October 2002
CD Review by Brad Weiner
Spirits All Around Us - John Brown's Body
Shanachie Records 45052
As a citizen of Lawrence, Kansas, I hear a lot about John Brown. He was the abolitionist powerhouse who felt that he was a soldier of God in the fight against the injustice of slavery. Brown murdered slave holders. He fought guerrilla battles and he was ultimately hanged for his part in the botched revolution at Harper's Ferry.
An old folk tune called "John Brown's Body" is a march that hails him as a martyr and good Christian on the path to heaven.
With all of that previous knowledge, my expectations were that any band named after the tune would be an acoustic-friendly outfit. Expectations are made to be destroyed.
The music of JBB is so different from that conception that I have no idea grasping why they decided on the name. Frankly, it isn't nearly as important as the fact that they are one of the best bands I have heard in a long time because they play authentic, soulful roots-reggae that has an addictive rhythm and fabulous musicianship.
There is no way to describe the "feel" of JBB but the nine-piece ensemble grooves perfectly together. Each member is a multi-instrumentalist that shifts between clav, organ, drums, cowbell, trombone, bass, rhythm and lead guitars, world beat drums, and tenor sax. The vocals are subtle and mellow and beautifully harmonized over the background of that ooop-chick-ooop-chick of sound of perfected reggae.
My favorite tune is called "Eyes of the Maker". It speaks volumes about the message JBB is trying to put forth. One line states, "Everything that has an end/Is spoken in the beginning." The magic of JBB is that they are able to create the head-bopping sound of the islands without sounding pretentious or losing the authenticity. The first track tells listeners to "Keep it real". JBB keeps track of their own advice and grooves their way through a solid repertoire of tunes that have noticeably different melodies played stylistically over different tempos and colors.
Live, JBB would be a certain vacation to the land of Red Stripe, and at this point, no drive seems too far. Spirits All Around Us could easily become a classic in the underground world of roots music. Those who hear its hypnotic pulse will surely become as entranced by the as people were influenced by the band's abolitionist namesake.
