conquers all other things in this sometimes-harsh life ... LOVE.

And if love were personified, no, let's say if love were a singer, a Reggae singer, maybe a voice ... that singer, that voice, that personification would be Sanchez D! It was a no-brainer that Mr. Sanchez D. would bring out hordes of Reggae lovers to celebrate a pre-Valentines lovers event right here in the isles of love, so that's what the perennial forces of good did for us. Here's how it went.

The BAA parking lot was the scene of Saturday night's highly anticipated Sanchez concert, an event that many of us have been feening for for some time due to the scarcity of quality Reggae concerts over the last few months.

Didn't we used to have a big concert at least once a month? What's happening people? I need shows to review! Hopefully Paul Franco and the Kolours Productions crew will keep us dancing for a while now that they've successfully launched their promotions campaign. And it was most definitely a successful launch; believe you me! I got up in the house (well, the parking lot anyway) at around 11 p.m. and immediately noticed a massive crowd of well over a thousand souls bubbling to the sounds of the Kolours crew as they juggled the old lovers rock classics with some aplomb. They even had me swaying to the smooth bass lines of the songs we grew up on before their set was over. And when it was over, Zion took the stage and wowed us with his beautiful voice and captivating lyrics -- look out for this local youngster in the coming years (hopefully he'll visit Studio B or Just Platinum or Vibe Tribe or somebody who will record his voice for mass consumption, cuz he has talent!).

Zion only did two short songs and a very competent rendition of The legendary Tenor Saw's `Lots Of Signs' (a far too short set I felt), before he made way for another local entertainer: Satin.

Apparently this guy has been around for some time, but I've never seen him before, so I'll just give my initial impressions.

I thought he was good. A lot of people were talking like he was joking or something, but I thought he had style and flair and the crowd supported him pretty nicely. Satin opened with the Gregory Isaacs classic `Night Nurse', and his reception was emphatic! He had a masked female dancer skanking on the far right of the stage, three back up singers, and a delivery that won votes from the start.

Again, I thought he was good. The only detraction was that Satin did only covers of instantly recognisable Reggae classics, and one R&B gem in a Reggae style. `Roots Rock Reggae' was followed by `Crazy Baldheads', and the Marley train was completed by `Runnin'. His finale was also a treat because it emphasised the man's style, this is how it went: He broke into a splendid rendition of Boyz II Mens' `Water Runs Dry' as Miss Shoah Bean glided onto the stage and proceeded to dance around in a beautiful white dress. Her dance accentuated the song perfectly, and it was the perfect punch to end Satin's very stylish set.

Next there was `Singing Melody', backed by the outstanding Chronic band. He opened with the Surface standard `Shower Me With Your Love', which he delivered with some skill, but he didn't take long to get kinda tired (I'll tell you that much for free!). He covered Phil Collins' `Groovy Kid Of Love', Anita Baker's `Same Ole Love' and Toni Braxton's `Let It Flow' in quick succession (the last two making me wonder why this guy insists on covering songs by women who have deeper voices than he does.

Pretty soon I just stopped writing down song titles, because, as far as I could see, this guy had no original songs to offer. It's pretty safe to say that Singing Melody did not impress me very much at all, and from the way the crowd was lulling around during his set: I think that was quite a universal sentiment.

He did the thing with the girl in the chair and said something about giving somebody $100 if they could guess what the chair was for (I'm still waiting for my money kid!), but there were no fireworks during his, perhaps too long, set. I know he had to stay on that long to honour his contract or something, but we still wished he didn't ok?! Although he did sing his wonderful hits `I Want You Back' and `Say What' before he left, redeeming himself somewhat (not nearly enough though!).

Then there was Sanchez. This guy is a legend in his own time, full stop! He took the stage after the Chronic band had warmed us up by playing the melodies to a few of his instantly recognizable hits with the ridiculously tuff `Here I Am'.

He then went on to drop hit after hit after hit after hit after hit after hit (I could go on like this for at least four more lines). And did I mention his voice? The last time Sanchez was in town, I said that if his voice was pure gold, he could cure world hunger all by himself ... this guy could cure world hunger and put a car in every garage! You know how when singers perform live they sometimes don't sound as good as they do on record (all the blemishes are exposed and such), not with this guy ... he puts the record to shame at times (I kid you not!). Sanchez could well possess one of the best voices ever endowed to a mere mortal, not because he is a superstar, but because of the sheer quality that exudes from his mouth when he sings ... it really is amazing.

My favorites were the outstanding `One In A Million,' the `I Can't Wait Give It A Chance Wild Sanchez' mega-mix, the classic `Lonely Won't Leave Me Alone' the honey sweet `Missing You' and the beautiful `Are You Still In Love With Me?'. But these standards were interspersed with some very notable covers such as the Bob Andy classic `Unchained' (which is better known as a Barrington Levy piece), the Shania Twain ballad '`Still The One,' which effortlessly morphed into the Whitney Houston gem `My Love Is Your Love,' the sixties milestone `Turn Back The Hands Of Time,' the Tracy Chapman Foxy Brown standard `Sorry' and the very special encore duet with Singing Melody: Bob Marley's 'One Love'.

This was an outstanding concert. Filled with hit songs, special treats, quiet moments and splashes of outlandish flair. I don't know what time it ended because when I was getting on my bike to dash away (having left when the so called `finale' started), I heard Sanchez singing the lyrics to the recent hit `For You I Will' ... with a voice like that, the guy could have gone all night I'm sure.

Congratulations to Paul Franco and the entire Kolours productions crew for a job well done, and many good wishes for future endeavours. And for all you music lovers out there in Bermyland ... watch for these guys, they say BIG TINGS A GWAAN! Let's hold them to that shall we? Vejay Steede