Reviews
 What Happened?
The Lone Sharks
Nine Lives
Steve Winwood
Moneyland
Various Artists
I'm Not There (Original Soundtrack)
Various Artists
Home Before Dark
Neil Diamond
Toby Keith's 35 BIGGEST Hits
Toby Keith
It's A Shame About Ray (Collector's Edition)
The Lemonheads
About a Son
Otis Blue (Collector's Edition)
Otis Redding
Loaded
Wood Brothers
|
Various Artists
Maybe it’s me, but when I think of ‘reggae’, I think of Bob Marley, not DMX. Somewhere during the past twenty or so years, though, I must have lost track of what qualifies as ‘reggae’. I remember ‘dancehall’, and I even heard a bit of reggaeton, but some of the music on this disc has me completely baffled, not because it’s bad, but because it is labeled as ‘reggae’. Only a handful of songs on this collection fit my definition of the term. Indeed, if you played some of these tunes in the laid-back, sun-drenched Caribbean watering holes frequented by tourists, half of the clientele would run for the door. This is definitely not your father’s reggae music.
I brought this disk with me on vacation, figuring a good reggae collection would mellow my vibe a bit while chilling in the sun. Instead, it made me feel like a S.W.A.T. team was gonna kick in my hotel room door. I’m not being a hater here – I guess I’m just an old dude that lost track of what has been happening in Jamaica as of late. Apparently, the Reggae Gold series is one of the best-selling compilations of Jamaican music since the new millennium. With names like Sean Paul, Buju Banton, Shaggy and Elephant Man on this 2007 edition, I shouldn’t be too surprised, and I’m not. The only shocker is how ‘urban’ Jamaican music has become in the past decade. If you dropped a track by Method Man in the middle of this CD, it would blend in easily. Buju Banton (Bobby Reds”) and Morgan Heritage (Brooklyn and Jamaica”) incorporate dub-style rhythm tracks, but their vocal delivery is intense and informed by inner-city experience. Jah Cure (“Sticky”) and Gyptian (My Fadah Seh”) come closest to providing deep-rooted reggae stylings, but they are the exception to this CD’s rule.
When did the term ‘Reggae’ start to incorporate sampled beats, synthetic riffs, and muscular raps? When did the ubiquitous, loping, upbeat-accented rhythms vanish from the scene? I know I’m old school, but Reggae Gold 2007 makes me feel like an old man. If you were born before 1980 and define Reggae by Bob Marley’s standard, you’re gonna cringe when you hear this. If you’re born after that date, and don’t give a rat’s ass about the music’s lineage, then you’ll probably order a few more Red Stripes and rock on. Either way, you know who you are…and pass me one of those Red Stripes.
Grade: 
 |
Buy it now! -  |
 
|
More Music Reviews
More Movie Reviews
More Book Reviews
More Concert Reviews
See more hits from the 2000's
Powered by Millennium Communications Inc.