Life of Contradiction : Joe Higgs : Review : Rolling Stone

Jamaican singer—songwriter Joe Higgs mentored the giants of reggae music. He taught harmony singing to Bob Marley and Peter Tosh in the yard of his Trenchtown home, toured America with Marley and Jimmy Cliff, and wrote "Stepping Razor," which became Tosh's signature song. More important, Higgs was one of the first Jamaican singers to bring the ghetto experience to the forefront of reggae. Yet Higgs never gained much of an international following before his death in 1999. That's a shame, because his first and best long—player, Life of Contradiction, is an immensely satisfying set of soul—steeped roots music that hews to reggae's core message of struggle and redemption.

Though originally recorded for Chris Blackwell's Island Records in 1972, the album was never released on the label. (Blackwell felt that Higgs' understated style would be difficult to market.) So Higgs put it out on a small imprint in 1975 — and it's been difficult to dig up ever since. Compared to the wild dub and rock—crossover experiments of mid—Seventies reggae, the set must have seemed old—fashioned at the time: Over restrained organ pitter—patter and jazzy guitar filigrees, Higgs sings bluesy laments and spiritual soul in a gentle, swinging delivery that's reminiscent of Sam Cooke. Three decades removed, however, its simplicity and directness are bracing. Higgs tells stories of failed love ("She Was the One"), social injustice ("Let Us Do Something") and religious belief ("There's a Reward") in the voice of a weary, stoic underdog who has been through the worst but still has enough faith to keep going. As he sings on "Hard Times Don't Bother Me," "Life is one experience that only a fool could refuse."