Glimpses. I suppose you could say the same thing about listening to music, watching movies or even sports - that we, as fans, are all basically waiting for one thing. What we want is to hear that spectacular song or album, see that amazing scene or see that special play in the game which will stay with us forever. Of course that doesn't mean that what happens up until and/or after those moments is without value (on the whole, it may be even more important) (there is an extreme worth in consistency) but, whether or not you realize it, you're waiting for something to absolutely KNOCK you. This is even more accurate when dealing with someone or something who/which has demonstrated themselves capable of providing you with such excitement. Music has a way of 'dealing' with these situations on any level as well; as the term 'one-hit wonder' is most often associated with it. If you can get me there but you can never quite take me back (....or anywhere near there that matter), there's already a very populated designation waiting for you. If you really think about it, chances are decent that some of your favourite artists are the ones who have given you more of those giant moments than almost anyone else. And I also think we tend to gravitate towards younger up and comers because not only do we generally enjoy what we hear coming from them, but we think that they will go on to prove themselves to be at least somewhat consistently amazing down the line. But (and this is especially true in a genre such as Reggae where singles come through on a seemingly never-ending basis and an album is not always somewhere on the horizon) there're also these incredibly long timespans where there hasn't been something that puts you in awe from a particular individual and, though it may be tough (and it often is), you stick with them and you 'know' (HOPE, not "know") that they will be great again. I'm a Sizzla fan and, to my opinion, his highs are higher than anyone else's. At his absolute best, that man is without peer. It helps that I've been listening to his music for so long with such great attention to detail because I've heard so much output from him that has been somewhere on the range of 'experimental' at best because I'm still convinced that "Black Woman & Child" is coming through that door again - even if it never does (IT WILL!). And it doesn't only apply to your own 'highests'. There're certain artists who've shown themselves to be ultra consistent and they may never register as something higher than that for you, respectively. Others still, however, have attained a very healthy body of work in terms of being quite reliable for the most part, but they have DEFINITELY exhibited themselves, under the right conditions, to be SO MUCH more than just 'reliable'. Today we're taking a look at someone who is exactly that for me and has been for years, the seemingly indomitable Bushman. I think that, by now, the longtime veteran singer from out of St. Thomas has gotten his respect. While not amongst the very biggest names in Roots Reggae, he has enjoyed now well over two decades of a certain status and has received it based on his work. He's been all over the world, probably several times, and is DEFINITELY revered by fans of the genre. And even if you aren't a Bushman fan, you know his name and you know what his music is about to some degree. For me it goes just a bit deeper than that. While I couldn't list him as being one of my historical favourites, Bushman has WHOLLY dazzled me at times throughout the years. He's been SENSATIONAL and not in terms of just being this kind of ultra-dependable pick-up truck of an artist (more on that in a second). He's also been a very, VERY fast race car a few times.
On the album side, he's been first to the finish-line on a couple of occasions. His JARRING 2001, King Jammy's produced offering, "Higher Ground", is one of the finest albums I've ever heard from anyone ["I YAD AWAY HOOOOOOOOOME!"]. It has been deemed a Modern Classic on these pages and it didn't have to wait very long at all, being entry number five. It was BEAUTIFUL the day it released and it still is twenty years on. The stage for that album was set two years prior when the Bushman released his sophomore album, "Total Commitment", also for the legendary maestro. A few years later was "Signs" which, although I cannot call it a classic, on the whole (because it does have two or three songs on it which I do not enjoy), I may very well hold it in as high esteem as I do any non-classic. That album contained some of the very best songs that I have heard from Bushman, including the MAMMOTH 'Sanctuary' ["I PRAISE HIM EVERYDAYYYYYYYYY!"] and 'Creatures of The Night' ["vampires, hypocrites and parasites. Haile Selassie give I strength to fight"] ["Old virus unuh! Old locust unuh! Haile Selassie teach mi seh mi nah fi trust unuh"]. And outside of that frame, I can name you songs that he's done throughout the years that have been peak level pieces for me such as 'Arms of A Woman' which is simply one of the greatest love songs that I have ever heard (.... off the top of my head, it may lay a claim to being THE greatest), an older and kind of obscure piece by the name of 'Zion Await' (TEARS!) and just a couple of years ago there was 'Hear Wah Mi Ah Seh', a bar of gold produced by Don Corleon. I can think of moments like that, but I can also get into albums that he's done which, for one reason another, just didn't resonate very much with me. I always think of what is probably his highest profile project to date, "Bushman Sings The Bush Doctor", which was 2011 tribute to the legendary Peter Tosh who Bushman looked so much up to and is a lifelong fan of (as are we all). Though interesting in so many ways, I always wished that he had RELEASED a bit more there and pushed more of himself into the recordings instead of doing them more as straight covers. Going even further back, I will probably never forget reading an interview of the artist where he spoke of doing a deal to do an album for an esteemed UK imprint by the name of Stingray and just not being very much into it. That set of circumstances would produce both 2000's "A Better Place" and its re-release three years later, then renamed "My Meditation". He wasn't very much into doing the recordings and, in spots, it showed. It wasn't Bushman's finest hour. So, although I definitely hold him in such a high regard and he has THRILLED me over the years (and almost surely will do so again), Bushman's work (at least on the album side) can be an adventure.
