Thanks to this summer's marketing blitz, virtually the entire spectrum of reggae is now available in America, although not in any depth. Burning Spear represents the most purely African wing of that spectrum. With their out-of-tune (countryman style) horns and guitar solos, their songs built around two chords, their trance-inducing rhythms and their primitive parallel harmonies, they win that title hands down.

Those who dismiss reggae because they find its rhythms monotonous should stay away, because Burning Spear's music will seem a magnification of that "flaw." Winston Rodney's sinuous speak/sing lead vocals are not necessarily unattractive to rock-trained ears. Even in a musical genre with extremely high melodic standards, his melodies are among the most unforgettable and his lyrics are disarmingly simple, as the title song easily proves.

The main difference between Man in the Hills and their American debut, Marcus Garvey, is that here Burning Spear's Rastafarianism is assumed more than stated. This gives some of the songs a double edge. When Rodney sings "Don't kill the lion," he is referring to the lion in the jungle—but he is also definitely referring to the Lion of Judah. "People Get Ready" quotes a few lines from Curtis Mayfield's song of the same name, and they literally jump out at the American listener, but Rodney is also talking about fleeing Babylon for Ethiopia. In this sense, Man in the Hills may be the richer of the two albums, but it's hardly a point worth quibbling over; taken together, they provide a rare and rewarding listening experience. (RS 222)

JOHN MORTHLAND