02 July 2015

Spear of the Nation




Originally talked about this when I posted up Warzone by The Missing Brazilians.



From that post –

"One of the stalwarts of Adrian Sherwood's On-U Sounds Dub revival, Prince Far I, a man to grace any style with wisdom, a chanter to quake the walls of the city, a preacher to strike fear in the weak of heart, humble in the garden & proud in the city, was shot dead in Jamaica, September 15, 1983, one year short of his 40th birthday. "

(Prince) "Far I was close to completing a new album on the day of his murder. It was posthumously released under its working title Umkhonto We Sizewe (Spear of the Nation). Prince Far I's last session included the recording of a track called "Special Request" which "felt like he was saying goodbye" states Roy Cousins, lead singer of The Royals & producer of Far I's final recordings, who had been with Prince Far I that day in the studio. Cousins continues: "The next day I went to meet Prince at the studio but Jim Brown stopped me at Randy's Record Shop and told me that Far I had been shot last night and passed away. I was shocked and could not believe it, so I went to his home in Edgewater and found a large crowd, everyone filled with grief."

Roy made sure this final statement reached our ears. garychching from my blogging past (Always Searching For Music) made sure it reached my ears. Now I'm passing on the favor & hoping it reaches your ears.


Prince Far I – Umkhonto We Sizwe (Spear of the Nation),
Kingdom Records KVL9016, 1984.
decryption code in comments

Side One –
Survival
Ask Ask
African Queen

Side Two –
Stop the War
Jerry Doghead
Special Request

Prince Far I with Roots Radics Band & backing vocals by The Viceroys, Jah Lloyd, & Winston Jarrett. Recorded at Channel One, September 1983 by Hopeton Overton 'Scientist' Brown. 
All tracks contain Dub versions.

From the back of the cover "Prince Far I tragically died before completing these, his final works."

17 comments:

  1. Hey. After the great build-up you neglected to provide the decryption code. Or was that deliberate ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not deliberated, but debilitated.

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  2. Nathan
    Not sure if you've seen Dub Echoes - but if not well worth a watch for dub fans:
    https://vimeo.com/42460111

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the link, will check it out post-haste. & thanks again for this, even if I screwed up & didn't put the decryption code. Sure a good way to get comments, though. More comments about forgetting than I've got in a week about musick.

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    2. Just watched the first ten minutes & I am thoroughly hooked. I'm downloading it now so I can watch at my leisure. The list of people involved that they rolled out was phenomenal. started watching & Bunny Lee was describing Sound System culture...way to go. Thank you ever so much for everything.

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    3. Hi, Gary! Sure do miss your blog.

      Delete
    4. Nathan did you finish Dub Echoes? My fave part is the Robbie Shakespeare poem:

      The Bass make you wine your ways (not sure if words are right here)
      The Bass Gives the music the taste

      The Bass is all over the place

      If you can't play bass thats a big disgrace
      The Bass is all over the place
      is all over the place
      is all over the place
      is all over the place

      and the guy that said the frequency of the bass at 30-50Hz on Dub cannot be heard but only felt by the body.

      Next film recommendation is Stepping razor: Red X. Not dub all about Peter Tosh, but very good.

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    5. Watched it a couple times so far.

      Love the Lee Perry interview
      "Everything.
      You can do all the music you used to have before...
      You can do rock music in Dub,,,Rock Dub
      Pop music...Pop music Dub
      Disco music Dub
      Everything can be Dub."

      Thanks again

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  3. Replies
    1. See comment above or below. Sorry.

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  4. Ø!

    You missed the encryption code!

    Drinking and BlØgging don't mix!

    -Xtm

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not drinking, but you're on the right path. Just getting an early start on the holidaze week-end & blogging didn't mix so well. My bad.

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  5. MC1E4jJjXvAklrXttevuGqSBRS3yeUmtrEeqESh95U0

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks, man. Looking forward to hearing this.

    Chin up!

    -Xtm

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nathan, you may already know (but I discovered not long ago) that John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats made a touching song about Prince Far I's death called "Sept 15th 1983" -- https://youtu.be/Mz8TMslt8SA

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    Replies
    1. Not a M.Goats follower, so hadn't heard this. Thanks for the link.

      "Long dinner with some friends
      Way out way out in Portmore
      Servants of the Pharaoh
      Slip in through the open door
      All business
      Bearing knives and zip-guns
      So get on the floor now every last one
      Every last one

      The heat drifts across the land
      If I forget Israel
      Let me forget my right hand

      And on the floor Michael James Williams
      Feels his fingers start to freeze
      And the whole scene's like a movie
      Paramedics on their knees

      Try try your whole life
      To be righteous and be good
      Wind up on your own floor
      Choking on blood

      The heat drifts across the land
      If I forget you Israel
      Let me forget my right hand

      And the house still smells like onions
      When the ambulance arrives
      Gabriel in postal blue
      Loads up the car and drives to Spanish town
      About three miles away
      Where will the wicked run to on that last day?

      The heat drifts across the land
      If I forget you Israel
      Let me forget my right hand"

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