Quote:
|
Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous
you did. were you not at the show I just saw of Burning Spear two weeks ago, and let me tell you something, the Spear was running that crowd of 15000 at the hollywood bowl. Reggae is not like rock, it does not have to progress. The Abyssinians made ONE ALBUM IN 38 YEARS and it still one of the most popular, important and influential albums of ALL TIME, and when I saw the Abyssinians three weeks ago I dropped to my knees in tears it was so perfect, as much as it was any time ago. The same is with the Spear, the tunes he does are perfect, and he still does them with as much zeal and energy as ever, if not more I say...
|
I believe you as far as the show you were at, and I'm glad to hear it, but I still think I'm a fair enough judge of music and performance
regardless of genre, to judge the night I was at (which is what I was reviewing, NOT the night you were at.) He was great that night, I said as much, however, I didn't get the impression that I was seeing the best performance he had ever given. I was thrilled to see someone who I think is deserving of his legend, but I didn't feel like I was seeing a show that was entirely up to par to that legend, great though it still was. Could there be another night in the future after that one where I would feel differently? Of course there might, just as I might see Damo Suzuki again in a year and really be impressed with the show despite what I saw Sunday night.
I really don't buy this attitude that a genre is somehow different from another genre in terms of "progression". There are rock artists, jazz artists, and country artists who have made a single album and been hugely influential for decades. And there are reggae artists, the same as any other genre, who have made career changes driven by market motivations or dwindling creativity that have resulted in them not being as good as they were before. I'm NOT accusing Burning Spear of this, and never did. I just didn't see him as "perfect", merely "really good" on the night that I got to see him.
If I had been at the show you were at, I might well have reacted as you did. When I saw the Cramps they were putting out albums that weren't "progressing" from their earlier work to say the least, but I was still floored by the energy and vitality of their live gig and definitely thought the band I saw deserved every ounce of legend they'd earned. Which to me sounds very similar to what you experienced with Spear despite them being a "rock" band and him being a "reggae" artist. Me, I'm not wedded to any one genre in the slightest, and if I were, rock wouldn't likely be that high on the list these days. I think it's all about the individual artist or group and what they have to give regardless of what section their music gets filed under in record stores and on iTunes.