Between 1975 and 1978, while he was on Island, Burning Spear, aka Winston Rodney, recorded his classic albums. The combination of Spear and producer Jack Ruby seem unstoppable, bringing forth heavy, spiritual reggae and so... more »me wicked dub, making him one of the most influential reggae figures of the period. Chant Down Babylon cherry-picks the best from his six records for Island, and two CDs is barely enough to contain it, with gems like "Slavery Days," "Man in the Hills," "Mek We Dweet," and "Social Living." As an introduction to the man at his very best, this can't be beat. Chris Nickson« less
Between 1975 and 1978, while he was on Island, Burning Spear, aka Winston Rodney, recorded his classic albums. The combination of Spear and producer Jack Ruby seem unstoppable, bringing forth heavy, spiritual reggae and some wicked dub, making him one of the most influential reggae figures of the period. Chant Down Babylon cherry-picks the best from his six records for Island, and two CDs is barely enough to contain it, with gems like "Slavery Days," "Man in the Hills," "Mek We Dweet," and "Social Living." As an introduction to the man at his very best, this can't be beat. Chris Nickson
"Burning Spear is a great reggae singer, and this album certainly shows that. Unfortunately, all the songs begin to sound the same! There's simply not enough variation (as there is with a lot of his other albums) to make this a representative of Burning Spear as a whole. There are many jems, but not enough to make it an album you can put on 'repeat.'"
Roots Music
Enrique Torres | San Diegotitlan, Califas | 06/10/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This collection of songs by one of the mainstays of reggae is priceless, old school reggae for the new millennium. The recordings are remastered from the originals and sound pretty good.This CD chronicles Winston Rodneys rise to stardom which began in 1969 up to the present. The classic reggae beat is sweetened with the voice of Rodney as he chants and works his magic on the mic. The Rastaman gives his message that is filled wiith references that are political and spiritual. Marcus Garvey is a favorite theme with his Pan-Africanism as is the religion of Rastafarianism. Although many of these songs are from the mid 70's to the early 90's they still sound good. The classics abound on this CD, notably work from "Man In The Hills" and "Marcus Garvey's Ghost", two of his best works, IMO. If you like dub there are some great dub numbers here, with their haunting rhythmns and bass lines that drop out intermittingly. Thirty five songs and a booklet that give a little history on Burnibg Spear make this a good musical package that pays tribute to one of the superstars of reggae, Burning Spear."
First disc is much better
atlantamoi | Scottdale, Ga United States | 02/27/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is going to sound like a mildly negative review, but it would truly be hard to slag the first disc on this set. Some of these tunes are high water marks in reggae. I'm a fan of early 70's reggae and late 60's ska. I don't care for watered-down, drum machine (1980's) reggae music. The problem with this collection is that the first disc makes the second one sound weak. Too many songs on the second disc slide into UB40 territory w/out the hooks. And I can only take so much Marcus Garvey talk... it's harder to take the music seriously when you kind of just want to roll your eyes over the worship of this guy (or ANY man).
I would suggest looking into his early albums before purchasing this set for full price."
A Classic Collection of Spear
Gavin B. | St. Louis MO | 12/28/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Given the short life expentancy of a reggae musician in Jamaica, at age 55, Burning Spear has become the elder statesman of reggae music. The native of St. Ann's parish is a mezmerizing performer whose live performances weave a spell of firey intensity and rastafarian redemption. He is one of the last of the old school rastafarians committed to conscious lyrics and the one drop riddims of classic reggae music. "Chant Down Babylon", a collection of Spear's early music, should be on any short-list of reggae music fan's CD collection. It contains most of his breakthrough Marcus Gavey album, the crucial cuts all of his watershed albums, plus a generous sampling of dub versions of his music. There are several Burning Spear collections around, but "Chant Down Babylon" trumps them hands down. I have seen this double CD ...used on Amazon which is a real bargain for the fan or newbie who wants to check this righteous rastafarian."