'Back To August Town': A Review of "Black Gold" by Duane Stephenson

The trend of Reggae music being most geared towards making singles, as opposed to albums, is one which stretches back to the beginning of the music itself. Of course, it is more costly and simply harder to make albums as they require more tunes, more studio time, more riddims and more everything, in general. Also, with Reggae music expanding as quickly as it is to more and more areas around the world, seemingly we see new labels pop up on a monthly basis and these labels are also, predominately, interested in releasing single songs as opposed to full albums because, again, of the costs. So while things are definitely changing, particularly with the advent and the cultivation of the digital market, the music itself is still one which is predominately focused on making single songs and strings of singles on riddims and not necessarily albums, despite what people like me would have you believe. But that certainly does not mean that the Reggae album is an endangered species, quite the contrary, it’s on the rise and it is in that case that we deal with albums of varying statures and natures of importance. Last year, Tarrus Riley dropped his third studio album, the massive ”Contagious”. In my review of the album, I argued the case that, because of his actual qualities and all of the attention given to the artist at the time, which he still enjoys, his album could very well be the most significant of 2009. Riley had and has become a sort of signature for this new and very popular generation of Roots Reggae artists which, most notably, includes himself, Queen Ifrica and Etana. They are, in fact, the next truly big generation following the likes of Sizzla and Capleton and Anthony B, to actually match those legendary artists in the craft as well as the very important popularity, which is something that eluded previous ultra-talented ‘classes’ of artists. It was because of this that I felt that Riley’s album would be something which could, conceivably have a very large impact on the genre and because of the singles it would go on to birth, it did just that and Queen Ifrica’s album, ”Montego Bay” did the same, on a smaller scale earlier in the year. With Etana potentially set to do the same thing with her own album, ”Free Expression”, in a month or so, 2010 figures to also be a wonderful showcase for this current group. Still, it is well worth mentioning that if you are going to really dig into this current group of really powerful Jamaican Reggae artists who are leading this sort of ’surge’ of Roots Reggae music, you can do so neither accurately nor fairly if the name Duane Stephenson does is not involved.

Duane Stephenson’s name is not as popular as any name I’ve mentioned here thus far and should their respective careers continue along their current trajectories, it likely never will be. He also doesn’t seem to have the kind of magnetic personality which many of the others do and Stephenson doesn’t at all seem to be compelled to seek the brightest light the Reggae listening world has to offer. So what does he do? Duane Stephenson simply makes good music. A few years back he embarked on a MIGHTY stretch (one of the most impressive in recent years in all of Reggae music) which would eventually grab the attention of the biggest Reggae label in the world, VP Records, who would go on to give to the masses - Stephenson’s debut album, the very well received ”From August Town”. Despite the fact that the album was literally built on the strength of several proven hits, it seemed to take a minute to REALLY grab the attentions of most (as did the actual fact that VP had, in fact, even signed up Stephenson), which was not too much unlike the meteoric rise of the ”Parables” album from a few years earlier - Tarrus Riley’s debut album. It took many people quite some time to catch on (including yours truly, as I FINALLY gave it a proper spin just ahead of writing this review), but when they (we) finally did, Duane Stephenson’s story got more and more interesting and since the release of the album, it’s only gotten even more fascinating as the singer from August Town has continued along his rather ‘natural’ course in just making good music. He’s also carried on with what has arguably been the best trait he’s displayed - WRITING. Stephenson actually wrote the DEVASTATING tune, ‘True Reflections’, for the then incarcerated Jah Cure and most recently he penned lyrics for no less than three tunes on the big ”United States of Africa” album for the legendary Luciano (including the title track). So, with his huge string of hits, his debut album, his increased profile since then and the fine form he’s displayed (including a couple of BIG tunes on the outstanding ”Joyful Noise“ compilation), Duane Stephenson now goes into ”Black Gold”, his much anticipated sophomore release and one of the most IMPORTANT of 2010, in my opinion. Like the first, this album comes under the guidance of the legendary producer/musician/song writer/arranger, Dean ‘Cannon’ Fraser, for his Cannon Productions (Fraser also serves the same role for Tarrus Riley) and, of course, it too comes for VP Records. It was also mostly voiced in veteran producer Mikey Bennett’s Grafton Studios. What makes this release so valuable to me is that Stephenson’s is definitely a name for the future of Reggae music and while his impact may not reach as far as some of his peers outside of the genre, for ALL of the fans who caught on through the ”From August Town” album (and there were MANY as, reportedly, the album did very well commercially) and its many hits, when they come back (and they will) it is very important that they hear something very strong to keep their interest. In Reggae, so many times, it seems easier to catch a hype than to keep one and while QUALITY isn’t always the deciding measure, in the case of ”Black Gold” it would not be a problem AT ALL as Duane Stephenson checks in with an absolute Roots Reggae thriller from beginning to end.

