthly boundaries), and treats us to a condensed 'Autobiography' (in which he relates his own musical history). Mikey Dread gives us 'School days', recalling what seems to be instead an overabundance of corporal punishment inflicted on him as 'education'. Bim Sherman, who regrettably passed away in November of 2000, one of the finest vocalists ever to open his soul to his listeners, performs the beautiful 'A matter of time' and 'Socca' (one of the strangest tracks he ever recorded). The set concludes with the instrumental dub-fest 'This assembly', allowing the players to step out a bit.And speaking of the players...the roster on this recording reads like a who's who of the UK roots scene -- listing and commenting on all of the fine players on this disc would take up an enormous amout of space. Suffice to say that if you've been lucky enough to experience any of the great releases from On-U Sounds, you know them well. The trademark bass lines, thundering but gentle at the same time -- the rock-steady drumming and percussion -- the rhythm guitars that could dice vegetables -- the relentless horns (sorry, I've GOT to mention Deadly Headley!) and foundation-building keyboards -- all the components that we have come to expect and admire in the On-U mix, lovingly combined and swirling about us courtesy of the knob-twiddling Mr. Sherwood -- all of these elements add up to an amazing album.This is not Bob Marley reggae -- and that's NOT to say that there's anything wrong with Bob Marley's music (his talent and contributions to the form are without question) -- this is reggae/roots on the fringe, heartbeating wild and dangerous, deepsoul breathing and spiritual. This is the Lion purring in Babylon, strong and alert. This is Singers & Players doing what they do best. The result is On-U, my friend.There are many fine recordings available on this label through amazon.com -- check out other albums by Singers & Players, plus releases by Bim Sherman, Noah House of Dread, Creation Rebel, African Head Charge and New Age Steppers, to name but a few. They each have their own unique personality, and they all have Adrian Sherwood's magic touch."

The crown of my collection

Yvar "stylewyse" Stavenuiter | the Netherlands | 12/27/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I call myself a lucky man as i have managed to acquire the original release on vinyl (1983 -red.)

I first heard this album at a friends place, and i went searching for it ever since. This extremely obscure (atleast in the Netherlands) album offers the best of the best. This means the "dream team" of reggae:

"Style" Scott

Eek-a-Roo

"Crucial" Tony

Lizard

Errol "Flabba" Holt

George Oban



As well as the following extremely gifted artists:

Bingy/Dwight/Martin Frederix/Ashanti Roy/Bloodvessel/Bonjo I/Mikey Dread/Prince Far i (a.k.a. Prince Cry Cry)/Bim Sherman/Vyris/Valerie/Fatfingers/Dr. Pablo/Bubblers/Nick Plytas/Martin Frederix/Eskimo/Vin Gordon/Bammy/Deadly Headly/Flash.



Some other albums i'm proud to call mine, and similar in style:

Bim Sherman - Across the Red Sea

Singers & Players - War of Words

Creation Rebel - Lows & Highs

New Age Steppers - Foundation Steppers



From other labels:

Israel Vibrations - Forever

Steel Pulse - earth crisis

Sugar Minott - Time Longer than Rope

Gregory Isaacs - Night Nurse

Morgan Heritage - Live in europe

Bim Sherman - Too Hot

Black Uhuru - Positive

Prince Far I - Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation)

Buro

Burning Spear - Rocking Time (Second & Last Album on Studio One Records!)"