This Is Book’s Music

Ziggy Marley has been around long enough as an artist to present us with compilations. Then again, he is a Marley and anything with the Marley name can turn to gold, and Dancehall Originators (Tuff Gong).

What this 12-track CD does is make an attempt to go back to how dancehall music as we know it was created, at a time when reggae was king, but some felt a modern touch was needed to bring into the 1980’s. You have tracks like “Look Work” by Josey Wales, “Big, Bad & Bold” by Chaka Demus, and “Mr. Bad Mind” by Buju Banton that show how much the music had changed in such a short time to where it has become the dominant sound from Jamaica. The album ends with a nice retrospective megamix by DJ Roy, and this will also be a way for new fans to be introduced to what some call the glory days of dancehall.

This is the first CD in Tuff Gong’s Let’s Go Back… Way Back series, and I highly look forward to what comes next.

As someone who is not only a fan but a collector of Sizzla Kalonji’s music, I have no idea how this man finds the time to relax. My collection consists of about 500 45 rpm Sizzla singles, many of which are not on his proper albums. Crucial Times is a continuation of the outpouring of Sizzla music, his first album in this new decade showing that he shows no signs of ever slowing down.

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To read the full review, head over to Okayplayer.com.

One look at the cover and I loved it. The guys in Jahmaka are sitting on stairs, on the side of a food bus (!!!) called Kiawe Q. Hui, I was hungry already. But that’s when my appetite lessened a bit.

Jahmaka are a Jawaiian band who want to share their love of reggae, and a few of these songs are decent, but I’d love to hear more than just the default sounds of a keyboard. They got the chops, the harmonies, but I wish for some of these bands to dig deeper and get gritty with how they play. Give it a true Jamaican dig, punch it with a hint of a New Orleans flavor. Yes, I do realize that this is all about keeping it “island style” but when you’re already making reggae your own music, why not perfect it into something that may be enjoyed outside of your core audience?

Now, if I don’t allow myself to get too deep, these songs are decent for parties and baby showers. In “Let’s Dance”, vocalist Stephen Lau tries to enhance his lady friend with talk that’s very tame, he wants to play the gentleman role and he simply ends up asking her to dance. Nothing more, nothing less.

One song that could crossover into the pop or R&B charts if given a new treatment is “Sweet Love”. Not to be confused with the Rufus song of the same name, this could work at a number of jamband and rock festivals if it had a real horn section instead of Lance Motogawa playing it with his keyboards. Also, a helpful tip: please lay off the auto-tune. It’s used sparingly, so no need to breathe for air as you’re overwhelmed by vocal manipulation, but there’s no need for that here, or anywhere.

While the recording is nice, it sounds a bit flat to my ears, or at least every instrument and vocal sounds the same without much added to make each song sound different from the other. It was mixed and mastered by Wendell Ching, who did decently on the album by The Green, so it’s hard to say if he is at fault or if it’s due to the production of Lau and Bill Mousser. Some of the songs also suffer from sounding too routine and mundane. Maybe if you’re dancing at the park or at a concert venue it doesn’t matter, but even non-conscious reggae music had a bit of substance. The songs on this CD do not have enough.

The name Jahmaka sounds great, but I want to hear songs that equal the power of their name. With a title like Appetite For Love, it is known that we Hawaiians are a passionate people. The album sounds like the act of spooning, but I like to entice, tickle, and tease. I hope these guys play around with the emotion of their music a bit more, because they could be something if they push that part of their muse to the forefront.

It’s hard to say if Jawaiian music has run its course or people back home are just bored. Regardless of how good or bad these albums are, a good amount of Jawaiian music still reminds me of home, but with with every other release, it seems that bands are somewhat stuck in their holes.

Case in point: The Green. They play roots reggae so that’s always a good thing, but this would have been perfect in 1980. I love old school reggae, and most Jawaiian music gets inspiration from Bob Marley and little else. Even when they try to geev’em, the songs on this CD (SheeHandsomeDevil) about love and relationships still sound like intermediate school scribbles, which sadly has been something Hawaiian artists have struggled with when trying to create pop music. It’s as if all I’m hearing is one variation of another of the Donny & Marie method. A song like “Dearest Sylvia” is about one man’s love for his lady, and I would have liked it if it went deeper than the surface. I’m not speaking of being explicit, not at all, but it’s as if they’re running around in circles and aren’t sure what to write. How to compensate? Speak in a Jamaican patois? Stop already.

What was good about this album is the musicianship from the band (Ikaika Antone on keyboards and guitars, Zion Thompson on guitar and percussion, JF Kennedy on guitar and bass), and vocalist Caleb Keolanui does a decent job at what he does. Bring in Kimie Miner, who sings lead on “How Does It Feel”, and it adds a great element to their developing sound.

