CD Review

"Hebron Gate"

Groundation

Young Tree Records

Ted Boothroyd

First you'll be impressed by the packaging, embossed cover and all. Take special note of the lyric sheet; it will come in useful, although not for the words. Now put the disk on your sound system and sit back. A trumpet intro builds inexorably over portentous percussion until you're immersed in rich, satisfying music that swells with the heartbeat of reggae. An intimate and strangely urgent male voice begins chanting tunefully about Zion and Jah, eventually female voices join in, and you are carried away by the beauty and energy of the entire blend. For the next 50-odd minutes, the soothing intensity continues. Superb.

Now, about the lyric sheet. It's there, so obviously you are meant to take the words seriously. But don't get hung up on them; the meanings are obscure and the espoused theology is complex, with talk of Babylon, fire, vampires, dragons, pirates, mountains, valleys, rivers running dry, and more. No, what you do as the song progresses is watch for the little symbol indicating an instrumental solo. Then let these jazzy interludes delight you thoroughly. The strong vocals and high production values play their part, but the expert, inventive musicians hip is what makes this album great.

------------------

Although the closest Ted Boothroyd has come to a personal association with the Caribbean was to have a Trinidadian grandfather, which Ted didn't really have a lot to do with, he happily took in Harry Belafonte's calypso hits in the '50s and became a huge reggae fan in 1969 when Desmond Dekker's "Israelites" hit big in Canada. Ted has reviewed books on Caribbean music for The Beat, writes album reviews for other periodicals, and co-hosts a reggae and world music radio show in Fredericton, New Brunswick, on Canada's east coast.