(rev. 7/31/05 by Sadie O.)

Roots rock Reggae by pre-eminent male vocalist Cedric Myton and a stable of some of the greatest musicians of Reggae's roots golden age of the 70's. First Congos studio album in 7 years. Most tracks mid-tempo, very much in the style of classics like "Heart of the Congos" from almost 30 years ago (dear lord! Was it really that long?) Also very much in the style of that era, all the songs deal with the fight of the oppressed against the oppressor, with some Rastafarian theology thrown in. The Congos were one of the great vocal trio groups, but clearly it was Myton's group - he has a number of different backing vocalists on the different tracks here. He tends to be a bit more enamored of falcetto vocals than I am, and the record hardly breaks any new ground, but it's kind of nice to know people are still making this great style of music. No FCC. Track 6 best, then 4, 7 and 11.

1. 3:45 ** Listenable combination of falsetto and normal range vocals, nice percussion.
2. 3:30 Militant lyrics about the plight of the poor, falsetto vocals. Cool horn section.
3. 4:12 More falsetto, railing against oppressors. Hints of dub fades in the drums.
4. 3:50 ** Nice harmonies in a wide spread of vocal ranges. All about suffration under Babylon.
5. 4:43 ** Slower tempo and sparcer production. Normal vocal range, nice passionate vocal delivery, religious subject.
6. 3.55 *** Man, this takes me back! Classic bubbling instrumentation, lyrics about rising up and having strength.
7. 5:05 ** Cool drum production. Vocals mostly normal range, with a really odd falsetto break in the middle.
8. 4:00 Low-key instrumentation at first, somewhat dub-wise production. Lyrics defy "Mr. Shark."
9. 3:59 The most overtly Rastafarian message on the record. Very slightly faster than most of the other songs.
10. 3:58 * Fun harmonies and percussion. Vocals a bit heavy on the falsetto. A love song!
11. 3:54 ** Slower, with a bit of nyahbinghi feel. About the importance of righteousness.