Cargo

Description

Cargo, sub-titled The Fight for Freedom Past and Present, is a musical by the British singer and songwriter Paul Field, independently released on Nearfield Records in March 2007. The muscial – written, arranged, and produced by Paul Field – focus on the abolition of the slave trade and contemporary slavery. Narration read by Tom Courtenay. Vocals by Paul Field, Coco Mbassi, and Sadie Chamberlain.

Down the years the veteran British CCM man has penned quite a few musicals but this is surely his most important. Paul Field wrote the chilling narration which succinctly tells the history of slavery from those ghastly slave ships through to the modern day sex trade and in the process produces a heart-stopping document that is impossible to ignore. Never easy to listen to, the narrative, read by famed thespian Sir Tom Courtenay, carries such force that at first the songs seems almost coincidental but such is the quality of the musical material, particularly the songs «Strange Cargo» and «Freedom» sung by the wonderful Coco Mbassi, that they too add to the impact of this project. Those who have seen the Cargo event on stage have assured me that it is literally life-changing, giving them a newly found zeal to fight against the loathsome scourge of human trafficking in whatever ways they can. Don’t ignore this album and don’t ignore the plight of those who have inspired it. [Tony Cummings, Cross Rhythms, August 2007]

> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/cargo/467454723)

CD tracklist:

01. Imagine – 4:48
02. Point of No Return – 3:17
03. Clarkson / Wilberforce – 4:26
04. Strange Cargo – 5:12
05. The Zong – 3:37
06. Restless Sea – 3:16
07. Equiano / Prince / Touissant – 4:35
08. Sharika – 4:19
09. Maria – 3:16
10. Midnight Rain – 6:22
11. Blind Eye – 4:05
12. Prayer – 3:38
13. Change the World – 4:47
14. Freedom – 4:56
15. The Angel’s Work – 5:43

Note: Available at Bandcamp: https://paulfield.bandcamp.com/album/cargo-album