Nasio Fontaine's 'Rise Up'

Nasio Fontaine's approach to rebellious reggae music is the kind that goes over easy on the ear. Not only are the lyrics directed more at self-awareness and self-determination (the title song on the best of the collection Rise Up urges "Come on and up with the people's movement/liberation is today now/and the people rise and say") that blood and fire, but the music is standard one-drop reggae throughout.

So the tone of Rise Up, the 15-track collection of the Dominican singer's work culled from four albums (Reggae Power of 1994, Revolution of 1999, Living In The Positive of 2003 and Universal Cry of 2006) is set from the opening horns, percussion and bass of the first track, Living In The Positive. Live instruments; gentle, steady reggae rockers that creep up on you and that other crucial component of that easy approach to rebellion.

Persuasive

Nasio Fontaine's voice, sometimes plaintive, occasionally insistent, sometimes briefly lifting (as it does when he sings wipe away on the opening track, then at full throttle as he cries wadadle on the closing Wanna Go Home), always persuasive. The hornline, always a stirring part of reggae, gets primary billing throughout.

Lyrically, Rise Up is not spectacular. Of course, the lyrics are far from mundane and inane, but there is little that would make you hit the double arrow button pointing left multiple times in order to imprinta beautiful turn of phrase. What he does well is present real life situations in understandable terms (in that easy rebellion style, of course), as he does on the standout track Armed and Dangerous when he sings "well, military demonstrations my gosh/navy and army just a rehearse invasion well/war machine to murder population/chaos and fear the world in tension". This could apply to the Nazi build-up, the Cold War or the U.S. and Iran. Take your pick and sing along with Fontaine.

Fascinating

(There is also a mean harmonica on Armed and Dangerous and its fascinating 'fee fee' sound also turns up briefly on Crucial, with a good guitar solo on Africa We Love).

Africa We Love ("yes the root of creation/mother of civilisation/ yet you're a victim/of western civilisation"), African Spirit ("oh my African spirits/beg you guide and protect I") and Wanna Go Home (which includes the "Africa for Africans" quote from Marcus Garvey) are firm commitments to the continent and it is therefore fitting that a bonus DVD track shows him performing in Sierra Leone in 2006.

Jah Glory and Jah is Calling go exclusively into the Rastafarian singer's beliefs (of course, the spirituality permeates the entire collection) and I especially like when he goes slow on She Lost Track, his voice emotive without being overly theatric on the song about addiction ("she got trapped, couldn't help herself from off the crap urge is stronger than her will").

Apple is a rare trip into outright imagery and there is no gentle protest in the opening lines about homosexuality ("Adam and Steve, walking hand in hand/Gog and Maggog sodomising Jah land/so many worms eating up your apple/time is running out") and comes two tracks before the closing Niyabinghi rhythm based 'Wanna Go Home', an exquisite, extended, ending chant to a must-have collection.

At 4:59 long Wanna Go Home is the longest of the longest of the 15 songs (the flute's extended run isgreat), all of which are over four minutes, so be prepared to listen, but not be bored, as voice and instruments are given room for individual presentation.

- Mel Cooke

Nasio Fontaine - Contributed Photos

Track listing

1. Living in the Positive

2. Armed and Dangerous

3. Rise Up

4. Crucial

5. Africa We Love

6. Truth Will Reveal

7. Jah Glory

8. Justice

9. She Lost Track

10. When

11. Jah Calling

12. African Spirit

13. Apple

14. Bondage

15. Wanna Go Home