The thought that went into the making of the album shows in the variation of theme and pace
BENEATH THE blah packaging of Anthony Cruz's Mama's Blessing is a 15-track album worthy of listening.
The thought that went into the making of the album shows in the variation of theme and pace; the effort is underscored in the credits, which show that live instruments are used on over half of the songs, the Fire House and Live Wya bands, as well as saxophonist Tony Greene, guitarist Wayne Armond, drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Danny Dennis among the many musicians.
And sure, we have heard many of the songs as singles, among them the title track, Half Way Tree (which should have been 'Half-Way'), Too Bloody and No Gun A Dance. However, for one they have a longer shelf life than the dancehall ditties which are often flung together and erroneously labelled an album. In addition, the other songs on the album are not mere padding.
CONVINCING VOICE
Anthony Cruz does not show himself to be a stunning singer, either in range or simply having a stunning voice, going into a falsetto briefly on Woman I Love and for a more extended period on I Had A Dream. He is more than competent, however, and enunciates clearly, delivering with confidence. And confidence does convince.
What especially impresses me about Mama's Blessing is the variation in topic. It starts out with Turn It Up, the typical dance tune, then goes personal with emotions on Woman I Love, followed by sheer delight in women with Half Way Tree and then an appeal for peace with Too Bloody, which features Buju Banton. (The Gargamel gets off a good pair of lines with "tell me how we gonna rise above/everybody cyaan be a star on RE Unplugged".) Coming to the end of the album, Like a Mountain expresses self-belief and I Had a Dream, which utilises a sample of the famous Martin Luther King Jr. speech, revisits peace.
From the rockers of No Gun A Dance to the nyabinghi style Girl From Ghana, which expresses intense love for Jamaica ("it's the closest thing to paradise/I think you should come see it with your own two eyes") even as structurally it smacks of Brian and Tony Gold's Can You, to the acoustic guitar-based The Greatest and the uptempo Half Way Tree and Too Bloody, the album is varied in pace and the songs put in order to maximise the effect.
The cover of I Don't Wanna does not add to the album, though.
So the writing is not the greatest ("I been there done that seen it all/You see me rise won't see me fall" in Like a Mountain is a decent enough sentiment, but the expression is nothing to write home about). But Anthony Cruz has maximised his advantages to good effect.
A better cover than the slightly blurred, full face picture of the singer would have been good, though.
TRACK LISTING
1. Turn It Up
2. Woman I Love
3. Half Way Tree
4. Too Bloody (feat. Buju Banton)
5. If You're Not The One
6. Make It Up
7. Mama's Blessing
8. Respect People
9. I Don't Wanna
10. Girl from Ghana
11. No Gun a Dance
12. Like a Mountain
13. I Had a Dream
14. Girl I'm Sorry
15. The Greatest
- M. Cooke
