Jamaican Heroes

While the great Prince Far I, dean of the "conscious" DJs and owner of the most distinctive voice in reggae music, made many great albums over the course of his relatively brief recording career, few of them carry as much of an emotional and spiritual wallop as this one. Much of the credit must go to the Roots Radics band, which was at the peak of its powers when Jamaican Heroes was recorded in 1980 and which delivers a set of rich, dark grooves that fits perfectly with Far I's dread vision and stern delivery. On "Read a Chapter," Far I admonishes those whose spiritual consciousness is insufficiently developed and helpfully details his own prayer regimen; on "Golden Throne," he calls on his brethren to leave Babylon, put down the comb, and return to Africa. "Musical History" finds Far I chanting in a more traditional rhythmic style, to fine effect, while he decries the conditions of prison life in "Prison Discipline." All of the performances on this album have a certain something special about them, raising the album as a whole to the same level as such other classic albums as Voice of Thunder and Under Heavy Manners. Hopefully, this gem will soon be reissued on CD, at which point it will be one of the best introductions to the work of this legendary reggae figure. ~ Rick Anderson