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| 2008 |
"Adventure" is a very nice way of describing his most recent release as well, "Conquering Lion". When I had decided that it would be fun to write a review for this album for the vault, I went back and did some research on its beginnings as I always do and I stumbled upon a very interesting blog from some guy named Achis (or 'Archie') (I cannot tell you how many emails we've gotten over the years with people calling me Archie). This guy (who talks entirely too fucking much) actually mentioned the Bushman working on an album called "Conquering Lion", way back in August of 2013. He had already dropped a single for it and, presumably, in was coming soon. We just had to wait a little while. In March of 2018, more than four and a half years on, "Conquering Lion" would materialize. The album was Bushman's first studio effort following 2008's "Get It In Your Mind" (in 2009, there was also a digital-only live release, "Live In Paris", which means that this became his first album, at all, in nine years!) and it shared something special with its older sibling. "Get It In Your Mind" was the first of Bushman's catalogue to come via his own Burning Bushes Music imprint (Zojak Worldwide handles the distribution on this also digital-only drop). It would take a decade, ultimately, but the follow-up would eventually stand up. Although it certainly wasn't his best work, "Get It In Your Mind" wasn't a bad album at all (it still isn't) but it didn't make a significant impact on me and I had to listen through it to remember the vibes from it ('Rasta Nuh Dead' probably being my current favourite song there) and, along with sharing origins with its predecessor, "Conquering Lion" may just share some of that status as well. Let's see.
I tried to structure this review in the way that I did not only because I thought it an interesting write, but the thing that strikes me most in regards to this particular album was that, when you listen through it, what you get are FLASHES of some really powerful material (more so than "Get It In Your Mind", it's better). There're some truly strong songs and vibes in this one, but it never seems to hit a height and remain there as Bushman does when at the pinnacle of his power. Still, Bushman at a B-, B level is remains compelling and rather easily capable of putting together a solid set. The title track and opener, for example, is about as "solid" as you can get. WONDERFULLY preambled by a speech from legendary actor, Charlie Chaplin ["We think too much and hear too little. More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities life would be violent and all would be lost"], 'Conquering Lion' is just an excellent praising track. It may or may not have stuck with you over the past three and half years or so, but you don't listen to a song like this without IMMEDIATELY hearing a certain power behind it - a clear highlight. The old school social commentary and single, 'How You Living', was up next and it found the Bushman just checking in with people across the world, essentially asking, "You good?". Of course, for many the answer is "hell no, I'm not" and he uses the moment to specifically address the importance of doing as best as you possibly can in raising your children. I didn't suppose this one would largely go in that direction (you see that title and expect something a bit broader) (biggup Barrington Levy), but it does work on some level by its end. And although it is somewhat out of place on the album, sequentially speaking, 'Burning Love', a very straight forward love song was next on Notis' lovely Crossroads Riddim. Given his history on the topic (the previously mentioned 'Arms of A Woman'), I virtually HAVE to pay attention when Bushman sings about love (I am contractually obligated and you see what I mean about giving someone special moments. I know what he can do with the subject, so from then on, I'm waiting for him to do it again). While this one doesn't threaten to reach those lofty heights (damn near nothing does, that song was amazing), it is another adequate piece. Later on we get the catchier 'Always On My Mind', which is the slight better of the pair to my opinion ["Woman you nuh crawny. You nuh haffi bleach yuh skin. You nuh haffi go a animal shop like a pharmacy rat"], but you can't go too wrong with either. The track here, the Movin Feva' Riddim, is certainly an interesting choice by Bushman, you wouldn't typically expect him to go on such a riddim, but it works very well for him in the end (and check the "Total Commitment" album if you want to hear him doing some damage in the Dancehall). Both 'Always On My Mind' and 'Burning Love' are just nice songs and I do enjoy how the vibes between them are changed so you don't get the same song twice, essentially (and maybe it's worth mentioning that they are the two shortest songs here by twenty-one and thirty-six seconds, respectively).
