Revolutionary Dream

Album Review

Under the guidance of producer Geoffrey Chung, Pablo Moses made his recorded debut in 1975 with "I Man a Grasshopper": an autobiographical herb tale cut at Lee "Scratch" Perry's Black Ark studio. Featuring Chung himself on clavinet, his brother Mikey and the In Crowd's Michael Murray on rhythm and lead guitar, Clive Hunt on bass, and Robby Lyn on piano, the song provided Hunt's Sound Track label with a hit single. Moses followed up with a small batch of reality gems like "Blood Money," "We Should Be in Angola," and "One People," further boosting the singer's profile, both in Jamaica and the U.K. Revolutionary Dream, Moses' debut full-length released in 1976, brought most of those early singles together with eight additional mid-'70s productions. Throughout, the singer maintains a peaceful disposition, expounding thoughtfully upon cultural and reality subjects over the slow tempos established by drummer Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace. The music is characterized by a refined cool, and Geoffrey Chung isn't afraid to tilt the sound toward a rock influence with a guitar solo or two (note Murray's leads on "I Man a Grasshopper"). Underneath the polished productions, however, Revolutionary Dream presents Moses as a roots singer in the tradition of Yabby You, Sylford Walker, and Burning Spear, and that's hardly bad company to be in. A stunning debut, and Moses' finest album-length outing.