This album is one of the cool ones. One of the ones that can fit anywhere. Sit you at peace, and be easy. Yeaaah EE zee. Political, spiritual, familial, and your girlfriend, not to mention. You can also find emanicipation and redemption in this album.
It takes you through sunny afternoon blowjobs, to straight up old slaves. All, that is true and earnest can be found in this collection. This album shows the tactile nature of a man's life, with life displaying how good, how light, but most burdonsomely heavy, still yet beautiful, life can be. ...and so it begins Africa.
A certain arresting notion is delivered throughout this album. Yet, this defining notion expresses the feeling of emancipation simultaneously, with arrestment. You can find Africa a deep and beautiful, bountiful Africa. Inside "the beginning" of this album this is what you find. You can hear a proper respect, to a sacred place with a pounding soul. Out of this beginning comes branches, such as, that which is still arrested in Old Slaves. What is a man to do? Not to be kept down, but they just Can't Keep I Down. Bump, bounce, and go and don't be held down cause we all "work real hard, night and day", but they "would love to see me streak to less." Still yet to be found in the struggle and arrested.The strong are the strong just as is this song. This with Freedon Time, defines the work to be done, still yet to find freedom, through the definition of being held beyond your will.
Speaking to one's culture, certain "Working Ways" are for working people and better day is to come. Although caught up in the laborious nature of the spirit of these songs there is a certain sunshine and happiness that is yielded to that sings through the overall core of the music. Nonetheless work isn't done for we are soldiers in Jah Army. Stepping back into one's emancipation you can find religion along with freedom felt while being true and being the winning line in the fight. Sung with your brother Damien with reverb abounding, the message of a soldier fighting is heard everywhere, including The Chapel,featuring your other brother Ziggy is so pretty, so sweet yet speaking of the great book of life and triumphantly singing of the Lion of Judah.
A most deep, uninhibitted, and proud religion can be found on This Tight Ship. One will find that it is alright the way in which one chooses to believe and that this is some good reggae no matter your religion. So "She Knows Now" what the next day will bring. She sees the cost of her actions as we all do cryin, cryin, cryin. A day in a life is what this song is, not neccessarily in actions but in feeling, and carrying on, to find the basic such as "False Friends", Pale Moonlight, and No Cigarette smoking in My Room. The latter being an anthum of how lovers long for each other, day to day in the most simplist of ways. It's a smooth and smoky duet with Melanie Fiona whose voice alone pulls you into that song and into that room and into everyday, still arrested in what is most pleasureable.
This album takes us through all different forms and facets of life with cohesiveness that is awe inspiring. This is a cohesiveness found in the music and song of what proves to be all vetreran senseability. Which gives way to humility of an artist who is merely doing "what he do". He's "not in it for the fame" , but in it for the love. Although not neccessarily a classic yet, Stephen Marley Revelation Pt.1, it has all of the elements of a great album with room to grow on the listener's heart, even further. Hense making it a fine addition to any collection and a cool one to always listen too. Yeah Reggae Music!!!