Lucky Dube – Retrospective
Reviewed by Sadie O., 11/11/08
South African roots Reggae. Lucky Dube was killed last year ending a prolific career. This retrospective starts with two cuts from his early career in South African music, then switches to Reggae. It’s interesting to see how his style got more western and orchestral, but his lyrics are always intense reflections on the struggles in South Africa and everywhere.
No FCCs detected. I like 3, 9, lots of others.
1. 3:23 **starts with solo keyboard, then a South African uptempo but relaxed swing, vocal harmonies in Zulu (the style is called Mbaqanga.)
2. 3:11 ***keyboard intro, groovy uptempo Mbaqanga bounce, complex harmonies. Very sweet.
3. 4:04 ****unusual uptempo electronic bubble with talking drum, Reggae with lyrics in English.
4. 4:23 ***slow skank with hand drums, female chorus –spiritual effect.
5. 4:13 ***midtempo bubble, wheezy keyboards and sharp handdrums. Intense lyrics, esp. in light of America’s prison policies.
6. 1:47 *live cover of the Bob Marley song, lots of crowd noises – lots of crowd noises for first half.
7. 3:15 ***downtempo riddim, downbeat mood.
8. 4:10 **long intro with a slightly Latin feel, swingy midtempo bubble, celebration of diversity.
9. 6:18 ****mellow downtempo skank – a Wailers feel to the music, philosophical lyrics. Dub for last minute and a half – nice.
10. 6:08 **long keyboard flourish intro, very slow skank, very dramatic, interesting take on ending racism. Fades out and comes back 2 minutes from end.
11. 6:20 ***midtempo bubble with electric guitar (not Slash, mind you), philosophical musing about apartheid and unity. Dub with handdrums.
12. 5:35 ***slow and downbeat bubble, dramatic vocals, sounding for all the world like Peter Tosh.
13. 5:23 *very slow, orchestral, sad.