Last week I headed to The Marley Brothers concert in Holmdel, NJ and while waiting for my photo pass (about two hours) I met and talked with reggae artist Kenny Vanella. This was the first time meeting him.  What a great guy and we had some great conversations. Kenny mentioned to me that he loves Jamaican reggae and really doesn’t know much American reggae artists/groups.  He’s all about Jamaican reggae, much like me (even though I do listen to my fair share of America reggae) I also love Jamaican reggae. His friend Shannon asked me if I listened to his album, Revival of the Spirit, because it is really based on that Jamaican reggae and message.  I told him I haven’t but promised I would. He asked if I knew Squidly Cole because he produced the album and has worked with him since 2014. I’ve known Squidly for about ten years, he is the greatest reggae drummer out there today and a musical genius, so I knew the album must be good. I reached out to Squid to tell him I was writing the review and he said, “this is dedicated to all musicians worldwide.” After the concert I had a four-hour drive home, so I put the album on, three times. To be honest the first time through I still had The Marley Brothers show going through my mind and thoughts about what I was going to put in my concert review. So I put it on a second time and took it in.  Since I still had three hours left, I put it on a third time and really started to listen to the lyrics.  I was really liking what I was hearing. This album was a long time coming, Kenny technically started recording the album in 2019 with a single called “Fikkle Likkle Tree” and then the rest would be done in 2020, but this thing called Covid hit and shut down the album creation. He wanted a fresh start and the first actual sessions at Tuff Gong Studio in Kingston, Jamaica were in November 2022, where “Fikkle” was actually left off the album.

The album starts off with one of my favorites, and I think a great way to start this off, “Platinum Lion.” Just starts this off with a nice upbeat tune, great lyrics and some nice horns to carry us through. It sets the tone for this journey Kenny and Squidly are about to take us on. “Carbon Paper” is next up, another great groove and some soulful singing from Kenny. Great reggae riddim to this one.  Maybe my favorite song is next, “Surveillance.” I just love the rhythm and beat, and once again that soulful voice flowing through the song. Kenny said of this song;

“I wrote the song Surveillance in 2015 after coming back home to Wilmington, DE from a long stay in Kingston where I met Squid for the first time. I needed work…and I ended getting a job operating the CCTV cameras in downtown Wilmington. Well, without getting into too much detail…the surveillance practices of this company at the time were ethically/morally questionable and I kept thinking about the Bob Marley lyric…Rasta don’t work for no CIA…so I had to get out of there. One night before I’m about to quit…I smoke a bunch of herb…and I’m listening to the Mighty Diamonds classic tune “Right Time.” I grab my guitar and start playing the chords and sing surveillance in the city, getting shitty, surveillance in the city, a nitty gritty. And I write the tune. Fast forward to 2022, we are at Tuff Gong for the first sessions recording Revival of the Spirit. I start playing “Surveillance”…and Squidly comes out of the drum room and he’s rubbing his head and he’s like this song man it’s something man…I love it. And tell him I wrote it after listening to “Right Time.” Squidly yells…yes that’s it Kenny oh my lord yes…he says you know Tabby Diamond is my uncle…my mother’s brother. And Tabby had just been killed just a few months prior to this. So Squidly was very emotional about hearing this song. That emotion turned to joy and he directed Llamar “Riff Raff” Brown to play that descending piano lick very similar to “Right Time”…so “Surveillance” is an ode and tribute to Tabby and The Mighty Diamonds.”

He has Kumar join him on “I Fly A Flag” another great riddim and flow to this one. Kumar and Kenny flow so nicely together in this, would love to hear them do some more songs together. They really complement each other. “Rastafari Love” is next with a real nice upbeat groove.  Kind of song that puts a big smile on your face.  A song that will uplift you when you are down. A song for the people of the world! Another one of my favorites, “Fortress” comes in next. With Squidly Cole and Alex Wasily from the New Orleans group Dumpstaphunk, this comes in with a force. This song is about Squidly’s beat and Alex’s trombone play, but Kenny once again hits us with great lyrics and vocals. “World Is Turning” hits us next, another song I love, with the great riddim and horns. Kenny has a nice flow in this changing up his flow and bringing us that sweet voice once again. The music arrangement is amazing.

