Review Summary: "A Miracle, at last"
Groundation were discovered by many in 2002 with their breakthrough record
Hebron Gate. Combining elements of Jazz with their roots reggae, their reggae is unique. Their sound is also marked by the fact that they only use analog systems to record their music. The artwork for
A Miracle features a pregnant women which characterizes the miracle of life Harisson Stafford (vocals) has just experienced. The whole album revolves around this happy and warm feeling of becoming a parent.
Compared to their previous releases, this album is a lot more roots reggae. Up until
Building An Ark, they were mixing jazz and reggae and sometimes giving more space to jazz than reggae in their compositions.
A Miracle on the other hand gives a lot more space to reggae. The opener "Riddim Hold Dem" shows that. The reggae sound is the backbone of their music with jazz solos coming at various times during their songs. Another sound that Groundation introduced during
Building An Ark is the vocals of their back up singers being used as lead vocals as in, for example, "Defender Of Beauty", a beautiful vocal duel between the warm voice of Marcia Griffith (The Wailers, I Threes) and the soft voice of Harisson Stafford.
The featuring of Marcia Griffith and Judy Mowatt (I Threes) has definitely influenced Groundation's music as seen on the intro of "Gone A Cementery" which you could have heard in a Bob Marley album. Although adding more roots reggae elements could mean having a slower pace, Groundation mixed paces perfectly with mid-upbeat songs such as "Liberation Calls" and slow paced songs such as "The Miracle" where Stafford is singing alongside Judy Mowatt. This songs ends on a drum jam that goes onto the next song song, "Hold Your Head Up", without stopping. In contrast to "A Miracle", "Hold Your Head Up" is an upbeat song built like an early Wailers ska song.
This album is full of gems whether on solos or compositions. Finding songs that stand out from this record is a tough job although "Jah Defend The Music", "Defender Of Beauty" and "Born Again" do stand out a bit from the rest, probably because of their perfect use of each musician's skill. No fillers can be found on this album, even the acoustic "Free Rider" who's style on other record meant a boring experience here is performed perfectly.
A Miracle is another proof that Groundation is the best modern reggae band out there. Although most of their song last for more than four minutes, you never feel bored. The keyboards, brass solos or bass lines are what makes this band unique. Stafford brings all of this together into a perfect composition with the adding of his voice. This is verified in their live performances that features solos from each member of the band (nine, and sometimes more than ten).
A Miracle stands as an odd to Marley's legacy, to the miracle of life and to the love of music.
