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Grounation: The Indomitable Spirit of Rastari (Music Club, 1999) Documenting the influence on reggae of the Rastafarian drumming and chanting heard in the gatherings called "grounations" is a great idea for an album, and Grounation, though not great, contains some rare and interesting examples of this type of music from the '60s through the '90s. This album presents a mixed bag of tunes with varying degrees of grounation influence, from the straight drum and chanting sound of Count Ossie & The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari (which is a bit too hardcore for me and which is not technically reggae) to the hybrid sound of Ras Michael & The Sons of Negus to songs that have just a touch of drumming or none at all, like the digital dancehall of Jahmaine Lion. As such, you have to wonder what the criteria for selection was on Grounation, especially since many of these artists are so little-known. To boot, there is little or no background information on the artists given in the liner notes, so you're left wondering why some of these songs are included and who these performers are. Of course, though, there is the pleasure of finding hard-to-find gems like Nora Dean's "Ay Ay Ay," an ethereal "hippy reggae" tune accentuated by sounds of birds peeping, kisses, shrieks, and moans. On top of that, The In Crowd's "Rasta Man No Evil" and Negril's "Rasta" weave groovy '70s jazz/reggae fusion tracks reminiscent of an early Third World. "Rasta" in particular is a bona fide classic, and its inclusion alone almost makes Grounation worthwhile. Garnett Silk's dancehall dub poem "Babylon Be Still," Ronnie Davis' (of Itals fame) "Rastaman Chant," and Mark Wonder's "Hail His Majesty" represent the best of the rest on this nice but underachieving set. |
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