Billboard Spotlight: Wingless Angels - October 18, 1997

Billboard Magazine

Since the early '70s, Keith Richards has kicked back between Stones tours at his villa in Jamaica, rejuvenating his tapped spirit by singing and playing with a group of Rastafarian drummers right in his front room. He long considered these late-night sessions of song and spliff strictly of-the-moment, but Richards was finally persuaded to document the sounds made by his friends - whom he's dubbed the Wingless Angels. Their sweet soul music is the kind you would hear at a Rasta Nyahbinghi or grounation ceremony; chants based in old Protestant hymns and set to a deep back-to-Africa groove. With a subtle touch, Richards embellished the tunes with the drones of Irish minstrel Frankie Gavin, as well as his own, dub-wise bass guitar.

Crickets chirping outside and impromptu jokes and chatter also color the mix. A lovely record, and a boon to anyone interested in the roots of reggae.

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