Despite remaining an influential figure on the fertile Bristol reggae scene since the 1970s, BUNNY MARRETT never managed to compete on national terms with the likes of Misty In Roots, Steel Pulse or fellow Avon firebrands such as Talisman or Black Roots.
There again, it’s hard to build a legend upon only two officially-released tracks, which is all Bunny had to his name prior to this new release from Mike Darby’s Bristol Archive label. The tracks in question – a nagging, sufferer’s time roots’n’culture anthem called ‘Times Are Getting Harder’ and its’ hard-edged dub ‘version’ – previously appeared on a 12” released on the Shoc Wave label. Happily, they are reprised here and sound every bit as relevant in a world that’s as economically-challenged as this one is circa 2012.
The remaining six tracks comprising ‘I’m Free’ were laid down in late 1986 with respected Bristolians The Startled Insects and legendary jazz drummer Tony Orrell (see also Sphere, Portishead’s Adrian Utley) in tow and while it’s hardly a wealth of undiscovered material after all this time (including both sides of Times Are Getting Harder, there’s just 30 minutes of music), what is here is surely of great value to all self-respecting reggae fans.
If you need a sound-bite, track five ‘Jazzy Reggae’ pretty much sums up the supple, subtle musical fusion at work. While these tunes have the easy, loping grooves you’d expect from great roots reggae, unlikely instruments such as Bob Locke’s double bass, Tim Norfolk’s drifting Hawaiian steel guitar feature strongly, while UK Scientist (Richard Lewis) supplies gossamer threads of flute as well as some fine, Augustus Pablo-style melodica.
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It works like a dream too.The nimble ‘I’m Free’ finds Marrett’s fire’ n’ brimstone, Old Testament Rasta lyricism (“I’ve seen the fire, I’ve felt the scorching flames/ don’t need no shepherd to show me the way”) pitted against Orrell’s light as a feather drumming, while ‘Natural Princess’ adds a mystical, elemental lovers’ rock bent to the roots and culture sound and the strident, sinewy ‘Farm Diggin’’ gives Bunny the opportunity to reminisce about his early days in rural Jamaica. Perhaps best of all is ‘Jazzy Reggae’: a fascinatingly enigmatic tribute to Bob Marley which twins Bristol with Kingston with style to spare.
Also featured are the dubs of the latter two tunes and while they’re primarily instrumental cuts devoid of the impossibly subterranean DNA attributed to the great Jamaican producers, they hardly disturb the rhythmic flow either. Quantity may not be ‘I’m Free’’s strong suit, but its quality speaks for itself and it proudly places Bunny Marrett on the UK reggae map, however belatedly.
Bristol Archive Records online
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