Bust Through the Heat Dome With Burning Spear's 'the World Should Know'
Released thirty years ago this summer, the album saw the legendary Rastafarian bring his sound into a new decade. The result sounds timeless.
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I will never disregard the importance of Bob Marley bringing reggae from the tiny island nation of Jamaica to the rest of the world - he’s partially responsible for kickstarting the career of Winston Rodney, aka Burning Spear, the fabled artist we’re talking about today. But I’ve never understood, especially stateside, why college kids are good with hanging a Legend poster in their dorm rooms to accompany bong rips but usually don’t feel the need to explore any of the other varieties of reggae out there. We could be listening to ska, rocksteady, lovers’ rock, dancehall, or my favorite type, dub, but instead seem to be content listening to “Three Little Birds” for the millionth time.
Let’s change that today by diving into The World Should Know, an excellent effort from Burning Spear in 1993. For the uninitiated, Rodney’s work over the past fifty-plus isn’t unknown, and you could probably place him somewhere just below Marley in his importance and influence on reggae. From the rural settlement of Saint Ann’s Bay in northern Jamaica, Rodney was encouraged by fellow townsman Marley to talk to Coxsone Dodd, who owned the legendary Studio One label and recording studios. There’s no denying Dodd’s influence on getting reggae off the ground, but Rodney has since had a few nice things to say about the producer, who was known to take most of his musician wages. Not cool, dude.
Burning Spear’s (still considered a band at this time) landmark third album, Marcus Garvey, made Rodney and his band international stars, thanks to signing with Island Records, who were instrumental in sharing reggae with the world. Named after the complicated Jamaican icon and activist, Island remixed the album was remixed after deeming it too harsh for white audiences, which, as you can imagine, didn’t sit too well with Burning Spear.
Though many decades later, this is where my Burning Spear fandom began after my roommate and I picked up the dub version, Garvey’s Ghost, at The Finest (RIP) in Fort Collins in the early aughts. Being classic college kids who only knew Marley and Peter Tosh and absolutely nothing about Burning Spear or what the hell dub was, we bought the record because it had an intriguing album cover whose low-budget aesthetics made it that much more exotic than the others in the bin. Placing Garvey’s Ghost on my turntable turned everything I thought about reggae upside down. It sent me on a path I’m still on of listening to dub legends like King Tubby, Scientist, and even acts like Thievery Corporation.
Having not explored Burning Spear enough outside his seventies heyday, I was stoked to come across The World Should Know at the thrift store a few weeks ago. While a lot of reggae suffered from the production and equipment preferences of the eighties and early nineties, I knew the album was worth taking the easy two-dollar risk based on my previous experiences with Burning Spear.
Unsurprisingly, The World Should Know rules.
“Any one man, woman or child can be what they want to be; but be the right thing.”
- Burning Spear from ‘The World Should Know’ liner notes
Divided into two halves, The World Should Know starts by diving into Burning Spears’ signature trademark riffing on culture and unity. As the album name notes, Burning Spear is interested in growing the roots reggae and dub scenes globally by providing a record that sometimes mixes with pop structures and creates a universal appeal. As great as the first five songs are, the back half is where there’s a whole lot of fun. “Mi Gi Dem (I Give Them)” is the big favorite around here, as Burning Spears lists off a whole bunch of countries (“play de music in” Jamaica, America, Africa, Canada, England, France, etc.) like a Jamaican Huey Lewis. We also get a few attractive love songs like “Loving Day” and “Sweeter Than Chocolate” before revisiting cultural and unity themes with “On the Inside” and “Peace.”
While Rodney’s positive vibes are why we’re all listening to Burning Spear, The World Should Know works as well as it does because of the talented musicians on this record. Nelson Miller was Burning Spear’s longtime drummer and is the true driver of these songs. Mixing acoustic drums, pads, and electronic beats, Miller’s work still sounds fresh, partially thanks to his co-production credit with Rodney. Mainstay guitarist Lenford Richards also has plenty of highlights, like on “Peace,” where he bursts out of nowhere to throw down some finger-tapping riffs in the vein of Randy Rhoades and Eddie Van Halen. He even avoids letting his MIDI guitar work sound cheesy, something even Jerry Garcia couldn’t do. Keyboard stylings in this era are often contentious, but Robby Lyn keeps things timeless with some gorgeous swirls. Like all Burning Spear records, this one also features excellent horn work from the Rass Brass and Burning Brass trios.
If the weather isn’t cooling off anytime soon, do yourself a favor and give The World Should Know a spin. You may find yourself playing Burning Spear at your next barbecue instead of “No Woman, No Cry” again.
