Modern Classics Vol. XXII: "Serious Times" by Luciano

Luciano - Serious Times [VP Records - 2004]

Luciano is a very interesting artist, whose history (largely due to the fact that he’s been the dominant Roots Reggae singer for most of the current era) largely mirrors that of the modern history of Reggae music. His longevity has seen minor passes of time, in terms of artists - Coming and going - And whole scale changes in time as well, with actual styles appearing and disappearing. Still, he has remained, arguably until very recently, THE dominant Roots Reggae singer of now two eras and while his prime years figure to be over, certainly ’The Messenjah’ still has much much more to offer. And to that end, it wasn’t a very long time ago, 2004, when Luciano dropped what, in my opinion, immediately became and remains his opus. Following major (in the sense of quality) albums such as ”One Away Ticket”, ”Where There is Life”, ”A New Day” and others, it seemed, even then as though the forty year old Manchester born singer had reached and descended from his own personal career zenith, but what he had in store certainly challenged that notion and it also, arguably, became one of the strongest Roots Reggae albums for a singer of the entire modern era. This popular release would show an even more advanced side of the crooner and in doing so retake him and his career to the heights which it deserved and, again, even though he’s made way for younger artists such as Tarrus Riley and Etana, the album helped to launch Luciano back to his rightful and most visible place in the music. ”Serious Times”.

THE MUSIC

1. ‘Give Praise’

In my humble estimation, the tune that begins Luciano’s ”Serious Times”, ‘Give Praise’, is every bit as strong as tunes like ‘Sweep Over My Soul’, ‘It’s Me Again Jah’, ‘One Away Ticket’ and ‘No Night In Zion’, which makes up some of his best material to date. Why? This STERLING tune took the style of tune ‘praising song’, destroyed it and gave birth to something new and refreshing and it remains (and justly so) not only the biggest, but the most popular and signature tune from this amazing album.

Best Lyric: “So many days, so many nights, I faced this rugged life. Went through some fights, just to get a bite. My friends and my environment, sometimes they do me wrong. But by my faith, I keep holding on”

2. ‘Come Down Father’

When I first heard this tune I was almost certain that it was a remake of SOMETHING and all these years later I just noticed that it did, in fact, borrow from an old Jose Feliciano tune (named ‘Come Down Jesus’) and as is Luciano’s norm when doing remakes, you’ll notice that it is simply a BETTER song than the original. The vocals aside, the tune just has a bigger vibes and has a further reach in my opinion and wherever Jose Feliciano is, I’m sure he was mighty pleased with the ode.

Best Lyric: “Come down Father and look at what you’ll see - A lot of concrete where GREEN used to be”

3. ‘The World Is Troubled’

Speaking of pleasing originals - Luciano’s has always had an obvious affection and reverence for the music of the legendary ‘Crown Prince’ of Reggae music, Dennis Emmanuel Brown and here he takes on yet another of Brown’s legendary picks, ‘World Is Troubled’. I can’t say that he’s done this one better than the original quite yet, but they’re both very very comparable and to the millions upon millions of people reached by the original version, I’m sure they would (and many have, including yours truly) find nearly as much strength in Luciano’s version.

Best Lyric: “You’ve got your troubles and I’ve got mine. Let’s work together to make things fine”

4. ‘Stay Away’

Luciano goes all ‘Night Nurse’ and Doctor’s Darling on the people with ‘Stay Away’, a tune warning all righteous people to keep clear (as best as you can) from big time negativity and harmful ways. This one is big - As you might notice from the clip interwoven in the tune, it definitely has a very far reach in terms of its intended audience and really you can take it in so many ways. Whether you look at it as a social commentary, or an anti-violence tune or even a praising track in some ways, this song, which has gone under noticed for the most part, is one of the biggest and brightest on the whole of ”Serious Times”.

Best Lyric: “And I’m beseeching to you, mankind, cease from your violence and crime if you want to be safe in this time”

5. ‘Just Talk To God’

Certainly the first thought about this tune is to call it sappy or corny, but what I always tend to point out in making its case is the MUSICIANSHIP. I don’t believe I’ve ever heard another tune on this riddim, but whatever it is (a Dean Fraser construct), it is LOVELY. It’s a bit of straight up Jazz backing Luciano and at times, combined with the vocals, it literally sounds like some R&B tune circa 1975. It also has this kind of ‘don’t worry, be happy’ type of mentality on the vocals and if you REALLY REALLY begin to listen to them, this kind of whimsical nature slowly but surely begins to fade away and the colour of the song becomes something totally different. So don’t give up on it!

