by Andrew Hamilton
Invigorating head music done Rastafarian style by Cymande. &Zion I& is a spiritual chant put to music, setting the mood for Cymande. A laid-back &One More& lulls you into subliminal meditation before &Getting It Back& jolts you into some scintillating Jamaican funk-fusion. There's a message in many of Cymande's cuts, with &Listen,& and &Bra& (a recognition of the women's lib movement), the most inspiring. Both are sung with passion, and are skillfully executed; the former is slow and painstaking in its message, while &Bra& slaps you upside the head with a stirring sax solo and bass-fueled vamp. An air of supreme coolness permeates Cymande, unusual for a first effort written by members of the band. Cymande sound like they have done this before; nowhere is this more evident than on the beautiful &Dove,& a gorgeous concoction of lead guitar, tambourines, haunting backing vocals, and percussion, with the horns used as sparingly as table-seasoning on a gourmet dish. Along with &Bra,& the group's most popular cut is &The Message& -- it's difficult keeping body parts still on this grooving mutha. All in all, Cymande is a marvelous collection that premiered a fine funk band.