Silver & Gold 1973-1979
Label: Blood & Fire
Rated: NONE
WorkNameSort: Silver & Gold 1973-1979
Listening to Prince Far I is like listening to reggae with your head wrapped in cheesecloth. While the bass disembowels you, fragmented melodies and muffled lyrics filter their meandering way into your ears, and none of it beyond the insistently explosive low-end makes any sense whatsoever. Somehow, your brain is eventually able to piece it all back together into something vaguely recognizable, but in the end, the only conclusion is that Far I was a DJ whose sole intention was to pummel you with some of the heaviest, most soul-thumping dub you’d hear this side of a week-long dope-smoking binge with a drum circle in a cave. Lyrics whether stolen or improvised in a mumble are largely irrelevant here; the scrambled-up “cover” of The Slickers’ “Johnny Too Bad” that kicks off this collection is more interested in the song’s haunting harmonies than in its actual message. Throughout these stunning 19 cuts, Far I is wont to allow lyrics to vaporize as they’re completely subsumed by his far-more-important flights of dubby fancy. No cheesecloth necessary.
This article appears in Nov 16-22, 2005.