LILLIAN ALLEN CONDITIONS CRITICAL LPCategory / Style / Moods: Reggae Dub Poetry24.77 / 2007-11-21 S asocc1987 REDWOOD US LPTITLE: CONDITIONS CRITICALARTIST: LILLIAN ALLENCONDITIONCOVER: VG+VINYL: VG+ OR BETTERClick here for info on grading and abbreviationsOUT OF PRINT ORIGINAL PRESSClick the pix for a better view TRACKS: Disc: 11.One poem town, Why do We Have to Fight?, sister Hold On, Unneatural Causes, freedom is azainia (south Africa Must Be Free), conditions Critical, His Day Came, Jazz you, Dis Ya Mumma earth (Peace Poem)Biography by Roger Steffens Canada's preeminent dub poet, whose all-female band kicks as hard as Dennis Bovell's, with equal genre-bending. Brilliant language that snaps like gum, with perfectly matched musical beds. Lillian Allen. Poet, vocalist, lyricist, b Kingston, Jamaica, 5 Feb 1951; BA (York) 1978. Allen is Canada's foremost 'dub poet,' performing verses on social and political issues in a rhythmic, declamatory vocal style to reggae accompaniment. Allen lived briefly in Kitchener, Ont, in 1969, and after dividing five years between New York and Jamaica, settled in Toronto in 1974. There she studied at York University, and worked as a lyricist for the reggae band Truth & Rights. She published her first book of poems, Rhythm An' Hardtimes, in 1982 and subsequently recorded the cassette Dub Poet: The Poetry of Lillian Allen (1983) as well as the EP De Dub Poets (1985), the latter with fellow Toronto poets Clifton Joseph and Devon Haughton. Allen provided the text for Kristi Allik's 1984 composition Riddim (premiered by the Canadian Electronic Ensemble at the Winchester Street Theatre in Toronto, 25 Nov 1984). Collaborating with percussionist Billy Bryans and guitarist Dave Grey of the Parachute Club, bassist Terry Lewis, and others, she made the LPs Revolutionary Tea Party (1986) and Conditions Critical (1987), the former including such notable songs as "I Fight Back," "Riddim an' Hardtimes," and "Birth Poem." Both records were released and distributed by Allen's label, Verse to Vinyl, and received Juno awards for best reggae/calypso album, in 1987 and 1988 respectively. She has appeared at literary, music and feminist festivals and events in Canada, the US, the Caribbean, Great Britain, France, and Germany, and was heard at Expo 86. Throughout the 1980s-90s Allen wrote and published books of poetry, short fiction, and plays. She was featured in the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) film Unnatural Causes (1989), co-produced and co-directed the documentary Blak Wi Blakk (1994), and released her third album, Freedom and Dance, in 1999. In 2003 Allen was a driving force in the founding of the Dub Poets Collective and in 2004 hosted Wordbeat, the CBC radio program on poetry and spoken word. Allen has been a consultant on diversity and culture for government and community groups, and since 1992 has been a professor with the Faculty of Liberal Studies at the Ontario College of Arts and Design. This exquisite piece of retro music history is a vinyl sound recording (not a CD). Please visit the A Sound Deal store for similar items and information on grading and shipping. Add me to your favorites for red hot sales bulletins and sneak previews of upcoming products. Combine Items to Save $$$! Click here to check the store for more!©A Sound Deal