Besides everything leading up to his music and the reception of it, there’s also the issue of Duane Stephenson’s VOICE. I can’t say that I can think of an accurate comparison in terms of whom he may sound near to. He has a style of kind of ‘whispering’, but his voice has an INCREDIBLE range to it and this type of ‘loud’ affect to it. The results, in all honesty, are probably one of the best voices in all of Reggae music. And this under-discussed tool of his Duane Stephenson uses throughout his brand new sophomore set, ”Black Gold” for VP Records, which gets going with a big tune, ‘Nah Play’. This song, like several on the album, is a big big social commentary (this one, speaking specifically to and of the youths) and it’s a very nice way to start things with its big and anthem style (should you listen very closely, at the end you’ll also notice a DELICIOUS piece of dub of the Christopher Birch produced tune’s riddim). The opener makes way for an intoxicating lover’s piece, ‘Fire In Me’. The title of the song is kind of corny, kind of sappy, but this song is absolutely GORGEOUS and it doesn’t even go in the direction that you might think it does - It’s a fairly complicated love song - With Stephenson ultimately equating the ‘fire within’ to be love and a vast improvement over the hard times that his special lady has been going through and is used to. You should also pay attention to the tune because it has one of the best choruses on the whole of the album as well. I’ll skip ahead to the fourth tune, ‘Deception’, which is a pretty strange song. This very melancholy tune isn’t one of my favourites on ”Black Gold”, but it’s clearly one of the most interesting, to say the least. It speaks of a relationship where both parties haven’t exactly been terribly honest with each one another and, because that’s the basis, Stephenson goes on to question the entirety of the existence of the union. It actually sounds (literally and figuratively) like a song from a different genre of music, as these sort of ‘high-tech’ love songs usually don’t birth in Reggae, but, as I said, it’s well interesting and if I continue to spin it, I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see it begin to grow on me.

With quite a few different storylines going into ”Black Gold”, definitely the one which develops highly in the music is the fact that Duane Stephenson and Dean Fraser DEFINITELY tap some BIG talents with which Stephenson creates big vibes for the album. The first is probably the most unexpected as legendary Dub Poet, Mutabaruka, comes through on ‘Truth Is’.

“Too see the good in things
You have to see yourself in things
Wake up and live”

This song is another social commentary type of song, but it’s very off-center and really one of the highlights of the album to my opinion. It takes the tangible and brings in the spiritual as well and Mutabaruka’s presence is PERFECTLY sprinkled in to the point where you really look forward to him presenting as opposed to him taking over the entire vibes, which is a potential situation with his style. BIG TUNE. The next guest artist in line is Gramps Morgan, from Morgan Heritage, who goes head to head with Stephenson for the affections and attention of one special lady, on ‘Rescue Me’. Again, the rather cliché (for a love song), definitely doesn’t do the Dean Fraser produced piece justice because these two bring a BEAUTIFUL vibes in a fashion of Sean Paul vs. Mr. Vegas ‘Hot Gyal Today’ style. The aforementioned Queen Ifrica chimes in on ‘Stay At Home', which is another interesting piece as well. The tune is actually a remake of an old Dennis Brown tune for Joe Gibbs (and Errol Thompson) which is truly MASSIVE and Stephenson and Ifrica have no problem at all doing it justice. I like how it seems as if Queen Ifrica’s presence on the song (or on the album) was just so mandatory, that they just kind of seem to have fit her in and I probably wouldn’t care WHERE, but here is a very nice spot for her, and as usual, she does very well. Finally, the criminally underrated and oft-forgotten Ras Shiloh steps forth on the well spun ‘Soon As We Rise’ from Kemar ‘Flava’ McGregor’s big Classic Riddim.

“You wrap up your head, say you a Rasta
But we know you are only an imposter
Cause Rasta preach love and affection, teach Marcus Garvey direction”

I’ve literally fallen in love with this song in the few months since it originally dropped and it is a standout here as Shiloh (anytime you’re ready with that new album) and Stephenson check people who aren’t doing what they’re supposed to be doing for the betterment of the planet.

