The Meditations first formed as a
group in the mid-seventies following the breakup of the Linkers. Led by Ansel
Cridland, The Linkers had made a series of recordings in the late sixties,
including the classic, "Nyah Man Story." About 1971, Danny Clarke and
Winston Watson recorded several titles for Lee Perry's Upsetter label
individually and as the duo, 'Flames.' Ansel and Danny first began working
together informally about 1972, with Winston joining them soon after. Inspired
by a love of the Impressions, the group began to develop a vocal blend that
would bring them international respect.
The Meditations cut a number of
important 45s for producers in Jamaica as early as 1974. However, a series of
recordings for Federal Records in the mid-seventies led to the release of the
group's first album, "Message From The Meditations," in 1976 and a
second, "Wake Up," in 1977. Rightly regarded as classics today, these
two albums established the Meditations as one of reggae finest vocal groups.
These seminal recordings opened the door to live appearances in the US and
Bermuda in 1977, and brought them to the attention of Bob Marley.
The Meditations began working
full time as Marley's harmony trio, recording with producer Lee Perry. Together
they recorded the classics "Rastaman Live Up," "Blackman
Redemption" and "Punky Reggae Party." In April 1978, the
Meditations opened the historic One Love Peace Concert for Marley, at the
National Stadium in Kingston. They also released singles that year on Marley's
Tuff Gong label and Perry's Black Art label in Jamaica. In 1979, they began to
work on the album "Guidance," with the Wailers for Island Records.
However, that agreement was never signed and today that album can be heard on
"Reggae Crazy," (Nighthawk CD-317). 'Reggae Crazy' anthologizes
fifteen Meditations titles from 1971- 1979, selected by Ansel Cridland for this
CD.
Throughout the eighties, the
Meditations continued to record and perform. They released the album "No
More Friend" in 1983, on Greensleeves Records, and a Greatest Hits package
in 1984 for Shanachie. In 1988, Heartbeat released "For The Good Of
Man," an album of new recordings and in 1994 that label issued "Deeper
Roots – The Best of The Meditations," collecting titles from the first
two albums on CD.
Of all the groups that came out
of the fertile seventies reggae-scene in Jamaica, the Meditations, perhaps more
than any other group, set the standard for sheer vocal virtuosity. Each is an
experienced lead singer having performed and recorded as soloists and in other
groups, throughout the decades since the sixties. The group survived a breakup
in the mid-eighties and went on to reunite in 1993, when they recorded
"Return Of The Meditations."
