11/23/2009
Few audience members who caught Yellowman's swaggering, sure-footed set at Brixton Hootananny on Sunday night would have known that he was suffering from a stinking British cold. Only a ghostly sheen to his features gave the game away as he pranced, cajoled and exhorted with a youth’s energy and a veteran showman’s clout. It’s all in a night’s work for man who has just one day off on a 5 week tour. Such is his level of conditioning and his tenacious, almost frightening drive to perform.
In keeping with his more conscious (some would say reactionary) approach of latter years - earlier in the day he opined that the new wave of dancehall deejays were "destroying" the music - his undercard of PA artists were strictly of a cultural, one-drop bent. Unfortunately the planned (but not advertised) 11 o' clock main event left some of the punters less than receptive to this by the time the warm up acts took the stage at half ten. During an excellent if earnest mini set by Majah Tunder, a talented and proudly British roots singer who sang on the Crystal Woman and Seasons rhythms, shouts of "Yellowman!" echoed from the back of the increasingly fragrant pub.
Soon after, the Sagittarius band sounded the impending entrance of King Yellow with the reggae backing group’s opening anthem of Rockfort Rock. Yellowman then appeared in a sort of tunic which he quickly removed as he skanked to a knuckle-cracking dubwise and took immediate ownership of the room. His voice is a husk compared to the days of old though not displeasing to the ear. He is also an underrated mimic: never imitating the exact sound of another artist per se so much as channeling their spirit. As he medlied his 1984 smash Nobody Move into a spring-heeled version of the The Maytals 54 46 Is My Number his hoarse but surprisingly soulful timbre captured the vibe of a vintage Toots Hibbert. A rendition of the Folkes Brothers Oh Carolina had him imbibing Shaggy to similar effect.
The show picked up a notch with a speedy 226 Super Mix which (naturally) turned into the Tennors’ Pressure And Slide. Lost Mi Lover on Glen Brown’s Dirty Harry rhythm was an armour-plated monster fusing rock guitar with a sparse “Taxi” style drum and bass dub (although a two handed tapping axe solo stretched its credibility just a touch!).
There has been some debate among reggae historians as to whether Yellowman was a true lyrical innovator. Watching him perform, it seems clear he belongs in the category of the all round entertainers like Michael Jackson and Sam Cooke who pepper his toasts - natural performers who wrote and collaborated in equal measure but cared most about being on stage interacting with the people. The Jamaica of the time, of course, demanded a new U Roy or General Echo so he went with that.
“England is the second capital child of Jamaica” he declared as he flattered and soothed a love and reggae-attention starved throng, showing he knows exactly what makes a crowd tick. In his eventful life Yellowman has suffered hardships most people can only imagine yet, like an unstoppable force, he just keeps coming back to keep us feeling good.
© Angus Taylor 16th November 2009