Best Lyric: “He’s your Father, your Brother, He’s your Friend. He’s your Maker, your Creator, to the end”

6. ‘Satisfy Yourself’

First of all, take your mind from out of the gutter . . . Finished??? Cool. Okay, now take in the very fulfilling ‘Satisfy Yourself’, one of the biggest moments on the massive album. Essentially it is a call to action (not that kind of action) and it is a song speaking about self determination. I really like the lyrical approach on this one (not to mention that absolutely STERLING riddim) because what the tune is saying, more or less, is to go after your goals in life, but to go after them sensibly and not to the immediate long term detriment of other people - Meaning - DO WHATEVER YOU WANT TO DO, BUT LEAVE EVERYONE ELSE THE FUCK ALONE! Beautiful!

Best Lyric: “Satisfy, YOURSELF. Don’t deny YOURSELF. Be alright with YOURSELF and you’ll survive. Always love, YOURSELF. Do the same with SOMEONE ELSE. Always be true to YOURSELF. Be alive”

7. ‘Love Will Make It’ featuring Morgan Heritage

Despite the fact that ‘Love Will Make It’ features the beautiful Morgan Heritage family, it sounds SO comfortable that it almost sounds as if Luciano is actually King Jepther Morgan (instead of McClymont) and an actual part of the group. I also really like the lyrical direction on this one as well, largely because what it does it to take LOVE and let it top religion or belief or paths in life, whatever you want to call it. We can sit around and argue about which set of beliefs are CORRECT until we lose our tongues, but LOVE is clearly a power which requires less stressful conversations and is even more prevalent.

Best Lyric: “Peace will linger in the distance as justice sees its final dawn. Not that surprising, look where we’re going”. Love will make it through night, knowing everything is right”

8. ‘Echoes of My Mind’

This tune was actually a cover of a folk tune (I think that’s what I’d call it), ‘Everybody’s Talking’, by American singer Fred Neil. Luciano’s range, in terms of what he listens to (obviously), is quite varied and although you probably didn’t know this tune (like myself), if it resonated within you AT ALL, it now ‘belongs’ to Luciano. Should you hear the original you’ll make the connection to Luciano and, at least my mind, that should be the goal in making a cover tune - To make it even stronger than the original. Mission accomplished.

Best Lyric: “Everybody’s talking. I don’t hear a word they’re saying, only the echoes of my mind. People stop and staring, but I can‘t see their faces, only the shadows of their eyes”

9. ‘Free Up the Weed’

Regardless of who’s written the actual tune (although it actually was Luciano in this case), you KNOW that no one on the planet puts as much energy and time into singing a strong herbalist tune and although you’ll find more vocally forceful pieces than ‘Free Up the Weed’, in retrospect, you’ll find not too many better and fewer, even still, which were more FUN. This one just found Luciano obviously having a great time and with its very free flowing and swinging nature (the lyrics feature him almost deejaying at times), it wasn’t very hard to see why.

Best Lyric: “They ask me how I plea - ‘Your honour not guilty’ - It was just a little herbs for my medi. Set this Rastaman free”

10. ‘Alpha & Omega’

COOL. This tune was proof that vocals need not be stretched to the brink and sweat need not burst upon the brow to make a spiritual true come in ringing and BLARING at the same time. ‘Alpha & Omega’ was absolutely SPECTACULAR and you wouldn’t even notice it unless you paid a special bit of attention. On the surface, it was just kind of . . . There, but just slightly beneath you had maybe one of The Messenjah’s best tunes since the turn of the century.

Best Lyric: “Jah has given me this power to teach to all mankind. The secret to His Kingdom is locked within our minds”

11. ‘Serious Times. Serious Measures’

In this most revealing of tunes, Luciano pretty much puts EVERYTHING on the table as far as where this tune (and maybe even the entire album) is headed. It is a social commentary of the highest order and it is one of a very rare type of songs for The Messenjah - Luciano’s way of writing (and he does write this one) is often of a type where it is less tangible and more abstract this one, however, is one of the better FAR more direct tunes of his entire golden career.

