WOMAD

Burning Spear

From Jamaica

For a country with a population of just over 2 million, Jamaica has produced an extraordinary amount of talent. And, through the rhythms of reggae, it has shaped and informed the musical culture of the world. Recent WOMAD festivals have seen inspirational performances from some of roots reggae's most enduring names, such as The Mighty Diamonds and the dubmaster himself, Lee Perry. This year, the man who has been Jamaica's musical conscience for 25 years takes to the stage: Winston Rodney aka Burning Spear.He's now more than 50 years old, but the Spear keeps on burning, touring relentlessly, particularly across the US, and releasing over the past six years some of his finest music ever. Back in 1969, Spear asked Bob Marley how he ought to get into the music business. Marley sent him to the famed Studio One, where Spear recorded his first track, the chilling 'Door Peep', acquiring his new name in honour of the Kenyan freedom fighter-turned-president, Jomo Kenyatta.Spear's deep, commanding voice featured on two albums before he returned to the hills around St Ann's in Jamaica for a period of reflection, which ended in the mid-seventies with the release of 'Marcus Garvey' and 'Man in the Hills' - two albums produced by Jack Ruby with musical backing from the Wailers. These remain essential purchases for even the most casual lover of reggae, as does the astonishing dub release, 'Garvey's Ghost' (all on Island Records). Spear's hypnotic live show only added to his charisma. Seemingly lost in deep meditation on Rastafari, he developed a magnetic presence and became the standard-bearer for the heaviest roots sound. The 'Live Spear' set from 1978 (with Aswad as his backing band) was powerful but still only managed to hint at the strength of his stage appearances. A series of eighties' albums showed that he had lost none of his vocal power and he racked up five US Grammy awards, maintaining a heavy live schedule that culminated in his punishing 70-date 50th birthday tour of the US in 1995. His most recent albums, 'The World Should Know' and 'Rasta Business', show him bang on form, railing against "fashion dreads" and maintaining his pleas for unity and an end to violence. With his Burning Band and the Rass Brass horn section, Spear is not only keeping up the standards of live performance he set 20 years ago, he's still pushing at the boundaries.