By Benjamin Peronne
On Jan 29th 2008, 08:05 AM
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Word, Sound and Power - Soul Syndicate Band

MVD Visual strikes hard once again with the reissue of Word, Sound and Power. A real must-see film!

Soul Syndicate

In the world of reggae, documentary films that mark our memories are few. Word, Sound and Power forms part of this selective list. And it's with pleasure that we find it on DVD at the beginning of 2008, thanks to the work of MVD Visual.

Produced in 1981 by Jeff Roth and directed by Jeremiah Stein, this documentary features the Soul Syndicate Band, one of the finest group all over the island of Jamaica, and whose talent has too often suffered from the shadow of reggae icons for whom they worked, as Bob Marley, Toots Hibbert, Burning Spear, Lee "Scratch" Perry, and many others.

"The root of the music come from I and I. Cause you see you talk about music but I and I talk about sound. Men try to bring in terminology, calling it music – the rhythm there – Funky, Soul, Calypso, Bossa Nova. But you see the sound – the sound is the Word, Sound and Power. And Word, Sound and Power can create dangerous things." [Earl “Chinna” Smith]

Earl Chinna explains just how the combination of Words and Sounds are strong. Both brought together are an effective way to help mankind to break chains of oppression.

Thus, alternating interviews with each of the musicians of Soul Syndicate and jam session sequences in a Kingston courtyard, Jeremiah Stein proposes to discover the full force and power of their music.

So what would be better now than illustrating these few lines with a short clip? And what a difficult choice! The interpretation of "Jah Jah Music" by Tony Tuff is phenomenal. The melodious bewitching of Chinna and his guitar on "Africa Roots" or "Occupation" are excellent. What about "Visions of Love" in acoustic version performed by Earl Zero in his yard, which is simply wonderful…Or the very smoky "Mariwana"… And finally it's on the "None Shall Escape The Judgement" also known as "Egyptian Reggae" that my choice stopped. This sequence which closes the film with as much mysticism and force, is once again a significant proof of the unrivaled power of words and sounds.