JOE HIGGS

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Review written by Smael Bouaici on Monday, March 03rd 2008 - 14 208 views "The father of reggae", according to Jimmy Cliff. Mr Higgs is the man who taught the Wailers to sing, and who sometimes stood in for Bunny Wailer in the trio when his friend Bunny didn't want to leave his native island, or was simply in a huff. He died in 1999; Joe Higgs wrote several hits with his partner Roy in the duo Higgs & Wilson, signed to Studio One. It was there that he met three youngsters from the ghetto, Peter, Bob and Bunny, determined to make a career in reggae. Joe Higgs taught them the rudiments of the genre and vocal harmonies, essential to keeping the trio in tune. "Life of Contradiction", released on Island and won back after a hard fight by Pressure Sounds (the British label of Peter Holdsworth, former sidekick of Adrian Sherwood), shows all of Joe Higgs's talent: from the opening bars, his voice immediately grabs you by the heart and the body, with a knack for killer choruses. This is classic reggae from 1975, even if an acoustic guitar solo is a rarity on a Jamaican recording (as on the very bluesy Hard don't bother me): it is Eric Gale, the American jazz guitarist, who makes an appearance as a session man alongside Kingston studio regulars such as Earl Lindo, keyboardist of the Wailers who, according to legend, got stuck on acid during a tour with American bluesman Taj Mahal, bassist Val Douglas, or Mikey Chung, future guitarist of Black Uhuru. Joe Higgs completes this luxury cast with inspired lyrics. He was one of the pioneers of the Jamaican protest song, writing poignant words. There's a reward, which would bring a tear to the eye of any rude boy, places Joe Higgs alongside Bob Andy as one of Jamaica's most respected songwriters, and this album in the reggae Pantheon.

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