Best Lyric: “Serious times require serious measures. Let’s make an effort to get together”

12. ‘No Where To Go To’

BIG! I haven’t heard this tune in such a long time so long, in fact, that I’d actually forgotten the fact that it’s underpinned by the MASSIVE Rocking Time Riddim (Bobby Digital’s cut, also used for Sizzla’s epic ‘Got It Right Here’), which adds to the kind ‘murkiness’ produced by the tune. This one is just so matter of fact in the way it goes about itself - It almost seems as if Luciano, HIMSELF, had caught up with wicked is almost sorry for their fate because there nowhere for them to run, nowhere for them to hide.

Best Lyric: “Cause there is victory, for them and those who fear The Most High God and eternal life for Jah children who made the righteous trod. So no matter what may come, Jah will be done. Woe be unto the wicked man, his world will go tumbling down”

13. ‘We Need A Miracle’

Here’s another one that might come through as being a bit corny and sappy to a degree, but it doesn’t take much effort on the part of the listener to kind of sift through the ‘fluff’ and latch onto the tune’s very powerful meaning. It is simply a sufferer’s anthem of sorts. It’s a GORGEOUS sufferer’s anthem, but a sufferer’s anthem still. With the oft-said title in the song, it also gives it an extremely broad reach and you’ll notice how specific the verses seem to be as opposed to the chorus, which is just . . . REALLY strange, but powerful still (and also notice the unmistakably brilliant saxophone surrounding the tune, of course, from Mr. Dean ’Cannon’ Fraser).

Best Lyric: “It’s gonna take a miracle of love, to see us through. It’s gonna take a miracle of love for me and you”

14. ‘This Feeling’

This Sangie Davis penned track is one of the finest and just most LIVELY tunes that you’ll find on the whole of ”Serious Times” and it’s also one quite important in taking in the album’s prevailing concept in my opinion (but more on that later). The tune was literally soaked in inspirational vibes and it was so flooded DIRECTLY. Luciano (Sangie) set up all of the roadblocks and eventually bowled them over via the strength of His Majesty..

Best Lyric: “THIS FEELING, TOUCHED MY SOULLLLLLLLLLLL!”

15. ‘Jah Is My Keeper’

As is his norm, Luciano gets all biblical on ‘Jah Is My Keeper’, taking his words for the song (sans the title) (at least as far as I know) directly from scripture. This one really I think fits in better in terms of a live performance. Luciano is known to begin (and sometimes just randomly) his live sets with bible verses and, in that capacity and in that environment, they REALLY get the audiences going and I’m sure this one would and has had the same effect.

Best Lyric: N/A

16. ‘The Ras She Want’

This is definitely a very familiar tune in terms of its subjectry and although I can’t, off the top of my head, think of Luciano using this path before . . . that’s unfortunate, this song is LOVELY! Typically, you’ll hear this type of song and it’ll be fill of kind of boastful and bragging ideas, but it’s very interesting how Luciano manages to sing such a vibes and manage to seem to stay SO humble at the same time. Of course it also goes to the credit of the piece and the singer that it sounds so well in general.

Best Lyric: “I’m a man with much loving and good material. I know all you need is a LION with strong vibrations”

17. ‘Only Love’

Luciano saved one of the best for last as ”Serious Times” wraps up with the very expected ‘Only Love’. This song is simply a ribbon for the album which precedes it and it sounds like that was the intent here. It simply speaks about trying to just add more LOVE to the world and that’s it, very simple. Clearly, however, this tune was placed here to send the listener out with a very nice vibes and very nice feelings and, in that respect, there is no song on this album which better serves its purpose.