To sum it up: decent singing, nice instrumentation, all-too-ordinary songs. To their credit, not a lot of people write this way anymore so even if it feels like innocent “puppy love” songs, it’s something that is not raw or nasty. But one doesn’t have to get raw or nasty to write decent songs today. Perhaps they can develop better songwriting ideas and concepts for their next album, or bring in a songwriter who can write or help them with new material. What is a plus is the production from Wendall Ching, and the artwork by Kamea Hadar is sure to get him a lot of work, I look forward to seeing what else he does. As for The Green, this CD sounds a very polished demo, and I hope they’ll be able to make a few adjustments in the lyrical department.

This footage of Bob Marley & The Wailers was filmed on June 17, 1980 in Stockholm, Sweden by a man who was able to bring his 8mm silent (i.e. no audio) film camera and bring it into shows. He did this apparently from 1976-1980 and has had these reels of film in his possession for years. He decided to give it to a friend so that he could convert it to digital. This is one of those clips. Keep in mind that this was shot by a fan with an 8mm camera, so it’s a bit shakey as many “home films” were. Not much film has been seen of Marley’s last year, especially performance footage.

I found out about this through a post on the Steve Hoffman music board. If you’d like to see some of the other films, click the user name aneurhythms on the right side of the YouTube screen. They’re of the hard rock variety, but back then Marley did have a following with rock audiences.

Bob Marley continues to be an inspiration, and now his music moves forward into 2010 with a cover of his “Natural Mystic”, covered by URBNET recording artist Kae Sun. You can find out how he did by clicking here, where you’re able to stream and/or download the song.

Morgan Heritage are a reggae band who have been around for years and if they’re not, they should be legends at this point. If it’s that roots reggae you love and adore, you hear it on a best-of compilation called The Journey Thus Far (VP).

With these guys, you get feel good music in abundance and you don’t have to worry about it damaging your children. Songs like “Love You Right”, “A Man Is Still A Man”, and “Jah Seed” will definitely move crowds to spark their lighters. My personal favorite on this is “Brooklyn And Jamaica”, where they talk about the link between the two places and what brings them to both. With 20 tracks, one is bound to find a number of personal favorites on this album. Get to it.

The Strictly The Best (VP) series of reggae and dancehall compilations continues, and we are now up to volumes 40 and 41. If one was to ask which one to pick up, I would honestly tell you to pick up both if you are able to. However, you want to know which one is best? I’m not going to tell you because both are good, but I’ll clue you in on what’s on here.

Vol. 40 has a more laid back classic roots feel, I would say this is the most mainstream of the two. John Legend may not be known for his reggae but he’s here with the Curtis Lynch Remix of “Can’t Be My Love”, featuring Buju Banton. You also have Bitty McLean’s “Fall In Love (Rub A Dub Mix)”, Queen Ifrica’s “Lioness On The Rise”, Hezron’s “So In Love”, and the one and only Beres Hammond with “No Goodbye”, and many others. All of the songs are individually indexed, it’s not a non-stop megamix or anything but I find the selection of songs are so good, you’ll want to hear them in one setting. Or feel free to mix up the playlist if you wish.

Vol. 41 leans more on the dancehall side, so some of it may be a little slack, but not too much. You have some of the best artists out right now on 41, including Mavado, Beenie Man, Vybe Kartel, Ding Dong, and Mr. Vegas, and it shows how vibrant the music and culture is in Jamaica.

One of my favorite songs on here is Munga’s “Me Want Money”, but all 15 songs on here are good, a few of them share the same riddim so you can create your own megamixes if you so wish.

Mandatory listening.

From now until Thursday, December 31st, dancehall reggae artist Elephant Man is holding promotional dub plate sessions. For you sound systems who may want Elephant Man audio for a clash, or maybe you want him to drop something on a forthcoming mix, you can make it happen. Serious inquiries only (a/k/a $$$). You can call (252) 626 3722 or email assasin1979@hotmail.com and inquire.

Jess Harlen is a new artist who calls Melbourne, Australia home. Her brand of soul/reggae will appeal to fans of Katchafire, Jack Johnson, Donavon Frankenreiter, and Camile Velasco. She is signed to a new subsidary of Obese Records called Plethora, where Harlen will be releasing her Neon Heartache album in February 2010 (just in time to make an impact before Valentine’s Day.)

If you like her and the sound of her music, you should also be introduced to producer Plutonic Lab, who was involved in the entire project. Take a look at some of his credits on his MySpace, and you’ll want to start exploring his work (which you should).

This is the first single from the album, called “Watch The Water”. Then watch out for Harlen in the new year.