- Studio One presents Burning Spear  1973 [FCD 7940] COXSONE
label which comes with the record on the left : has a mention that appears nobody else : "All song on this album published by Jamrec Music JA".
Very hard to find pressing (probably the rarest of all !), with a picture of Winston Rodney in front of a palm tree on pink thick card sleeve. All other covers with the palm tree uses this photography where you can here easily recognize his face.
Graal Records is presenting a new albums discography of these two legendary Long Players that recorded Burning Spear (Winston Rodney) at Studio One for producer Coxsone Dodd : "Studio One presents Burning Spear" and "Rocking Time". For the first album, that you will discover on this page, it is very hard to determine which is the first pressing, and in which order the several pressings does appear, as all records were printed from the same stamper, so they all have the same matrix number : FCD 7940. So this is the order that we have decided to present.
BURNING SPEAR ALBUMS AT STUDIO ONEL
Various palm tree silk screen wax covers, with most common black on white lettering for backsleeve.
Here is the second album, called Rocking Time, recorded on 1974 at Studio One recording studios. These two albums are simply considered as masterpieces out of 13 Brentford Road.
Probably later issue, again on silk screen wax cover, which uses the same multicolored sun and the picture of Winston Rodney with the guitar. No more palm tree, same black on white lettering for backsleeve.

Here is the common label for all "guitar" issues, which mentions "The Burning Spear" in small letters without the S at the end.

Studio One stands now under the artist's name, interesting is the large yellow tape on the bottom of the sleeve, and the red on white lettering of the backsleeve.
Beautiful issue on silk screen wax cover with the sun and the "gothic" letters that  appears for the first time. Studio One stands on the right of the sleeve.  Backsleeve with green on white lettering.
Here is the common label for all "palm tree" issues, which mentions "THE BURNING SPEARS" in capital letters with a S at the end as he was called in the beginning of his carrier (his first singles on the Supreme label mentions the Burning Spears due to the  backing vocals, people thought it was a vocal trio like many at that time).
Again this same pink thick card sleeve, probably from the same period than the issue below. Coxsone used to print on these sleves around 1972 / 1973. Here a different picture representing Rodney kneeling on a rock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


- Rocking Time 1974 - Catalogue Number : SOL 1123

 

This is the first pressing issued in Jamaica in 1974 on the Forward label, with the following matrix number : HM 2426. Old paper textured sleeve. The sound quality and the pressing are not great.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second JA issue that uses the following matrix number : CN-BS-2545 . Different thin card paper sleeve than the Forward cover. Has been pressed in 1975/1976. At that time Burning Spear had left Studio One (1974) to work with producer Jack Ruby in Ocho Rios. He had a great succes with his Marcus Garvey concept album. As the first issue of Rocking Time had a poor pressing, Coxsone decided to repress a clean serie of records. These comes on several different Studio One labels, but as well on a second Forward label issue, taken from the second stamper.

The two following issues of Burning Spears two albums for Coxsone were reissued in the USA on the Studio One label, Brooklyn NY. They have a different mix than all issues before, as they have been remixed and overdubbed, they do not have the original mix anymore. This discography does not mention the latest reissues.

US issue on the american Buddah Label from 1976

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SOLP 0150 USA 1980

SOL 1123 USA 1980

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many thanks to the following persons for their precious help :
Nicolas Blecher, Steve Brentford, Didi Ashanti Wadada, Olivier A., Cyrille F. and Steve C., Blackeye and Alex, Ralf L. and Jeremy C.