Reggae Tip
Dube, Lucky - RespectReleasedatum: 18 augustus 2006
Lucky Dube, star of 80s radio and internationally respected reggae artist, shows he's still got the good stuff."Respect" is classic Dube, with mbaqanga and international pop themes stirred into it smoothly. You'll recognise Lucky Dube's old signatures: blooping squeezebox noises, the spotless female backing vocal echoes, and drums leading into the chorus with a bouncing jungly rattle. "Respect" is also a return to form in another important sense. Like all his best work, it's heavy on the themes of justice, and inspired by the gentler tenants of his Rasta spirituality. The first track sets the tone, urging us to bless those who curse us, and rejecting bling and dollars along with other trappings of wealth and power. It urges peace and mutual respect, which is an old message - but old as it is, we don't seem to have gotten it yet. He gets much, much more specific in "Political Games", in which he asks, how politicians who climb the ladder while their people suffer can really sleep at night. And then there's the Africanised power pop protest ballad "Changing World". This is bleeding heart, almost even cheesy stuff. But most singer-songwriters who attempt this kind of thing could learn a lot from Dube's slick approach. Other songs protest against the undermining of culture, or seem to be about parenting and family rights. It's hard to tell where he stands and which cultural traditions he wants to protect. He can go on and on a bit (the album is around 75 minutes long), but then he has a lot to say, and wherever he performs in Africa, stadiums are full of people without any other real voice but his. In the end, track after track on "Respect" is touching despite the occasional clunky lyric, and fresh - Lucky Dube's voice is as powerful and lovely as ever.
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