With Sanchez having seemingly moved on to a stage of his career where he can now enjoy the benefits of working endlessly for decades and just tour without recording very much these days, there is a very important and very well paying job opening in the Reggae landscape: That of reigning King of Lovers Rock music in Jamaica. Of course there’s Beres Hammond who, indirectly held the title even when Sanchez was at his best, but we’re going to call Hammond “King Emeritus” as his life’s work has certainly earned him the title, active or not. There’s also Wayne Wonder, who would be considered a peer of Sanchez’, but the WICKED singer from out of Portland has always (and especially as of late) been so successful making love songs, but of a variety which would drag itself more into the Dancehall, which is his forté. So, I’m looking to the younger generation of artists for a name. We’d be looking for an individual who has been around for awhile and has the experience and the catalogue which would suggest that he wouldn’t have a problem trying to make his name making SWEET love songs predominately. He would also have to be not too young, we’re looking for someone who is in his early-mid thirties or so (sorry Turbulence), he would also have to have a powerful tone to his voice when he needed (sorry Gyptian) and just generally make very good and strong lovers rock music on a consistent basis. Of course the perfect man for the job (in case you couldn’t tell by the title or picture) in my opinion, is veteran singer Stevie Face. The St. Thomas (Jamaica) native comes complete with a VERY interesting past (which he has compiled in his thirty-four and a half years) (perfect age for the job), a voice with which he can do almost anything at this point and a catalogue which, although maybe not as well known as those of some of his more popular peers, is definitely highlighted by it’s consistency and just overall SOLID quality levels. Also, although Stevie Face’s is a name which probably won’t sound too familiar to the ears of many Reggae fans, within his fan base and hardcore, he is amongst a very select group of artists who seem to just bring an aura of CLASS with their music. There are no false conditions going in and there are no boastful remarks of his greatness for the most part, just the absolute feel of quality which, again, is something the King of Lovers Rock should have going for him as even apart from his more romantic work, that should come across in everything he does and in the case of Stevie Face, it does just that.
So what else does Stevie Face have going for him here? Well, although the shelves aren’t brimming with releases from the singer, like they are with releases from Turbulence and every time it happens you won’t find yourself inundated with press material about it, like you will in Gyptian’s case; Face does have an album to his credit. The VERY hard to find GEM of an album, Coming At You, was pushed through back in 2001 and apparently did quite a bit of damage for the singer as it was very popular in the States and contained a few big tunes. To my memory (and subsequent research) Coming At You also contained combinations with Cherine Anderson, Bushman and, of course, the WONDERFUL Teach The Children which included Junior Kelly, which I remember quite well. In the eight years since, Stevie Face has VANISHED (due to an automobile accident which I didn’t know about at all until recently) and a falling out with his former label, Arrows (which I did know about). And now, within the last three years or so, having rested up and righted the ship, Stevie Face has made one of the more remarkable comebacks in recent Reggae history to my opinion as he not only returned to the scene, but did so better than ever, with more fanfare than ever and carrying a bag full of big tunes, likewise. After parting ways with Arrows, Stevie Face linked up with HARDCORE veteran producer/engineer/musician/whateverelseyoumightneedmusicallyspeaking, Computer Paul and his Boot Camp Records imprint. Since coming amongst Paul and the Boot Camp crew, Stevie Face has enjoyed his greatest commercial successes to date and has solidified his standing in the music. Where he was once a very respected artist who didn’t receive much acclaim or attention, he now receives his fair share and more as the link with Boot Camp has birthed the next level and stage in Face’s career to the tune of a #1 Reggae smash hit, big further tunes and videos and he even took the stage at Sting and did very fine for himself. Now, as if that weren’t enough (and it was), as an attempt to wrap a bow around his return, take an even more international presence and just to overall reinforce the fact that he’s a bad, bad man, Stevie Face delivers his much anticipated sophomore album, Tell It Like It Is, eight years after his first. The album is done with the aforementioned Boot Camp Records (with the world’s finest Zojak Worldwide taking it the digital route across the globe), with Computer Paul manning the boards for the most part (although a few bits from other producers are LOVELY sprinkled in amongst the sixteen tracks) and, if you like sweet, romantic styled Reggae music, you will be absolutely DAZZLED by Tell It Like It Is. The album is released on the strength of (and is titled after) the big tune Tell It Like It Is, which went number one in Jamaica and several other places (apparently it was quite popular in the lovers rock frenzied UK, where Face reportedly scheduled a release party for the album) around the world and really was a BEAUTIFUL song which served as a reminder that he was back. The album keeps the vibes high as well, with several standout tunes to my ears but let’s be cut and clear with what’s going on here: If you like serious BABY MAKING REGGAE MUSIC and just emotionally driven vibes at the same time, then you’ve found what you need in Stevie Face’s Tell It Like It Is as he deftly avoids the ‘dreaded’ sophomore curse.
