Wingless Angels
On Jamaica's north coast lies St. Ann's Parish, where music and rebellion are elemental and incarnate (as exemplified by native sonsMarcus GarveyandBob Marley). At its highest point sits the hilltop village of Steertown, where lime trees grow and devout Rastafarian musicians congregate when the moon is full to chant sacred praises to the drummed trance rhythms of the Nyabinghi sect, to which the seven Wingless Angels belong. WhenKeith Richardsbecame a Jamaican resident years ago, he met and befriended the Angels through member Justin Hinds, the ska pioneer, and the Stones' immortal began a spiritual and musical jam with the group that has crystallized into this unique recording of primal drumbeats and haunted Wesleyan hymns. In this CD is found both root and nectar of reggae, the hypnotic footsteps of Rasta, and the echoes of Garvey and Marley. And Richards's playing is delicate, like fine lace.--Alan Greenberg