Search - Wailing Souls :: Equality

GIVE US EQUALITY

home-body | northern california,usa | 11/06/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One cannot stress enough how great this album is! Whether you're a Wailing Souls fan or just someone who occasionally listens to reggae music, this is the quintessential reggae album to have in your collection.Wailing Souls are one of the few reggae vocal groups that have been able to follow the trends throughout the 70's, 80's, 90,s and now the millennium and still manage to retain much of their original identity and integrity. During the late 80's, for example, when dancehall was the rage, The Wailing Souls released the album, "Stormy Night." The songwriting, (i.e., awesome melodies and clever lyrics), was excellent and the cheap instrumentation and drum machine beats, courtesy of King Jammy, fit in with the style of reggae that was popular in Jamaica at the time. Incidentally, the songs on "Stormy Night" have been re-titled and repackaged as the album "Reggae Legends Vol. 1." On other albums Wailing Souls have experimented with music styles such as pop, "(All Over the World" and "Live On)" and even rock; "(Psychedelic Souls)" with a good degree of success. However, no matter how successful their attempts at various musical styles are, it is with pure roots reggae that Wailing Souls shine brightest. And, on "Equality" we find the vocal group at their most brilliant.All the ingredients are here to make this the ideal Wailing Souls album to own. There are powerful lyrics, beautiful melodies, superb harmonies, and a key backup band.From the lyrics on the opening title track, "Equality," one can feel the conviction as vocalists Pipe and Bread sing, "Give us equality, back way with hypocrisies. Say we want humanity, away with your folly tricks!" As on the title track the "Souls" include other great songs about social ills and political problems on songs like "Artificial" and my personal favorite, "Hard Living." I think what makes this release superior to others is the fact that there are great lyrical compositions throughout the album not just on a few of songs. Like all great reggae, the words to many of the songs, are very spiritual in content. Songs such as "Down on Your Knees," Speaking of Time," and "Power and the Glory" all praise the goodness of the Almighty, Jah. The album retains a spiritual and upbeat feel throughout. Even a song such as "Not for Us," in part, about loneliness, manages to retain a "Hold your head up high" message. As Bread puts it, "If Jah is with us who can be against us?" Great lyrics are coupled with heavenly harmonies on "Equality." The Wailing Souls used to be a quartet but now appear simply as a dynamic duo. However their sound has not lost any of its richness. In fact, in addition to recording their own backup vocals, the "Souls" recruited two other backup vocalist for "Equality," Paul "Lymie" Murray and Dalton Browne, (also one of the guitarist on the album). It sounds like the "Souls" have returned to their old ways: a lead vocal answered by three-part harmony, combining four parts in the chorus. The sound is heavenly. The beautiful harmonies on "Equality" float on a bed of crisp rhythms delivered by Sly and Robbie. Reggae's premiere "rhythm twins" on bass and drums along with guitar, keyboards, horns, and bongos included in the mix, assure that the stunning harmonies are presented in the best manner possible.As stated at the top of my review, it's impossible to praise too highly this self-produced, 2000 release by Wailing Souls. Their return to pure roots music is here. The combination of spiritual lyrics, heavenly harmonies, and crucial "riddims" make this an album not to miss!Respect! -Mark "Homebody" Groesbeck"