Zion Train - Land of the Blind

by Maarten Schiethart

published: 12 / 4 / 2015

Label: Universal Egg
Format: CD

Eclectic and versatile latest album from Oxford-formed dub reggae act, Zion Train

Review

Zion Train ever more becomes a Neil Perch affair, and for the better I hear you cry. With guest vocalists Longfingah, Fitta Warri and Jazzmin Tutum, Kathika R Abbit, Daman and Dub Dadda, 'Land of the Blind' captures the vibe of the displaced. Be it a streamlined sound system or a label showcase, the new Zion Train album offers a set of brand new riddims with ever so conscious toasting on the side. Production-wise, you'll hear a few new space oddities yet, in comparision to Zion Train LPs of the recent past, the element of house music seems to have evaporated. Still juggling being reggae music magicians, the voice of Africa has become mpore prolific and with a much stronger on the issues of today. Instead of the house beats, however, fies in a couple of Arabesque influences, and even Balkanesque ones for that matter. On the closing track 'The Great Flood - Gaia's Tears' the biblical lesson actually widens the horizon. Some of the unheralded heroes on the album feature in the brass section, and it is it was substituting for the vocalists. Zion Train these days isn't just well-oiled. Zion Train excels in sophisticated rightenousness. Living by the rule of adage but forever changing. The sole issue to bug me is the complete lack of dubstep on the album. Compared to Lee Perry, who is aged 76 years of age, Neil Prech is a bit of an old hag in that respect.

Track Listing:-

1 Tranquilty Through Humility
2 Dirty Dunza / Go for It
3 We Are Water
4 Words of Wisdom
5 No Id
6 More and More
7 Inner Vision
8 Land of the Blind
9 Roots Man Play / Permanent Pressure
10 Seeds of Change
11 Raise a Dub
12 Dry Your Tears
13 The Great Flood / Gaia's Tears