31.3.13

Vinyl A Thing Of The Past But Burning Spear CDs With Winston Godfrey Rodney Continues

By Flora Vinson


It is not unfamiliar to associate reggae and Rastafarian with the music of a specific artist. Rastafarian is a religion and captured in their music, a way of life. With the advent of compact discs in the 1970s and the cross over from vinyl to a new format, Burning Spear CDs quickly replaced the manufacture of vinyl records. This type of media storage enhanced the music industry.

Sony did tests in the 1970s on laser disk technology and demonstrated that data could be stored on a smaller hardware compared to the bulky hardware used up until then, such as vinyl records. Their primary goal was to develop a means whereby recordings could be played back to listeners. A secondary goal was to develop this means of storage whereby information or data could be stored and erased then stored again for other types of data capturing.

As for the consumer of vinyl records, there has been much debate as to which form of information capturing is better. The transition from vinyl to compact disk had already been made and vinyl records became a collector's item rather than a means to listen to music. For the generation born into this new technology, the compact disk soon became in demand compared to the now outgoing vinyl.

A song writer once said that the things you need to write about when creating music are those things that matter to you. Things that develop who you are, such as friends and the people that interplay in your life. With reggae so this was and it is noticeable through its harmonic chants and rhythm.

Reggae music originated from a small coastal town in the Caribbean. It was fate that two reggae greats would meet in a place called St. Anne. A story about a simple farmer and another man seeking a better way of life through his music. His first song recording took place in a studio there and was named 'Door Peep'.

Since the recognition as an artist from those early days, he has gone on to win two Grammy award nominations. The favorite songs listened to by millions, are 'Jah is Real' and 'Calling Rastafari'. The music beats to a sense of timelessness and has captured an audience of millions.

All in all, the production of burning spear cds has grown in strength since its meager beginnings over 40 years ago. One can attribute this to two reasons. Their passion for what they believe in and their passion for nothing more than being able to play music.




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