By John Fenwick
On Dec 22nd 2008

Unconditional Love by Marlon Asher

From Ganja Farmer to master of thoughtful Trinidadian roots music.

While Jamaica gave us the legacy of reggae, Trinidad gave us calypso, soca and, latterly, Marlon Asher. His distinctive music is a long way from those Trinidadian musical forms of course, and here we have a collection of tracks that are both forceful and melodic.

After achieving international recognition with his hit Ganja Farmer, Marlon Asher went on to explore a range of styles and these are strongly represented within this collection. The album opens with Mystical Morning, a light and tuneful reggae song with a blues feel and, as on some of the other tracks, a voice that would not be out of place in rock music. Ganja Farmer is included here, along with a similarly themed Marry Juana. There is a touch of hip-hop in the musical approach of Blessings, but with words that refer to belief and faith rather than images of urban alienation. An impressive list of collaborators also makes a real (rather than decorative) contribution to a number of tracks: Princess Mennen features strongly on the acoustic-led Situations, while on World of Scandals, Henry Tigan and Express Rita add very effectively to a song that in both meaning and tempo is reminiscent of Gyptian’s seminal Serious Times. Henry Tigan also makes an active appearance on the closing track My Country.

The dominant message of this album is one of brotherhood and love, explicitly so on tracks like Dream (featuring Rayvon) and the title track, Unconditional Love, with its optimism and its anti-war themes. The playful words of Puscang Pang, with its ragga style synthesised sound, suggest however that Marlon’s mind is not always on the higher spiritual things of life. Musically the album is a fresh and welcome addition to contemporary sounds while firmly linked to the enduring roots tradition.