Wailing with emotional power

Rocksteady is an exceptional exploration of the birth of Jamaica’s greatest musical export

What a real Reggae player looks like: a scene from Rocksteady: The Roots of Reggae.
Jammin in the name of the Lord: a scene from Rocksteady: The Roots of Reggae.

For the sake of full disclosure, I should mention at the beginning of this review that I am a white, middle-class male, born and raised in the heart of suburbia; however, this minor setback did not keep me from thoroughly enjoying Rocksteady: The Roots of Reggae, a documentary showing this week at the Cinematheque.

Director Stascha Bader’s film follows some of the key musicians from the short-lived Rocksteady movement as many of them return to Jamaica to re-record and perform their most famous and influential songs.

Rocksteady is a musical movement birthed around 1965 in Jamaica, growing out of the much more quickly paced rhythms of ska and laying the groundwork for what would evolve into reggae – the musical genre now synonymous with the island country.
It’s obvious that the filmmakers set out to make so much more than a history lesson set to fantastic music. The film is a tightly-woven exploration into not only the songs, but also their creators and, ultimately, the country (with all of its triumphs and setbacks) from which they developed. To these musicians Rocksteady represents more than just music; it is a way to touch the soul and to unite the world with a message of hope and peace.

The celebratory nature of the music comes out clearly as the filmmakers give us ample time to watch as songs are recorded in the studio, performed in a concert hall and even played on the park benches.

What comes through most clearly, and what gives the film its emotional power, is the deep-rooted love these musicians have for their country and the profound sadness that comes from seeing how gang violence and apathy have overrun the promise that inspired their music in the ‘60s. The feeling of loss becomes particularly poignant as we watch Rita Marley (Bob’s widow) recite the immortal words of No Woman, No Cry as she wanders the tenement (now a museum/shrine to Marley) where the two first met and fell in love.

It should be stated that the film does not merely spiral into the darkness; the point of the film is to extol the redemptive power of music.

As the film winds up, new and archival footage of Jamaica and its people are mixed together, reminding us of the hope for peace and restoration that remains the strongest driving force for these exceptional musicians.

Published in Volume 64, Number 11 of The Uniter (November 12, 2009)

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