Stevie Face, just like Sanchez before him, proves adroit with the cover tune as well. There may actually be more than I recognized from my own memory of the songs, but regardless of the source, everything you’ll hear on this album is very well done. A cover song actually gets things started on Stevie Face’s brand new album, Tell It Like It Is, as he taps a tune which I didn’t immediately recognize AT ALL, but turned out to be a version of a song from English group Mike & The Mechanics, the MOVING ‘In The Living Years‘. This tune is about simply loving and making the best of the time you have with someone because you never know when they’ll be removed from this life. Stevie Face’s version is a nice and bouncing piece and one which hit me quite nicely and makes for a very nice opening. Up next is an original tune (I THINK) and one which I know quite well as it has received quite a bit of attention, ‘Coming Home’ which links the singer with the venerable Bobby Digital. Coming Home is the first bit of straight forward love tune you get on Tell It Like It Is and it’s BIG. If you have a special woman in your life, when you hear this tune you will IMMEDIATELY grab that special someone and do a little dance because it’s so nice (and if you don’t have anyone, you’ll get up and dance by yourself!), trust me! It’s definitely one of the main attractions here going in and one which lives up to the fanfare and attention that it has received thus far. Wrapping up the opening here is another cover and one which struck me quite nicely as Stevie Face invokes the (still living, I believe) spirit of Boris Gardiner for one of my mother’s favourite tunes of all time, ‘I Wanna Wake Up With You‘! I’ll stand up as well because I used to LOVE this song and Stevie Face runs it quite well and while I’m sure Mr. Gardiner loves the piece, my mother heard it and IMMEDIATELY said something to the effect of “Oooh!” A personal bit of respect goes for that one to end a downright stellar beginning.
Surprisingly, the star of the show, the title track (a cover of an Aaron Neville tune), doesn’t roll in on the album named after it until track #9 and when It does finally strike, what you’ll find is a tune SO NICE and SO NECESSARY that it’s hard not to pay attention to. It’s also no wonder why such a tune blew up as it did, as it’s just so personal and something so many people can relate to, I’m sure. The album also features three nice combinations. The first comes alongside Stevie Face’s stablemates at Boot Camp, MBC [Make Boyz Cry], with the CRIMINALLY sweet ‘If I Was Home Tonite‘. The song is a very romantic back and forth (your joke here) between Face and one of the members of MBC and it’s one of the best tunes I heard on Tell It Like It Is, definitely. Next in to link up with Stevie Face is a very nice addition, the typically fire and brimstone chanting Teflon, who tones things back a bit to make a very nice effort on the song ‘Loving Time‘. Teflon (who also has a very nice album out from Zojak, Motherless Child), would have been one of the last people I would have expected to see alongside Stevie Face does a very good job, although it is Face who takes center stage here with the laid back and syrupy sweet vocals. The final combination is also the final tune on the album, the BIG titled ‘Altar Of Jah‘, which features former Digicel Rising Stars contestant (he came in second) Noddy Virtue. This piece is a straight Gospel styled chant which will probably sound quite familiar and ‘comfortable’ to many ears and Virtue WELL holds his own on the large praising tune. Still, with the big start and all of the combinations and the title track and the others, my favourite tune on Tell It Like It Is comes in almost surreptitiously right after the title track, the TEAR INDUCINGLY EPIC ‘I WORRY OVER U‘! This song! This song! I’ll leave the setting of it to your own ears, but if you’ve been through something like