High-energy reggae ambassadors

Formed in 1973 in Jamaica as Suns of the Third World, by the early 1980s Third World had shortened their name, finessed their sound and racked up a series of hits that echoed from local Kingston venues to international R&B charts and dance floor disco mixes.

Despite the band's obvious reggae prowess, some critics criticized them during their rise for becoming too slick. Many others decided that if being slick means Third World's version of reggae sounds a bit too much like the Philly '70s soul giants the O'Jays, then let the slickness continue until the sun comes up.

This much is certain: From their definitive 1977 LP 96 Degrees in the Shade through a collaboration with Stevie Wonder on 1982's Try Jah Love and in their ongoing touring, Third World has consistently delivered the tightest and most contagious arrangements to be found anywhere in the realm of reggae.

Fresh from the band's enthusiastic reception earlier this month at the Montreaux Jazz Festival, and appearances at Casablanca's Morocco Festival and London's Bernie Grant Centre, lead singer Bunny Rugs Clark spoke last week with The Prague Post. Asked about the band's deep R&B roots, Clarke replied, "In Jamaica, when you start a band, the first thing you have to do is learn to play the popular top 40 songs, because you're in hotels and places like that. So we knew about the O'Jays - as a matter of a fact, we used to sing their song 'Now That We Have Found Love' in the early days of the band. That song is actually a track from an early O'Jays album, but we were the first to record it as a single, and made it into a hit. So that's how our Philadelphia connection came about. Eventually, we met Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, who produced all those songs."

On their eponymous 1976 debut LP, Third World delivered a burning cover of The Abyssinians' roots reggae hymn "Satte Massagana." The cut featured Third World's soulful Kingston harmonies and Cat Coore's sizzling guitar solo, further solidifying the song's timeless place in reggae history. While Clark admits The Abyssinians' unique vocal style was an influence on his band, he is quick to remind, "A very strong influence on Jamaican group singing was Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions. They influenced most of the Jamaican singers, including Bob Marley. Remember, 'One Love' is a Curtis Mayfield song, and in Jamaica at that time you would have groups with two, three or even five singers working on harmony, and the Impressions were their influence."

In 1993, the critically acclaimed Creole poet/playwright Kamau Brathwaite published his prose poem "Trench Town Rock," responding to Bob Marley's transcendent tune with a report of the increasingly brutal, violent and dysfunctional environs of Kingston's slums. As citizens of the Caribbean and the world, Third World is painfully aware of such realities. As Clarke says, "The message we have as a group with songs like 'We Found Love,' 'Try Jah Love,' 'Jah Jah Children,' 'Moving Up,' 'Sette Messgana,' '96 Degrees in the Shade' and 'Spirit Lives' is even more relevant today than it was 20 years ago. The world right now is a mess - wars all over, famine, disruption, corruption of officials. I'm really sorry for the young people of today; they have to sort through all these problems before they find a way. So the message we have been saying over the years is very relevant now and highly appreciated by the audience."

Instrumentally, any music appreciation course would benefit from a study of the guitar breaks of Third World's Stephen "Cat" Coore. Conservatoire-trained at an early age as a child prodigy, according to bandmate Clarke, Coore was regarded as the third-best cellist in the Caribbean by the age of 10. His unique evocative tone, comparable to Carlos Santana or Parliament's Eddie Hazel when riding solo atop the solid bottom of Third World's rhythm section, is always a spontaneous moment of electric guitar epiphany.

To sum it all up, Clark can rightfully say, "As usual, Third World is always a very high-energy show." But, before they bring that energy to town, Clark and his bandmates want to remind Prague concert-goers to "continue to enjoy reggae music and keep Jamaica and its people in mind, and sometime during each day, try to do some simple thing that will benefit some other person less fortunate than yourself."

Darrell Jónsson can be reached at
features@praguepost.com