Betwixt the very nice start and what I’ll tell you about in just a second, the middle portion of ”Black Gold”, sans guest artist, seems merely burdened with the responsibility of keeping the vibes high, but instead, it actually carries two of the album’s finest moments. ‘Woman’ is another kind of complicated love song. It reminds me greatly of ‘Deception’, in terms of the vibes, but instead of dealing with lies, it deals with one of the greatest facts of the world: “Cause when God made this land, his greatest gift to man, was certainly a woman”. The song also features one of the strongest vocal performances on the whole of the album as well. Then there is the title track which . . . AS SOON as the piece drops in, you know that you’re dealing with something pretty special. I could sit here ALL DAY espousing on what my idea of ‘Black Gold’ is (and I just might do that), but I’ll leave that to your interpretation because it comes through on so many different channels where it’ll probably mean something different to different people and all of those thoughts won’t be wrong at all. So definitely pay attention to this piece, which may be the finest lyrical moment on the album and clearly one of the best tunes as well. I’ll give similar accolades to ‘Jah Works’ (and it’s WICKED one-drop riddim), which is pretty straight forward, but sonically is WONDERFUL. The tune itself definitely isn’t ‘ground breaking’ or anything like such, but it is a very strong vibes and strikes in on levels most tunes here don’t, which makes it very unique, even for an already very unique artist. And later, there’s ‘More’ . . . All I’m going to tell you is that this is my Wife’s favourite tune on the album. She hates pretty much everything, but she loves this song. So surely you can figure out what it is after that - Big romantic vibes.

And then there’s the final four tunes on ”Black Gold”. One of which is the aforementioned ‘Soon As We Rise’ alongside Shiloh, but of the other three, you have a BEAUTIFUL remake and my personal two favourite songs on the album. First I’ll mention the very interesting cover tune, ‘Members Only’. One of Stephenson’s biggest early solo hits was a cover of one of the greatest love songs of all time, ‘Cottage In Negril’, by the late Tyrone Taylor. Now it’s so interesting that he draws ‘Members Only’, which isn’t a Taylor original, but is a song he did sing (and his was the version with which I was most familiar) (and that may’ve been the case for Stephenson as well) and while it’s hard to imagine this song reaching those heights, it is HUGE. The song was apparently originally done by a blues singer by the name of Bobby Blue Bland and it is just so nice as it’s like a meeting of the ‘broken hearted club’ or something like such. Of course, everyone has been in such a position (and if you haven’t then you are most certainly evil), so it’s very relatable and I imagine that there’ll be quite a few tears shed in enjoying this one. And then there’s the BOOM.

“How can far can we go?
Only you know Jah
The streets dem full ah army, but no solja
Dem willing fi tek yah life
Money alone protect yah life
Or a gun over your shouda”

If I turn out to be the only one energetically singing the praises of this tune, I just won’t give a damn. I LOVE THIS SONG! On an album full of social commentaries and songs with Duane Stephenson just asking for people to treat one another better and for the powers that be to exercise more common fucking sense, the biggest moment of them all comes on ‘Cycle Goes On’, which shows all the urgency and ‘musical electricity’ you would think necessary to convey such a message. It is very close to being a truly rare PERFECT song and it’s also the greatest thing I hear on ”Black Gold”, period. The tune is also the only one which I enjoy more so than the album’s first single, ‘Sufferer’s Heights’, which receives two rinses on the album, the ‘Rocker’s Version’ and the ‘Ballad Version’. To my opinion, the better of the two is the latter which is also the final tune on the album and it does MAJOR damage on so many different levels. First of all, the vocals are some of the finest on the album altogether and the vibes, again, have this type of urgency which is often lacking on Roots Reggae tunes where the singer seems to be kind of ‘going through the motions’ in terms of how a song is presented, despite the fact that they’re asking for (or demanding in many cases), something as large as social change. If you REALLY wanted to change something, I’d think that you have at least a little intensity in your voice and that is something - the appropriation of it (and not using it fully, all of the time) - Which Duane Stephenson has seemingly mastered. He’s also doing pretty well with that whole album-making thing as well.

Overall, I alluded to it earlier, but to make it simple: Roots Reggae isn’t always thought of as being the most ‘entertaining’ of genres, but I’m going to make the statement that Duane Stephenson’s ”Black Gold”, a Roots Reggae album, is THRILLING. It is an exciting piece of work and it is one which a lot of eyes and ears are going to be on. What those eyes and ears will see and hear is an album which is CLEARLY better than ”From August Town” as Stephenson has obviously become more of a completed and refined artist in the time since. Those are qualities, in my opinion, most evident in the consistency of the album and in the general consistency of Stephenson’s career over the past couple of years. I could probably make a pretty good album with 13-15 tracks which aren’t on this album and aren’t very well known at all, which shows a very general growth as an artist to my opinion and despite the fact that every tune here may not exactly amaze you, there simply aren’t any tunes here which are just clearly bad choices. So, as the lights shine brighter on other artists and as more cameras flash for them as well, Duane Stephenson proves himself, again, where it counts the most and delivers one of the biggest albums of 2010, ”Black Gold”.

Rated: 4.85/5
VP Records
2010
CD + Digital


Duane Stephenson @ Myspace