I cannot say for full certainty, but I believe that 'We Mean It' which originally reached back in 2012, is the first combination between Bushman and the legendary Capleton. Hypothetically speaking, such a link is downright delicious and they did not disappoint on this blazing tune.
"Who mek di youths caan get enough?
Who mek di system so corrupt?
Who mek so much shot ah buss?
Who mek di people so disgust?
Babylon ah play, si seh dem ah war and fuss
Who create di changes of di time?
Who create the visions of your mind?
They create di borders and di lines
Only Jah can save this time"
"Mi nah love how babylon weh dem ah gwan
Yow, dem try corrupt Jah earth, dem fulla scorn
Yow, dem ah wonder how wi surviving through this storm
BUT TELL DEM WI WOULDA STILL EVEN SURVIVE FROM DIS TSUNAM"
The song actually found Bushman returning to familiar grounds as it comes through over the Tamarind Juice Riddim, courtesy of none other than Stingray (clearly he was in a much better mood that day). Capleton is... Capleton, you know what to expect from him and they team up for, the the surprise of no one at all, deliver one of the biggets moments on "Conquering Lion" (and biggup Stingray, they're still around and healthy and I might even tell you what they've been up to in a review in the not too distant future). And I should also mention, in regards to 'We Mean It', that, curiously, I have a hard time finding Capleton credited on almost any of the digital outlets (checked Apple, Amazon, Spotify, Pandora). It would have seemed to me to be a rather large point of interest. Just an observation. I suppose it does speak to the quality of "Conquering Lion" that neither 'We Mean It' nor the title track are its top rankers in my opinion. That distinction, at least for me, comes in the form of 'King Rastafari'. I have heard maybe thousands of songs like this (two more on this album alone with its opener and closer) but for some reason this one sticks out quite a bit.
"Make up your mind
Rastafari you fi hail inna this time
Make up your mind
Rastafari you fi hail inna this time
Nuff a dem ah hail Rastafari, dem no mean it from dem heart
Neva walk di walk, but eva talk di talk
How dem ah speak Jah?
And neva seek Jah?
Haile Selassie ah di teacha!
I & I come fi bun out imposta
Hail Rasta"
I don't know for sure, so I will keep it to myself, but I would think that 'King Rastafari' was a response to something specific which occurred which did not sit too well with Bushman and, be that the case (and even if it wasn't, it's still a great tune) it is a MIGHTY one as the artist pushes Rasta as "a way of life and not a religion". Something you Do not just BELIEVE. Were 'King Rastafari' not my choice then it would surely be 'Somewhere'. This is not the only piece by that name that he has made. Most interestingly, there was another (more than twenty years old by now) which appeared on disc two of Sizzla's "Liberate Yourself" from 2000 for Kariang. That song was excellent and so was this newer version (which was also the album's early single I'd alluded to in discussing it nine years ago) which comes through fueled by a lovely African chanting style that is downright intoxicating at times (a big credit goes to the backing singers for this one), particularly during its latter stages. It isn't going to change your life or do anything like such, but damn what a nice song 'Somewhere' was - twice. And also on the high side of "Conquering Lion" was the very simple, yet outstanding, 'Music'.
"Why won't you play me some music?
Why won't you play me some music?
Why won't you play me some music?
A real Reggae music
I'm talkin bout sponji Reggae music
Mi seh selectah stop di talking and play
Caan hear what di music ah seh
No wanna lose di vibes
No wanna go home
Like you playing for yuhself alone
My princess wanna move, wanna dance then groove cuz-
So just stop chat
No pull up that
JUST PLAY THE MUSIC!"
