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Homecoming
08/03/1999 4:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
Rosalind Cummings-Yeates
"Keep My Faith," the opening track on Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers' new CD Spirit Of Music, reflects the group's new direction on many levels. Introduced with acoustic harp tones by blues legend Taj Mahal, the tune ushers in a pure, rootsy sound that permeates the entire album. The lyrics, steeped in spiritual and political references, hearken back to Bob Marley's weighty legacy of uplifting message music. Gone are the band's notorious experimentations with light, fluffy pop. It's as if the Marleys have reclaimed their roots.
"Time and age" is how Stephen Marley explains the spare sound of Spirit Of Music, but he also acknowledges the expertise of legendary rock producer Don Was in helping the group capture the essence of reggae. "Don really helped bring the sound out. He heard the rhythm of 'Keep My Faith,' and said, 'Taj will help bring that roots feel.' We heard about what he did and the vibes were right," says Stephen.
The vibes were also very right for Stephen to record two of his father Bob Marley's songs for the CD, "All Day All Night" and "High Tide Or Low Tide." Possessed of a craggy, soulful voice often likened to his father's, Stephen delivers haunting and effective versions of the tunes. "I wanted to do them from my younger days," he says. "Those two were my priority before my own songs. It was the feeling that got me and then the lyrics."
With three Grammys and nine albums under their belt, the Melody Makers sibling team of Ziggy, Stephen, Cedella, and Sharon Marley has taken reggae to new commercial heights. Their youth anthem, "Tomorrow People," hit the top 40 pop charts in 1988, a feat not even their trailblazing father had accomplished. Parents may be familiar with the group's catchy theme song to the popular Arthur cartoon series. However, their recent appearance in a TV ad for Cover Girl makeup sparked grumblings within the reggae community about what their true focus really is.
"We made the decision not to disassociate ourselves from people," explains Stephen. "We had the opportunity to enlighten people we may not ordinarily reach." Warming up to the subject of reggae and which audience the music should target, he recalls his father's problems with the same issue. "My father made a tune called 'Punky Reggae,' people got upset, saying, 'What does punk have to do with reggae?' The music is not about segregation. It's not just for Rasta or conscious people. It's for people who are not conscious. As our dad said, 'If you see me talking to the devil himself, ya know I'm talking something good.'"
Citing diverse artists such as Stevie Wonder, Ella Fitzgerald, Burning Spear, Lauryn Hill, and Buju Banton as musical influences, Stephen has demonstrated his own diversity by lending his DJing talents to the Fugees' version of "No Woman, No Cry" and Spearhead's critically acclaimed "Supa Chocolate Highway," as well his Ghetto Youth project with brothers Ziggy, Julian, and Damian. "We just try to express the music in different ways, but it's the same spirit," he says.
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