“Tikya the Blackheart Man, children I say, don’t go near him/ Tikya the Blackheart Man, for even lions fear him,” croons Bunny Wailer on the opening title track of his 1976 solo debutBlackheart Man. Inspired by the age-old Jamaican fable, parents would tell their children about the Blackheart Man to instill fear – and set them up to resist the unknown, which mostly meant outside religions.
The roots-rock-reggae classic juxtaposes a weighty funky rhythm with a gentle wooden flute circling Wailer’s soulfully Curtis Mayfield-flavored epiphany: “Trodding the road of life, I’ve come to this one conclusion that everything is equal under the sun, all that is created by JAH mighty hand/ And he said knock and it shall be opened, seek and ye shall find that wisdom is found in the simplest of places.”
Wailer initially found wisdom in the musical bond he forged with two childhood friends in the village of Nine Mile in St. Ann Parish, Jamaica. Together, Wailer, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh would go on to form the harmony-driven, R&B-inspired Wailers in 1963, but split about a decade later to pursue solo projects.
In 1976, all three hit homeruns with their solo debuts: Tosh released the iconic ganja love letter Legalize It, Bob Marley’s Rastaman Vibration is one of his many ethereal masterpieces and Wailer’s Blackheart Man is a soulful marriage of political beliefs and his spiritual transition into the Rastafari movement. He worked with a band that included Carlton and Aston Barrett, Robbie Shakespeare and Skatalite Tommy McCook, and Marley and Tosh even pitched in some backing vocals.
In addition to the aforementioned title track, Wailer unleashed a collection of heavy themes, from repatriation (“Dreamland”) to a personal account of serving time for marijuana possession (“Fighting Against Conviction”) to apocalypse (“Amagideon”). And Wailer closes Blackheart Man with his take on the gospel standard “This Train.”
With Time Will Tell: A Tribute to Bob Marley, Crucial! Roots Classics and Hall of Fame: A Tribute to Bob Marley’s 50th Anniversary, he would go on to claim three Grammys for best reggae album, cementing a legacy that’s hard to overstate. This weekend the legend visits Salinas.
BUNNY WAILER and PURE ROOTS 9pm (8pm doors) Friday, April 8. Hacienda Grill, 1449 N. Davis Road, Salinas. $25/advance; $35/door. 424-6400, www.ticketfly.com
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