One good thing about music…

Bob Marley once said, “One good thing about music when it hits you feel no pain.” These poignant lyrics have always rung true for me. Bob’s lyrics have always been powerful to me. They speak simple truths in simple ways.

Since Reggae is pretty much my favorite music genre, I thought I would do a quick review of a recent album by a lesser-known Reggae artist I discovered recently. I first discovered Clinton Fearon through a write-up on a local Northwest music site. I didn’t think the Northwest really had any resident Reggae masters.

Clinton Fearon is counted among Jamaica's most talented musicians by peers and professionals in the Reggae music industry. As a youth, Clinton went to Kingston to eventually become the well-known bassist, vocalist, and lyricist for The Gladiators. He also worked as a house musician for Coxsonne Dodd’s Studio One and Lee “Scratch” Perry’s Black Ark Studio.

Fearon has since left the Gladiators and fronts his own band in American Northwest with several solid CD releases under his belt, one of the most recent having been recorded in Seattle with the Boogie Brown Band. This album is entitled 'Vision'.

The lyrics on Vision reflect humanity's joys and troubles with boundless heart and soul. The arrangements are ingenious attesting to Clinton's vast musical experience and accomplishments. On previous albums, Clinton has mostly been featured playing guitar, but on this new album Clinton has gone back to his roots by playing a mean bass line and living up to his nickname “Bassie.”

In usual form, Bassie surrounds himself with some of the top musician in Reggae music like Nelson Miller (ex Burning Spear drummer) and famous singers such as Ire (ex Culture) and Winston Watson of the Meditations. The resulting sound is some of the best modern roots reggae I have heard in years.

Always looking for new sound textures, Clinton mixes instruments rarely used in Reggae such as the flute and violin on ‘Livin is an Art’. He also adds an ample amount of sweet horns and pick guitar to round out the sound. If you want to experience that ‘Irie’ feeling that only a good reggae record can bring, ‘Vision’ is an excellent soundtrack. If you’ve never heard any of Clinton Fearon’s music, I highly recommend you check it out.

In the beginning there was...

The title of this blog may be a bit lofty in that it implies that I understand the details, technique, and principles of the art of music and are competent to act as a critical judge.

To put it a simpler way, I love music and love to share what I discover about it. Music is always on my mind and in my heart. It is my hope that I can share some of what I know now and come to know in the future about music.

Now don’t get the wrong idea here. This is definitely going to be much more “Rolling Stone” than “NPR Performance Today.” Not that I have anything against the classics. I have very broad musical tastes and I’m always willing to give any type of music a try. I hope you feel that same way too.