The Michigan Daily - Friday, June 15, 1984 - Page 9
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Members of Steel Pulse (Selwyn Brown, Steve Nesbitt, David Hinds, Fonzo
Martin, and Ronnie McQueen) model their unique "dread locks" in an-
ticipation of their Saturday night show at the Michigan Theatre.
Reggae's Pulse
beats stronger
cert, dominated by the whirling,
skanking presence of lead singer and
By Phillip K. Lawes rhythm guitarist, David Hinds, with
what must be the most imposing hair-
style in music today - Hind's "Congo
OR THOSE of us who can't afford to Dread," a solid cylinder of hair which
5 make it to Reggae Sunspash in towers up at least twelve inches from
Jamaica this summer, there is a won- his scalp.
derful consolation prize at the Michigan There has been a lot of talk about
Theatre tomorrow, as Prism which band will replace Bob Marley
Productions presents the England- and the Wailers at the top of the reggae
based reggae band Steel Pulse. hierarchy. Seeing Steel Pulse in con-
It's some consolation prize. Steel cert, with Hinds playing the Congo-
Pulse, with the release of their latest dreaded dervish, gives credence to the
album, Earth Crisis, have established notion that Steel Pulse is that band. In
themselves as the preeminent band on addition to the strength of the band's
the international reggae scene, music, there has not been a more
Technically and lyrically, Earth charismatic figure in reggae than
Crisis is the most complex reggae David Hinds, since Bob Marley.
album produced so far, continuing the Opening acts in Ann Arbor have a
marked evolution of Steel Pulse's tendency to fare badly in comparison to
music since the release of their first the headliner. A couple of years ago, for
album, Handsworth Revolution, in 1978. example, the now defunct Ital had the
The group's music has always misfortune to open for Peter Tosh, who
featured powerful basic reggae rhyth- made them seem like a bunch of high
ms, and strong socio-political content. school kids putzing around in their
On the latest album however, the band basement.
has succeeded in increasing the com- A similar fate awaits tomorrows
plexity and sophistication of the music headliner, the Detroit-based Black
while retaining its hard, insistent edge. Market. Judging from their performan-
As technically accomplished as the ce as opening for Yellowman last fall,
band's albums are, Steel Pulse loses Black Market will suffer gravely from
nothing in live performance. If comparison to a band as accomplished
anything, the music gains in intensity as Steel Pulse.
on stage, as their performanceon the Showtime tomorrow is 8 p.m., doors
Reggae Sunsplash '81 album demon- open at 7. There will be a cash bar.
strates. Tickets are available at Schoolkid's,
That album cannot convey however, P.J.'s, all Ticketworld outlets and the
the visual spectacle of a Steel Pulse con- Michigan Theater box office.