Judy Mowatt - Only a Woman (Shanachie, 1982)

Aux  premières heures de ce blog, vous aurez noté que j'aime ces disques de reggae féminin - même si je n'ai pas continué dans cette direction par la suite. Et pourtant, je ne suis pas spécialement amateur de reggae. Entre idées reçues, clichés idiots et raccourcis, je n'y connaissais pas grand chose. Mais c'est un continent bien plus vaste que ce que j'aurais imaginé au départ. On sent bien ici que Judy Mowatt a collaboré un temps avec Bob Marley, mais la couleur gospel de certains morceaux est plus inattendue, en tout cas pour moi! Il faut vraiment que je révise mes stéréotypes sur ce style musical.

Judy Mowatt
Only a Woman
CD Shanachie SH 43007 (USA, 1982)

01.You’re my People
02. Only a Woman
03. Trade Winds
04. Think
05. Got to Leave the West
06. I Am Not Mechanical
07. On your Mark
08. Big Woman
09. You Don’t Care
10. King of Kings

Note : Produced by Judy Mowatt.
Studios :Channel One (Kingston, JA) & Tuff Gong (Kingston, JA) & Aquarius (Kingston, JA).
One-third of the I-Threes, reggae's most influential female vocal trio, Judy Mowatt helped to turn the last recordings of Bob Marley into enduring classics. Her sensuous harmonies strengthened albums by Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff, Big Youth, Pablo Moses, Freddie McGregor, U-Roy, and the Wailing Souls. Her solo recordings, including Black Woman in 1980 and Only a Woman, two years later, marked her as a powerful spokesperson for Rastafarian and feminist causes.
This is one of Judy Mowatt's better solo albums. An alumna of the Wailers (for whom she sang backup with Marcia Griffiths and Rita Marley), she brings gospel phrasing and a rich alto voice to her repertoire, which consists here of three covers (one a Curtis Mayfield song) and seven originals. Her version of "Big Woman" sounds a little out of place on this program of cultural and spiritual message songs, but it's still very charming. Mowatt's all-star studio band provides her with propulsive grooves and her own production is excellent; note in particular the midtempo skank of "You Don't Care," and the Nyahbinghi drumming on "King of Kings." "You're My People" is upbeat and inspiring, as is much of the rest of the program.

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