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100th Anniversary (Island, 1976)
One of the most revered and well-known artists in reggae, Burning Spear is nonetheless an acquired taste. His material is almost exclusively cultural and/or religious, staid, often somber, and just plain heavy in a similar way to Prince Far I, meaning that I can't always sit and listen to Burning Spear's stuff for an extended period of time. His heaviness stems not only from his subject matter, but also from the fact that his singing style is often more akin to chanting. His melodies are thus not terribly strong -- i.e., distinct -- or catchy (which can be a good or bad thing) and tend to drone at times with their repetition. I sometimes relate his style to hard jazz -- loosely structured, hard to listen to, but for fans, very much appreciated and respected. Based on my listenings, since the mid-'80s, his songs have tended to fall into that rut, but, as evidenced by 100th Anniversary (recorded when the act consisted of 3 members -- Winston Rodney, Delroy Hines, and Rupert Willington -- the latter two dropping out later in 1976), Burning Spear can craft some intoxicating arrangements of chanting (I want to compare Spear's ability to that of George Clinton, who had such a knack for coming up with chants/refrains that just stuck with you, the structure of the verses being negligible.). What makes 100th Anniversary -- which includes the album Marcus Garvey and its dub Garvey's Ghost -- such as classic, though, is the fact that the music here is some of the best, most lively, most musical material of the era, or of any era for that matter. Produced by Jack Ruby and featuring an all-star group of musicians, branded The Black Disciples -- Aston "Family Man" Barrett, Robbie Shakespeare, Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace, Tony Chin, Earl "Chinna" Smith, and more -- Marcus Garvey delivers vintage roots with regal horns, funky bass lines, African drums, jazzy guitars and flutes, soaring organs, and wailing, hypnotic chants. In my opinion, Garvey's Ghost is even stronger, since it focuses on the music and because in the structure of Burning Spear's songs, the loose verses are minor in comparison to the chanting choruses. The dubs drop most of the verses, but keep the choruses, giving you the best of both worlds: great music and great chants! There are too many great tracks to name, but my faves are the dubs "The Ghost," "I and I Survive," "Black Wa-Da-Da," and "Dread River."
Marcus Garvey: 
Garvey's Ghost:
100th Anniversary: 
Track Listing
1. Marcus Garvey
2. Slavery Days
3. The Invasion
4. Live Good
5. Give Me
6. Old Marcus Garvey
7. Tradition
8. Jordan River
9. Red, Gold, and Green
10. Resting Place
11. The Ghost
12. I and I Survive
13. Black Wa-Da-Da
14. John Burns Skank
15. Brain Food
16. Farther East of Jack
17. 2000 Years
18. Dread River
19. Workshop
20. Reggaelation
Man in the Hills (Island, 1976)
Following Marcus Garvey is certainly a daunting task, and Man in the Hills, though regaining some of its magic, is easily a step below that classic album. Only the quality of the material has changed; the sound is basically the same: dreamy, relaxed tone and rambling melodies -- jazzy in their free flow and blues/gospel in their repetitive nature -- are the norm. The spark of ingenuity that invigorated Marcus Garvey, however, is largely absent, and the melodies and music suffer. The best song on Man in the Hills, the title track, would only be a mediocre cut on Marcus Garvey. Still, it, along with "It's Good," "People Get Ready," "Black Soul," and "Lion" are all solid, making this album OK, but more for hardcore Burning Spear fans ("Spearheads?") than anyone else.
Track Listing
1. Man in the Hills
2. It's Good
3. No More War
4. Black Soul
5. Lion
6. People Get Ready
7. Children
8. Mother
9. Door Peep
10. Groovy
Mistress Music (Slash, 1988)
One of Burning Spear's more underappreciated efforts, Mistress Music features a refreshingly airy style that is at least partly reflective of the use of non-reggae musicians (something that may turn some fans off). The rolling, heavy bass lines that often feed into Burning Spear's somber tone are absent on this album, as light keyboards/synthesizers and horns form the dominant sound. As such, I found this material -- led by the jazzy horn and guitar of "Fly Me to the Moon" -- invigorating, revealing a somewhat festive side to this staid artist (Indeed, an inordinate number of tunes on Mistress Music are love songs.). Aside from "Fly Me to the Moon," the beat tracks here are the catchy "Negril," "Say You Are in Love," and the enchanting live-band "Tell the Children," while "Woman I Love You" and "One Way" are also nice. Mistress Music is not Burning Spear's best work, but it is a novel, welcome change of pace.
Track Listing
1. Tell the Children
2. Leader
3. Woman I Love You
4. One Way
5. Negril
6. Mistress Music
7. Love Garvey
8. Tell Me Tell Me
9. Say You Are in Love
10. Fly Me to the Moon
Social Living (Blood & Fire, 1994 [orig. released 1980])
Carrying the same quality of full-blooded roots that propelled Marcus Garvey, Social Living (originally titled Marcus Children) rivals it in every way. Even though Social Living is produced by Burning Spear (and Karl Pitterson), it contains many of the same musicians as Marcus Garvey and much of the same sound: heavy bass, African drums, horns, bluesy/jazzy guitars, and chanting, chanting, chanting! (Note: the dub of this album is Living Dub Volume 1) Practically every song is strong, with the best being "Marcus Children Suffer," "Social Living," and "Institution." I don't consider myself a huge fan of Burning Spear, but even non-fans should be able to appreciate the power of Social Living.
Track Listing
1. Marcus Children Suffer
2. Come
3. Social Living
4. Marcus Say Jah No Dead
5. Marcus Senior
6. Nyah Keith
7. Institution
8. Mister Garvey
9. Civilise Reggae
Hail H.I.M. (Heartbeat, 1994 [orig. released 1980])
Considered by many to be one of Burning Spear's finest works, Hail H.I.M. is solid but not quite as consistently good all around as either Marcus Garvey or Social Living. Co-produced by the great Aston "Family Man" Barrett, this album is bursting with a free-flowing roots sound similar to those other two albums, but not all of the tracks are as captivating as those on Marcus Garvey and Social Living. Nonetheless, it's hard to resist the funky, mellow title cut, as well as the powerful "Jah See and Know" and "Columbus," which features a surprisingly fun, upbeat horn riff. The more catchy choruses make the best songs here, as these 3, along with "Follow Marcus Garvey" and "Cry Blood Africans" attest.
Track Listing
1. Hail H.I.M.
2. Columbus
3. Road Foggy
4. Follow Marcus Garvey
5. Jah See and Know
6. African Teacher
7. African Postman
8. Cry Blood Africans
9. Jah a Guh Raid