Red [Bonus Tracks]by Anonymous

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August 11, 2004: The cd Red by Black Uhuru is, simply put, reggae at it's finest. It's really a shame this group is still not intact (which would be somewhat difficult considering Puma Jones died a few years ago). Michael Rose's lead vocals are strong and haunting. It would not be a misnomer to label this album "militant reggae". It might scare away some white folks who merely want to hear "love reggae" along the lines of "Three Little Birds" by the great Bob Marley. These are all hard-core reggae tunes with a cutting edge and political overtones made all the more frightening by Michael Rose's singing/chanting. I first heard this recording in the early 80's and it immediately became one of my favorites and still is. When some of my friends (who aren't all that familiar with reggae music) hear me listening to these songs on 'Red', I sometimes get a look that says "What the hell are you listening to??" Michael Rose makes everyone sit up and take notice. Particularly outstanding are the tracks 'Youth of Eglington' -- an uptempo rocker with excellent percussion which depicts the hard-core youth of a place in England and their rough lifestyle--"they need food, they want to go to school" & "the youth of Eglington won't put down their Remington". And the absolute masterpiece of the bunch is 'Sponji Reggae' which shows off Rose's considerable vocal skills and contains one of my all-time favorite lines: "I may not be a superstar, I don't drive no fancy car, I can afford only a Winchester cigar"..brilliant stuff. This reissue version also contains an extended version of the song (over 10 minutes)..but frankly I prefer the original five minute version. The background vocals of Puma Jones and Ducky Simpson are a very important part of this recording as well -- listen to Puma Jones haunting chants of "ah ah Rasta" on the track 'Utterance'. If you don't own this reggae disc then you're not a true reggae fan. The question is: Can you handle it??