Best Lyric: “And if we all, live it up, show love to each other. Creating one world, that’s better for the future”

Synopsis

Obtaining the prevailing message and theme of the ”Serious Times” album is pretty simple in my opinion. Luciano’s songs, in general actually, tend to follow something of a template in terms of how they’re ultimately constructed (which is even more remarkable when you consider the fact that he utilizes quite a few different songwriters) and to figure this out, I’ll draw your attention to the punch lines of just two tunes on this album, ‘Alpha & Omega’ and ‘This Feeling’:

“I come to sing about The Father Alpha & Omega”

&

“This Feeling Touched my soul”

To take the first one in the most literal context, subtract it from the perspective of this actual song and apply it to Luciano’s music on the whole. “I come to sing about The Father”, he says and that is EXACTLY what he has done in respect to his entire career to date and probably his entire adult LIFE as well. You can literally take that, as a foundation, and apply it to EVERY album Luciano has done thus far. Of course, they all have certain things which are going to make them original and different in some ways (or maybe many ways), from one another, and not to even mention the various sounds, but “I come to sing about The Father”, is simply what Luciano does.

Take that same sentiment and allow it to lead directly into the second portion - “This Feeling touched my soul“. What feeling? The same feeling that Luciano came to sing about. Incidentally, should there be any question of the feeling in question, simply allow the album to run its course. Doing so on the tune ‘This Feeling’ will run you right into the direction of ‘Jah Is My Keeper’. Also take into consideration the very nature of ‘This Feeling’ - What did it touch? What can (or is perceived to be able to) touch a soul? Grabbing this concept, in my opinion, grabs THE concept of the music and is so crucial here, as I alluded to when speaking of the actual song.

As I said, that is the basis for just about anything that you’re ever going to hear from Luciano, but there’re things which are thrown in, in almost every case, which make the music unique. In the case of ”Serious Times”, I feel that the source of what makes it unique, in terms of the prevailing message on the album, can be traced to three different tunes. In order to do these in a way in which it’d make the greatest amount of sense (so you can see the progression), I’ll start with the second tune of the three, sequentially, the title track ‘Serious Times, Serious Measures’. As I said, this tune is much more of a direct and tangible tune than you normally hear from Luciano and it’s definitely a real winner still.

“Middle East crises escalate
Suicide bombers devastate
Nuclears ready to detonate
And we can’t evacuate
Father help us, we’re in doubt
World leaders can’t work it out
Could this be the end of the human race?
That would be a disgrace”

For the most part, this entire focuses on actual world event and world problems and chaos and only rarely (such as in this passage, with “Father help us, we’re in doubt”) does he directly call upon a Higher Power to intervene in any degree. If you take that type of set to the ‘bridge’ of the album, the first and finest tune, ‘Give Praise’, you see exactly where things go.

“So many days, so many nights, I faced this rugged life
Went through some fights, just to get a bite
My friends and my environment, sometimes may do me wrong
But by my faith, I keep holding on”

This piece is a PERFECT example of what I mean by this tune being a bridge. For the most part, this is another stretch about real world issues, until you get into that last line, “but by my FAITH, I keep holding on” (as well as the subsequent chorus which follows it, “so I give praise to Rastafari and all praises unto Jah. . .”). He does the exact same thing on the next verse, but even stays harder to the real world issues.

“The youths today, are so confused, they don’t know what to do
They fuss and fight for what they think is right
Life for them seems so hard, they don’t know where to turn
With lessons that they need to learn”

Again, there’s nothing ostensibly spiritual about those lyrics until you get, again, into the chorus. What is to be said here, is that you see more and more blending of the concept of His Majesty being present than you heard on the title track and you take both of those and notice the progression which ends, fittingly, on the album’s final tune, ‘Only Love’.

“Cause we’re leaving in a perilous time and can’t keep doing so much wrong
So we’ve got to unite in the Armageddon
Using LOVE to create the bond”

I don’t think I need, at all (even though I’m clearly about to do it anyway), to breakdown what ‘love’, at least partially is, for Luciano. Maybe even we can rewrite the lyric as:

“Cause we’re leaving in a perilous time and can’t keep doing so much wrong So we’ve got to unite in the Armageddon Using -THIS FEELING- to create the bond”

”Serious Times” was about as ‘rugged’ of an album that Luciano has ever done since REALLY entering the grandest periods of his career. It certainly was rough as you’d find from more ‘physical’ singers such as Chezidek or especially the Bushman (in terms of their subjectry), but for him it was a pronounced change, but one which kept true to his actual intent. Luciano has “come to sing about The Father”. In the case of ”Serious Times”, however, he’s also come to sing for everyone smart enough to have picked up this, A BONAFIDE MODERN CLASSIC!