The Hummingbird adorning the cover of the second album by Rod Anton & The Ligerians has everything to do with 'Like A Hummingbird', the first track on 'Wevolution' opening with the parable of the Hummingbird (a story which origin can be traced to the South-American Quechua people, but got worldwide attention thanks to Wangari Maathai, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, and in the meantime has become a talisman for ecologists and activists), a story we don't want to keep from you:
One day a terrible fire broke out in a forest - the huge woodland was suddenly engulfed by a raging wild fire. Frightened, all the animals fled their homes and ran out of the forest. As they came to the edge of a stream they stopped to watch the fire and they were feeling very discouraged and powerless. They were all bemoaning the destruction of their homes. Every one of them thought there was nothing they could do about the fire, except for one little hummingbird.
This particular hummingbird decided it would do something. It swooped into the stream and picked up a few drops of water and went into the forest and put them on the fire. Then it went back to the stream and did it again, and it kept going back, again and again and again. All the other animals watched in disbelief; some tried to discourage the hummingbird with comments like, "Don't bother, it is too much, you are too little, your wings will burn, your beak is too tiny, it's only a drop, you can't put out this fire."
And as the animals stood around disparaging the little bird's efforts, the bird noticed how hopeless and forlorn they looked. Then one of the animals shouted out and challenged the hummingbird in a mocking voice, "What do you think you are doing?" And the hummingbird, without wasting time or losing a beat, looked back and said, "I am doing what I can."
Moral of that story is that all of our actions, no matter how small, have an impact. Definitely a nice opener and with the other tracks on 'Wevolution' Anton doesn't disappoint either; on the contrary, with this album the singer from Orléans seems to have has come of age. Just as on his debut album 'Reasonin'' Midnite's Vaugh Benjamin and Cedric 'Congo' Myton Midnite's also make an appearance on 'Wevolution' and their presence may be considered as a confirmation of the talent of Rod Anton and his band The Ligerians, because 'Wevolution' is nothing less than a roots gem!