''Man in the Hills'' is a reggae album by

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n musician

Burning Spear Winston Rodney OD (born 1 March 1945), better known by the stage name Burning Spear, is a Jamaican roots reggae singer-songwriter, vocalist and musician. Burning Spear is a Rastafarian and one of the most influential and long-standing roots ar ...

(Winston Rodney), released in 1976 (see

1976 in music A list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1976. __TOC__ Specific locations * 1976 in British music * 1976 in Norwegian music Specific genres * 1976 in country music * 1976 in heavy metal music * 1976 in jazz Events Ja ...

) on

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

. ''Man in the Hills'' was follow-up to the seminal ''

Marcus Garvey Marcus Mosiah Garvey Sr. (17 August 188710 June 1940) was a Jamaican political activist, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African ...

''; ''Man in the Hills'' is usually considered a worthy follow-up, though less innovative and incendiary. produced by

Jack Ruby Jack Leon Ruby (born Jacob Leon Rubenstein; April 25, 1911January 3, 1967) was an American nightclub owner and alleged associate of the Chicago Outfit who murdered Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963, two days after Oswald was accused of th ...

, ''Man in the Hills'' is a simple and unadorned album, with songs that reminisce about Spear's childhood in St. Anne's Bay, Jamaica. "Door Peep" was originally recorded in 1969 at Studio One after Spear ran into

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

(also from St. Anne's Bay); Spear later quotes Marley "And Bob was going to his farm. The man was moving with a donkey and some buckets and a fork, and

cutlass A cutlass is a short, broad sabre or slashing sword, with a straight or slightly curved blade sharpened on the cutting edge, and a hilt often featuring a solid cupped or basket-shaped guard. It was a common naval weapon during the early Age of ...

and plants. We just reason man-to-man and I-man say wherein I would like to get involved in the music business. And Bob say, 'All right, just check Studio One.' " The single was released but fared poorly on the Jamaican charts. After ''Marcus Garvey'', Spear's fame had grown considerably, and he was a star in Jamaica and cult sensation in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. ''Man in the Hills'' was a much quieter and more restrained album than its predecessor, and was more pastoral and dreamlike than militant and radical (though songs like "Is It Good" and "No More War" continue to address social issues). "Man in the Hills", the titular album opener evokes the superiority of rural living over urban. In Jamaican history, the roots of radical protest, a national identity and the

Rastafari movement Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control o ...

, grew from communities formed by escaped slaves in the hills and (after emancipation in 1838) the so-called "

Free Villages Free Villages is the term used for Caribbean settlements, particularly in Jamaica, founded in the 1830s and 1840s with land for freedmen independent of the control of plantation owners and other major estates. The concept was initiated by English ...

Track listing

#"Man in the Hills" (Rodney) – 4:00 #"It's Good" (Phillip Fullwood, Rodney) – 2:45 #"No More War" (Rodney) – 3:19 #"Black Soul" (Rodney) – 3:25 #"Lion" (Rodney) – 3:14 #"People Get Ready" (Rodney) – 3:22 #"Children" (Rodney) – 3:44 #"Mother" (Rodney) – 3:37 #"Door Peep" (Rodney) – 2:40 #"Groovy" (Rodney) – 3:53

Credits

*Recorded at Randy's Recording Studio, North Parade; and

Harry J Studio Harry Zephaniah Johnson (6 July 1945 – 3 April 2013), known by the stage name Harry J, was a Jamaican reggae record producer. Biography Born in Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica, Johnson started to play music with the Virtues as a bass player bef ...

, Roosevelt Avenue, Kingston, Jamaica *Original album design and illustration:

Neville Garrick Neville Garrick is a Jamaican-born Los Angeles-based graphic artist, and photographer. He is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Garrick attended UCLA where he played for the football team, reaching the National Collegia ...

Musicians

Winston Rodney Winston Rodney OD (born 1 March 1945), better known by the stage name Burning Spear, is a Jamaican roots reggae singer-songwriter, vocalist and musician. Burning Spear is a Rastafarian and one of the most influential and long-standing roots ar ...

– lead vocals and percussion * Delroy Hines – harmony vocals * Rupert Willington – harmony vocals *

Robbie Shakespeare Robert Warren Dale Shakespeare (27 September 1953 – 8 December 2021) was a Jamaican bass guitarist and record producer, best known as half of the reggae rhythm section and production duo Sly and Robbie, with drummer Sly Dunbar. Regarded as ...

– bass *

Aston "Family Man" Barrett Aston Francis Barrett (born 22 November 1946), often called "Family Man" or "Fams" for short, is a retired Jamaican musician and Rastafarian. Biography Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Aston "Family Man" Barrett was one of the Barrett brothers (th ...

– bass *

Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace (born 22 August 1950) is a Jamaican drummer who worked for several years at Studio One, and has worked with numerous reggae artists including The Gladiators, Inner Circle,Hebdige, Dick (1987) ''Cut 'n' Mix: Culture, ...

– drums * Bernard "Touter" Harvey – keyboards * Earl "Wire" Lindo – keyboards * Tyrone "Organ D" Downie – keyboards *

Earl "Chinna" Smith Earl "Chinna" Smith (born 6 August 1955), a.k.a. Earl Flute and Melchezidek the High Priest,Johnson, Richard (2013)The Melchizedek way, ''Jamaica Observer'', 6 October 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2013 is a Jamaican guitarist active since the late ...

– lead and rhythm guitar *

Tony Chin Albert Valentine "Tony" Chin is a Jamaican guitarist, who has collaborated with many reggae artists including Bob Marley, Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, Freddie McGregor, Bunny Wailer, Big Youth, U-Roy, Max Romeo, Don Carlos, Mikey Dread, Burnin ...

– rhythm guitar *

Bobby Ellis Bobby Ellis OD (2 July 1932 – 18 October 2016) was a Jamaican trumpet player. He worked with many reggae artists including Peter Tosh, Burning Spear and The Revolutionaries. Biography Born in Kingston on 2 October 1932, Bobby Ellis attended ...

– trumpet * Richard "Dirty Harry" Hall – tenor saxophone *

Herman Marquis Herman Marquis is a Jamaican saxophone musician who has played with many reggae artists including Burning Spear. He recorded for Arthur "Duke" Reid in the 1960s and was a member of The Revolutionaries and The Upsetters in the 1970s.Barrow, Steve ...

– alto saxophone * Vincent "Trommie" Gordon – trombone

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Man In The Hills Burning Spear albums 1976 albums Island Records albums