Search - Luciano :: Revelation Time

Fine Album. . . Good Luck Finding It. . .

Achis | Kingston, JA/Philipsburg, SxM | 03/04/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As a lifelong fan of regage music, I'm somewhat saddened (and at other times downright sickened) at what occurs in the business side of the music. The music itself, forever continuing to offer some of the strongest vibes in the world while seeking that mainstream exposure, almost seems to act against itself in the business arm of the industry where you get downright GEMS of albums go virtually unpromoted. The seemingly related labels, Charm, Penetentiary and Rude Boy appear to go through this process quite frequently, all the while releasing albums from some of the finest roots talents in modern reggae. Artists like Luciano, Sizzla, Junior Kelly, Capleton, Anthony B and now most recently Richie Spice have all (had) released albums through the various labels (with all but Spice releasing multiple albums), but unless you're the most keen of reggae fans and collectors you'd probably never know it. The albums often appear to be thrown together within moments almost, rarely is there an executive producer or suitable credits (and sometimes none at all) and even more rare is a solid cover which the artist clearly developed for that particular album.



One of the most consistently appearing artists on these labels is Luciano. Having released (by my count)no less than 10 albums, dating back to 2001, (I'm including Jet Star (who typically distributes these albums) and combinations as well) Luciano has routinely released quality material to sub-quality promotion and distribution, including the 'phantom' Shallow Water, which I'm not sure was ever actually released. The true shame here, is that most of these albums are VERY VERY good, and based on who releases them alone, have very little chance at all being heard by the masses. Another real shame here is that the practices in releasing these albums almost ALWAYS seem to attempt to capitalize on the promotion of a bigger album, in this case, the recently released Child of a King from Vp Records. That album, which is being justly promoted and for which the Messenger is planning a tour, will almost certainly indirectly promote Revelation Time as well, as you may 'accidentally' encounter this one by looking for the Child of a King album. Luciano's projects for Jetstar, even above all the others are always well done, not the hurried and pirated way in which nearly EVERY Sizzla release has emerged, which make it all the more the shame that none shall ever receive its just due.



Most of Luciano's releases, anyway, are top notch and deserve to be checked out. Rarely ever (if ever at all) straying below 'good', Luciano albums are always something to look , Revelation Time is no different at all. This album is, again, somewhat of a compilation which Luciano himself has had very little (if anything at all) to do directly with Revelation Time, and although as a collector and a fan hoping the best for teh music, that is rather disheartening, strictly speaking as a fan, it has very little effect on the actual vibes. Revelation Time is a big big album. It lives up to the very high standard you'll find listening to most Luciano albums, and although he may not even know of his existence (but I'm sure he does) I don't think the Messenger would have much of a problem lending his name to this project (provided he has been compensated for it of course).



Taking the course in which has been built draws my only complaint for Revelation Time. It has somewhat of a mechanical feel to it, as if it was (and it was!) just thrown together. However, for true fans of Luciano, there will come a point in the middle of this album where you will absolutely just love what you're hearing, and not even reaching the album's finest moment. The title track itself even has a nice powerful vibes from it; falling much more into the beautiful and lush type of vibes with a Cannon Fraser horn backing, Revelation Time is just a big big tune! Besides that tune which sticks out on name value alone, check the ridiculously large combination which opens the album, the nice Mr Minister Please a combination with veteran Kingston singer Triston Palmer. The combination works nicely as it features Luciano's signature baritone vocals, combined with Palmer's higher pitched and smooth melodies, on Luciano' obligatory high level weed anthem (and Mr Minister is amongst his finest).



There are many highlights on Revelation Time, none perhaps bigger than the closer. Although not the best tune here, without a doubt the closing book end, God's Love, a medley featuring Beres Hammond, Michigan, Courtney Melody, the legendary Marcia Griffiths, Palmer and dj Delly Ranks alongside Luciano for one of the album's most powerful tracks. The song plays over Easy Star's highly addictive Pick Up riddim (which featured one of my favorite songs ever incidentally, Anthony B's Love So Divine!).



All that being said, the best tune on Revelation Time is without a doubt the sickly beautiful No Love to Give. No Love to Give is another combination with a dj (who goes uncredited, but maybe Louie Culture. . . although he sounds absolutely nothing like Louie Culture). No Love to Give is a very very powerful track and I might even go as far as to call it one of the best tunes of the Messenger's career, its that massive. Also check what is definitely the second best piece on Revelation Time, Freedom Fighters. Freedom Fighters finds Luciano recalling some of the great Freedom Fighters in history, even name dropping some of his peers as well. Without a doubt No Love to Give and Freedom Fighters are THE class of Revelation Time.



Another terribly interesting tune here is Warning. Warning finds Luciano (if you can imagine this) channeling the late great Tenor Saw! No, he doesn't do his impression of the legendary sound singer, but he follows the exact cadence of the late Clive Bright throughout the song, and he does so without actually losing 'Luciano' so when all is said and done, its still a Luciano record and sounds like such, but just a very nice changeup. Also, check the solid Break Down, which flows nicely over a cool George Miller riddim (the same used for Junior Kelly's hit, Black), one of the later solid tracks on the album.



All of the tracks here are worth mentioning actually, as I said in a Luciano album yo ureally cant go wrong! He always maintains a certain level of quality on his releases (and all his music actually) which keeps him a step above the rest in terms of consistency.



Overall, I'm begrudgingly recommending Luciano's Revelation Time. Having heard the artist himself in older interviews remark that he wasn't exactly crazy about JetStar's release schedule of his projects, its almost a love/hate relationship I have with these albums. Yes! They're all good, and Revelation Time is amongst the very best of them all (overall is actually a considerably stronger album than Child of a King even). So, IF you check this one, know that it might not be on the best terms with the artist, but you should surely have no problems enjoying the mass amount of vibes from Revelation Time."