Wilmington’s Richard Raw joins Kenny on “All Day,” a little more chill sound to this, with a great message. The rap flow from Richard is awesome and fits in perfectly with this song. Loving this one. “Our Love” is next, again a little more chill and slower groove, I love the background singers in this one, the way they work off of Kenny is sweet. You can really hear how great Kenny’s range and voice is. The album is finished off with “Compassionate People” featuring Andrew Tosh. A sweet slow song, Kenny said of the song;

“Ok so Compassionate People. Back in like 2011 maybe 12…I’m puffing some herb and listening to Peter Tosh. “Lessons In My Life” comes on…and I’m listening to it and these lines and verses start really hitting me…”I’m an upful man and I like upful people…I’m an intelligent man and I like intelligent people…I’m an honest man and I love honest people”…and so on. I pick up my guitar and start playing some chords and I think to myself…I’m a compassionate man and I love compassionate people. So I write the tune. Now…it’s fall 2019 and I get the calling to finally start the journey to record the album. At the time I’m working at a medical cannabis dispensary, and I had this song from a few years prior I wrote called “Fikkle Likkle Tree.” I figure let me go down to Kingston…link with Squidly…record this one track…shoot a video for it and release it on 4/20..2020..with the idea that right after, in the spring of 2020 I’ll head back and cut the rest of the songs for the album. Well, Covid postponed all that. Anyhow, back to 2019…I plan my trip to coincide with Peter Tosh Birthday on October 2019. I figure there will be some celebrations and I can make the most of the trip. And I start looking for places to stay and I see that Pulse Rooms is a hotel in the same complex as the Peter Tosh Museum on Lady Musgrave Rd. I book a room there having no idea that the stage for birthday celebration concert would be built right in front of the hotel. As it turns out the security guard at the complex, who became my friend, introduces me to Andrew Tosh at sound check. How cool right? So now after meeting him, the idea comes to mind…how wonderful would it be if I could have Andrew join me on “Compassionate People”....to have that spirit and approval of the Tosh family on a song written in Peter’s honor. And almost 4 years later we were able to make that a reality.”

This album is a well thought out project, the production is excellent, the music just flows great and the lyrics and vocals are amazing. Kenny has a wonderful voice. Kenny’s take on this album and journey sums it up perfectly: “This whole journey and process has been absolutely incredible and I get the chills thinking about it right now. I’m from Wilmington Delaware where Bob Marley’s mothers family, The Malcolm’s live. Bob and his family spent a great deal of time here and like millions of people, I have been so completely inspired by him. My proximity here has led me to build a loving relationship to the Malcolm’s since 1999 through Sister Ivy, David, and Cisco. I am a disciple of Bob Marley…and there was no other option than to record this album at Tuff Gong. The amount of gratitude and honor and reverence I have cannot be put into words. The very first lyric in the tune “World Is Turning” says, “I never had a choice, so I came just as Jah made me.” That is taken directly from the Bob interview…when the white reporter asks him…do you have to be black to be a Rastafarian? Can I be Rasta? And Bob asks him…do you have a choice? If you have a choice, you should be black…but if not…just come as God made you.” I really enjoyed this album, it makes you think, but at the same time entertains. It may have taken a few years for it to come together, but it is well worth the wait. He was able to include a great cast of Jamaican musicisians as well as several Delaware artists to help with this project. “The record is 100% rockers,” says Squidly Cole in a recent interview. “You can put it on and leave it on. Kenny has great lyrics, so the album just flows. Kenny is totally sincere in his love of roots rock reggae and his commitment to Rastafari. It has nothing to do with color. Kenny has a great future in the music business.”It is up for consideration for a Grammy in 2025, I wish Kenny and Squidly all the best, this album is for all people.

One Love – Todd Judd