Burning Spear- Live at Montreux Jazz Festival 2001 (Burning Music Productions BM 314, 2002)

Culture- Live in Africa (RASCD 3270, 2002)

Burning Spear and Culture are two of the most unwaveringly committed practitioners of Jamaican roots reggae the world has ever seen. Their continued global popularity is exemplified in numerous ways, including the strength of their live performances.

Burning Spear (born Winston Rodney) has nearly 35 years of reggae stardom under his belt, and despite being rather gray in the dreadlocks these days, he shows no signs of throwing in the towel. From the start, his music has focused on the African repatriation philosophy of Marcus Garvey and the power of reggae as a uniting, healing force. Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival is a solid sampling of his mesmerizing, shaman-like onstage persona as he runs down a selection of mostly older material. As always, his backing band (including, crucially, a horn section) is top notch, deftly nailing the main body of each song as well as dropping into tight dub passages while Spear himself spaces out on percussion. The songs, including such classics as "Man in the Hills," "Slavery Days" and "Columbus," remain true to the intensity of the original recorded versions, though Spear frequently re-configures the vocals with scat spontaneity and chanted emphasis on key lyrics. He remains one of reggae's greatest singers, laconic and understated at times, soaringly authoritative at others. Burning Spear has made several high quality live albums over the years, and this one easily assumes a place in his prolific and impressive body of work. (E-mail: burningspear@worldnetatt.net)

Though they remain a harmony trio, Culture has become increasingly synonymous with lead vocalist and songwriter Joseph Hill. Hill also emphasizes the importance of Marcus Garvey and African roots, but where Burning Spear often comes across as a stern teacher, Hill is more like a lively Rastafarian street preacher. Recorded at a reggae festival in South Africa, Culture's live disc scores high marks also, as much for including songs from all phases of their career as the hard-hitting strength with which they are delivered. Hill engages the audience like an old friend, giving shout-outs to Nelson Mandela and radiating good vibes at every turn. The sound is a little ragged at first, but by the time Culture launches into a fervent "Disobedient Children," things are locked up tight and you'll be in the spirit and in the groove just as surely as if you'd been there. Loose, energetic and full of fire, this is a mightly testament to the power of live reggae. (www.rasrecords.com)