Burning Spear - Chant Down Babylon: The Island Anthology

Import-only two CD collection that gathers together the cream of Spear's output for Island from his '70s heyday and his brief early-'90s return to the label. More than a mere musician, Burning Spear (AKA Winston Rodney) always used his musical career as a pulpit from which to sing about black culture and history, pan-Africanism, Rastafarianism, and universal love. Spear took his name from Kenyan revolutionary Jomo Kenyatta, and his greatness as an artist has consistently shone through, be it on straightforward studio songs ("Door Peep", "Dry & Heavy"), pioneering explorations of dub ("I & I Survive", "Cultivation"), or scintillating live performances ("The Lion", "Jordan River"). Spear not only wrote his own music but hand-picked his backup musicians, who have included members of the Wailers, Aswad, and a host of crack Jamaican session cats. All these factors make this an essential addition to any Reggae collection. 35 tracks.

1) Marcus Garvey
2) Slavery Days
3) I ; I Survive
4) Old Marcus Garvey
5) Tradition
6) The Invasion (A.K.A Black Wa-Da-Da)
7) Door Peep
8) No More War
9) Black Soul
10) Man in the Hills
11) Cultivation
12) The Sun
13) It's a Long Way Around
14) Throw Down Your Arms
15) Dry ; Heavy
16) Black Disciples
17) The Lion (Live)
18) Jordan River (Live)
19) Jah No Dead
20) Marcus Children Suffer
21) Social Living
22) Marcus Say Jah No Dead
23) Nyah Keith
24) Civilize Reggae
25) Mek We Dweet
26) My Roots
27) Recall Some Great Men
28) Great Men's Dub
29) One People
30) African Woman
31) Jah Kingdom
32) Praise Him
33) Should I
34) Estimated Prophet
35) Thank You