this with a loved one then you simply have to be careful with tune as it will BREAK YOU DOWN! It was just so spot-on with the colour and ranges of emotions you go through in such a situation that it moved me. Seriously! And the vibes on the tune also, with an old school sounding horn which absolutely lights up the backdrop, you can’t ignore. You just can’t. HUGE tune. I was really happy to see the Kemar ‘Flava’ McGregor produced ‘Proverbs 6’ (Sweet Riddim) included on Tell It Like It Is because I’ve loved that song from the first time I heard it as Face reminds us to focus less so on the material things in life and more on His Majesty and the things of substance. Big tune. Similarly vibed is the tune which immediately precedes Proverbs 6, ‘Naw Leggo Jah‘. This is another big shot on the spiritual vibes and you REALLY need to be tuned in and really feeling good to be able to appreciate this song, so spin through it a few times it if fails to hit you the first few times because, trust me, there’s magic in that tune for His Imperial Majesty (and it sounds and is situated so nice right before Proverbs 6). ‘All She Needs’ is an interesting selection because it kind of reaches on two levels, with the first being a story styled vibes, but also it really (at least to my ears)is a piece for the guys out there to treat our women a bit better and be more open and sensitive and HELPFUL to their needs definitely. ‘ROSES IN YOUR EYES’ is a very familiar and rolling vibes. The song is quietly addictive and, again, it’s for the guys to APPRECIATE exactly what we have. That kind of a pausing moment you hear before Stevie Face jumps in on the MASSIVE ‘Lay Your Troubles On My Shoulders’ is something straight out of Sanchez’ repertoire and the balance of the tune doesn’t dissuade him from a similar course, which certainly isn’t a bad thing in my opinion. And speaking of Sanchez, I was kind of surprised to see that he hadn’t in fact voiced Calibud’s cut of the ENCHANTING We’re In The Mood riddim which backs the lovely ‘Every Minute, Every Day’ (the tune which I had stuck in my head on the same riddim was the equally enchanting Empress So Divine from Warrior King). The tune is yet another strong one and one which just may go to confirm Stevie Face’s standing in the lovers rock arena. It also goes to set up the aforementioned Altar Of Jah which closes us out on this ultimately STIRRING album, Tell It Like It Is.
Overall, I have to say that I can well see why Stevie Face chose the UK as a landing place for his album release party. If you are in that group of fans that enjoy people like Lloyd Brown, Bitty McLean, Peter Spence and Peter Hunnigale, YOU WILL ABSOLUTELY LOVE this album. There were times during listening to it when I felt like I was listening to a Lloyd Brown album or a Sanchez album and those fans that WELL appreciate well done modern lovers rock music, with Brown supposedly still to have an album this year, I’m rather comfortable in saying that, at least for 2009, you’ve found your winner already in Tell It Like It Is from Stevie Face. For everyone else, however, there’s more than enough material here to capture your attentions and affections as well. The overlying sense for me, personally, comes in the exudation of RAW emotion and Stevie Face isn’t even someone who has a very emotional tone either, he definitely has the voice, but he’s more reserved for the most part. He, however, is able to bring out such vivid and colourful emotions from his listeners which is REALLY, in my opinion, the attraction to his music. So with such a skill and all of the qualities I’ve spoken about are we ready to crown Stevie Face the NEW King of Lovers Rock? Well, with more efforts like the material found on Tell It Like It Is, I won’t even have to ask the question. It’ll be obvious. Well done.
Rated 4.5/5
Boot Camp Records/Zojak Worldwide
2009
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