It's just a very nice vibes in celebration of what has brought us all together here today, that sweet, SWEET sounds. You'll also find very firm ground within the remaining selections on "Conquering Lion" with 'Hell Ah Go Pop' and 'Evil Con Evil' being standouts. The former is... it's kind of a SAD vibes. Such pieces definitely have their place (because we get sad sometimes), but I listen to 'Hell Ah Go Pop' and I'm waiting for just a little sunshine which never arrives (although that riddim, crawling though it may be, is damn strong). Things do get quite bright on 'Evil Con Evil', partially due to the Riibirth Riddim courtesy of LA Records which backs it. Bushman, himself, does shine as well here ["MI NAH WAAN NO FRIEND GIMME FAMILY. FRIEND LIVE TOO CLOSE TO ENEMY. AND DEM WILL GANG UP AND CLAN UP. YUH HAFFI STRONG UP AND MAN UP FI SI WHAT DI HYPOCRITES PLAN UP"] as he warns us all to be careful of the company that we keep because failure to choose to be around good people can produce disastrous results. I should also stress how well written 'Evil Con Evil' is, there're portions of it which verge on full genius. And speaking of near brilliance, check the cut just ahead of 'Evil Con Evil', the very clever 'Jungle Proverbs'. You see a title like that and your mind (at least mine does) immediately begins to wonder what it's about and basically what it is - is the Bushman stringing together several proverbs and old sayings ["It's a jungle out there"] ["You never miss the water 'til the well runs dry"]. I don't think that he so much even makes an attempt to provide some type of umbrella-ing theme to the tune and, instead, the point is to show how these well-traveled adages still carry weight and are still applicable today. Also the vibe of 'Jungle Proverbs' is interesting. It'ss basically a Bluesy kind of song. It isn't Reggae at all actually. Making it a track which well stands alone on this set (although it isn't entirely unexpected from Bushman, over the years he's shown a love of several genres, including Country as well). Just prior to 'Hell Ah Go Pop' is the heavy 'Cynicism'. Taken as a pair back-to-back, 'Cynicism' and 'Hell Ah Go Pop' make for one somber eight and a half minute stretch but, again, sometimes doing things like this helps to convey a message which is even more dire than the music can express (and they're followed by the very bright 'Somewhere', so things don't stay such way). The composition finds Bushman just taking a look around the world and seeing so much negativity and terrible things occurring constantly. He is saddened and confused and he well gives every bit of that to the listener, whether you want it or not. And there's something else very compelling about this one, but I will save that for just a second. Lastly, "Conquering Lion" sends us out the same way it welcomed us in, with a big praising tune, 'Jah Alone' (coincidentally, opener and closer are the two longest songs present, both being over five minutes long, although 'Conquering Lion' does have the speech ahead of it, which makes it nearly six) (not that you give a shit about that, but I'm a nerd). 'Jah Alone' is very straight-forward and you can probably imagine almost exactly how it sounds even before listening to it (although it is just slightly chant heavier than usual); and it is stunning. It is so NICE to listen to... but as I write that part even, you can probably imagine that as well! Bushman finishes the album singing from his soul to The Almighty.
Speaking of that singing. What you'll hear throughout "Conquering Lion" are fantastic vocals. Bushman, when he truly pushes his voice, can be downright overwhelming and, because of that, when he at least feels like singing, his music will have an inherent quality to it (and it makes what happen on "A Better Place"/"My Meditation" even more distressing). On some of these tunes he soars. I alluded to it on 'Cynicism', and the same is true for 'Jah Alone', 'King Rastafari' and others. The majority of this set features wonderful singing.
Overall, "Conquering Lion" wasn't the Bushman's finest moment and, as a whole it wasn't terribly close either. That being said, however, it was still pretty damn good and, as I said, if you REALLY dig in here, what you're going to find are a number of flashes which are more than enough for someone like me (and maybe You) who has experienced bona fide GREATNESS on an album from the singer to cling on to and think that the next major project is on its way. I do wish that he would be more active on that side as well. If you consider that "Signs" released in 2004 and since then, he's had a live album, a cover album and just now a pair of 'standard' studio albums in the past seventeen years, I'm definitely wanting more from Bushman in the future. Until then, if you did happen to miss "Conquering Lion", it is well worth digging up three years on. On it, what you'll find is evidence that maybe there're "signs" that Bushman at his absolute strongest is on his way back.
Rated: 3.75/5
Burning Bushes Music & Zojak Worldwide
Digital
2008
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