Material

This release of Seven Souls should not be confused with the original issue, which came out on the Virgin label in 1989 and is now out of print. The Triloka reissue improves on the original by adding four remixed versions to the regular album tracks (placing them, strangely, at the head of the program instead of at the end) and by printing the William Burroughs' texts which function as the album's focal point. Those texts are fascinating and disturbing: on the title track, Burroughs explains ancient Egyptian beliefs about the gradual process of death, while Sly Dunbar delivers a modified dancehall beat underneath. On "Soul Killer," he speculates on whether the soul can survive nuclear assault, while the band attempts, apparently, to simulate nuclear devastation musically (the result is much more musically interesting in its remixed version). "The Western Lands" is the album's masterpiece, a travel guide for the soul with an eerily funky accompaniment of melodic eight-string bass and one-drop drumming. The remix is even better. In its original version, this was only a pretty good Material album; in this reissue, it's among the band's best. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide