Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer
IN HER latest single, Sisters, singer Shirley McLean issues a call to the women into action against crime, from a peaceful perspective. Her voice carries the message clearly and competently, without much attempt at flair; the emphasis is on the message.
And it is not a message of condemnation, but rather one of correction through coaxing, rather than confrontation. As McLean sings in the chorus, of the three-minute-and 45-second song:
Sisters it is all up to us
Sisters there is no need
to fuss
Sisters we know the way
To help the brothers who
have gone astray
And she continues with:
We must stop pretending and be true
Don't defend the wrongs
that the brothers do
She then goes one step further, in urging the ladies to not be the root of crime:
Here's our purpose now, our special job
Don't be the reason your
man cheat and rob
Then finally she issues the ultimate appeal to the maternal instinct and motivation, looking at generation next with:
Don't allow your children to grow in this confusion
Not knowing right from
wrong is mental pollution
VALID MESSAGE
The message is certainly valid, even if it is delivered with some basic rhyming ('us' with 'fuss', 'cease' with 'peace') which I expect is deliberate on writer Steve Golding's part.
The song is delivered on an uptempo reggae rhythm, which is allowed 21 seconds without vocals. The appeal to the Sisters from the perspective of their children comes on a bridge in a well put together song.
Sisters says what it has to say without unnecessary flamboyance, McLean clearly delivering an important message of correction through compassion, of taking a firm stance without drawing too hard a line.
Sisters, produced by McLean, Steve Golding and Dwight Pinkney, with arrangement by Pinkney and Golding, is put out by Bromac Records.
