Burning Spear

Burning Spear is one of the few reggae artists to have kept the roots flame burning over the last two decades. He's toured constantly and released a string of excellent albums, the most recent of which, Calling Rastafari, might just be his best since those classics days of the Seventies.

Q: This seems like your rootsiest album in a long time - you even quote from your own Slavery Days on the first track, As It Is.

A:People hear it, and they think about something they liked early on - they think this is the closest to that time. It's good when people can think about your album that way, regardless of what I might feel about it. It's got a lot of roots about it, to be honest. It's a strong and heavy Burning Spear album.

Q: At the same time, it has a more open, happier feel. The horn lines are fuller and bouncier. It's something of a different sound for you.

"These days we just do one long tour a year. But I'll be retiring from the road sometime."

A: There's a lot of difference. I arranged everything, even the horns, and had them play in a different flavor, a different style. And I did some thing with my vocals that I've never done before. I have a lot of female backing vocals - there were between four and six ladies.

Q: You're a very dedicated live performer. How will this new material fit in with the rest of your show?

A:The first track we're going to be playing live is As It Is, which is also the video and the single, and we'll be doing it on this tour. But that will be the first song from this record we'll be playing live.

Q: You've always stayed very rootsy, and there's always been a conscious, Rasta element to your lyrics. In the 90s, after all the ‘slackness' [sexiness and raunch] of dancehall, there seems to have been a general return to those conscious lyrics. Do you feel as if you've been keeping the flame alive all these years?

A: It's my duty to maintain that roots and culture level. You can't turn your back on it, or go a different way. So I focus on that, the way I got started. Other artists have no choice but to come back to a conscious way. If you want your full recognition, you have to do this, go through all the little channels everyone has to go through. We all got started with roots and culture, Bob, Peter, all of us.

Q: Like the rest of us, you're not getting any younger. Do you foresee a time when you wind things down a little?

A:I have spent a lot of time on the road. These days we just do one long tour a year. But I'll be retiring from the road sometime. But I will still be in the studio. For right now I keep doing what I have to do. This is my thirtieth anniversary in the music business, and I have no regrets, although I've been through some rough times. It's always been worth it.

Burning Spear

"These days we just do one long tour a year. But I'll be retiring from the road sometime."

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