Earl Zero – And God Said To Man
Reviewed by Sadie O., 6/19/10
Deeply roots, righteous reggae. Zero moved to the Bay Area from Jamdung decades ago, and has been well loved for his righteousness and decency – not to mention great voice. I was pleased to see a review of this that said “It sounds just like it was made in 1978 – how did they do that?” Seems the answer is – he went to Spain to do it. Working with Roberto Sanchez and a bunch of Spanish musicians playing “real” instruments, Zero’s made a beautiful record. Basically 6 tracks followed by their versions. Everything is excellent – can’t really grade with stars. No FCCs.
1. 3:46 **midtempo bubble, Jah love lyrics. Sweet and upful. Unfortunately there are a few seconds between it and the dub.
2. 3:46 **dub of the above track, with melodica, some other sound that may be the world’s most subdued cuica – not sure… Not very dubby, but beautiful.
3. 3:44 **big drum flourish, then syncopated bouncy skank, wicked dem a-fall lyrics. This one flows right into the dub.
4. 2:57 **dub of previous track, with flutes and prominent bass/syndrum.
5. 3:36 **downtempo, forceful skank, wake up and live lyrics. A few seconds between this and the dub.
6. 3:36 **dub of the above track. Emphasis on hand percussion (and thunder sounds). One to light up to…
7. 4:26 **downtempo intro, martial tune (made famous by Soul Syndicate), judgment lyrics
8. 4:26 **dub of the above.
9. 3:34 **downbeat and relaxed, sweet. A bit of soulful bending of notes, praises for Jah pot garden.
10. 3:28 **dub of the above (who’d’ve guessed?) Lots of percussion and bass.
11. 3:12 **midtempo, upbeat, very rootsy, with a bit of flute and a rather rocksteady vibe, jah praises lyrics.
12. 3:10 **yes! It’s the dub!