Maurice Williams – For Love Sake War! (Album Review)

Under review is For Love Sake War!,  an album by Maurice William. The title track starts with piercing guitar strings and loud drumming that appears to be coming from hats. The drumming is so loud that it fills the ears. This doesn’t seem ear-friendly to me. The vocalisation – which is more like word utterances than singing – is lethargic and drawn out; though at one point the vocalisation is strained and rather shouty. But all this instrumentation and vocalisation change at some point in the song. 

The second part is more rhythmic and the vocalisation is more singing. This is the better part of the song. Lyrically, there’s talk of Europe and Africa. ‘They take it’. The storytelling in the song is rather lackluster.

‘Reggae Consciousness’ starts ​with scripture recitation from the Book of Psalms. The instrumentation and vocalisation are perhaps a hundred times better than the title track. This pleasing mix has kick drumming, with the instrumentation giving out a wooden and rubbery sound. The vocalisation is subdued, and the lyrics come out cleanly. ‘Let’s go back in time when reggae was on the rise’ is one of the lines I find remarkable.

‘Super Jah Kind’ has upbeat instrumentation, thanks to the jumpy strings backed by some rather fast kick drumming. There’s also some horns in the mix. The vocalisation is more assured here and more expressive. ‘You need to keep the flow going’, goes one of the lines; the other being ‘feel the power’.

‘Shad Low King Die’ is initially propelled by thick drumming, but the song soon changes into mellow and melodic instrumentation. Storywise, you have the lyrical persona saying that sometimes they don’t want to be in a world that don’t really love them. The lyrical persona then talks about sometimes not really listening, and then talks about some people lying and praying for evil things. Lyrically, this is one of the most expressive songs on the album.

‘Ja Hu Rise’ has some steely drumming and jumpy strings to give a solid and melodic song. The chorus is quite nice, although simple. You have the male singer going in a deep manner: ‘The yellow, the red, the black, the green’. Without the depth in vocals, the singer goes on to talk about rising up at sunrise. The singer goes on, ‘Long live those they rise’.

‘Glory of the First Righteous’ has instrumentation that’s so minimal it’s almost criminal. Minimalist instrumentation allows vocals to rise above the sound, but the minimalism is not even, the minimalism rather pointing to itself. Kudos however to the singer’s vocalisation here. It’s done in a sweet way that makes me think they should perhaps in the future consider making a cappella music. The song mixes spoken word and humming and perhaps goofy singing. ‘Mind free. The higher power waiting’, goes one of the lines. 

‘See the Children’s is one of those songs with jumpy instrumentation. For a change, we have a female vocalist onboard. ‘Your love for me is something spiritual’, you have her singing. ‘It takes me up to a higher high’. The song could have gone this way in its entirety, but at some point the vocalisation changes drastically. You now have a male vocalist, the narration being spoken word. The instrumentation however adds some sweet strings. This, in a way, makes up for the change in tune. 

SCORE/Excellent:  The album starts on a rocky path, but soon delivers some gems. Sometimes songs change midway, and the changes are jarring. Whatever the case, this album puts one in a reggae mood. 

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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