Only one. In case you haven't been paying much attention recently or throughout the years, we, Reggae fans, are kind of spoiled. There're certain aspects and facets of our genre which simply do not exist in any other in the world and I know fans of pretty much any kind of music would likely say the same thing.... but we'd be right! Though we've had more than our share of conspiracies and controversies (and will have many, many more of both), we really do have quite a bit to be thankful for. I very rarely bring up this man's name as an example because it's always my desire to kind of introduce and reinforce the work of other, lesser known, artists, but we do have a guy named Bob who, to this day, towers over the entire genre. I don't know if another genre in the world has that in a single person. I think once upon a time it may've been true with Rock with Elvis Presley (then again, it may not have been), but in 2023, just as it was it 1983, and just as it is likely to be in 2033, the dominant and most well known figure in the history of Reggae music is Bob Marley and he just happens to be one of the most revered musicians ever. Period. So that's something! So much is that the case, also, that even the NAME Marley, on anyone anywhere, is also often associated with Reggae. Think about it the next time you see it written outside of a musical scope. Speaking of reverence, along with other legendary figures such as Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Dennis Brown, Lee Perry and others who get a certain type of more MATURE appreciation, we also have DANCEHALL! Though I will continuously lament the current state of the music (as the crotchety old ass man that I am), that very nice international (and FLEXIBLE) level of respect given to the likes of Beenie Man, Shabba Ranking, Bounty Killer and Buju Banton is definitely something to be proud of; and I also must mention that Reggae music is one which, of course, has its own walk of life and culture as were I to say to you to tell me what most immediately comes to mind when I say "RASTAFARI", you wouldn't get very far down your line, AT ALL, before Reggae or something inherently Reggae-related would come out of your mouth. You could surely think of genres such as Gospel and... yep, Gospel, that have more spiritual elements tied to it, but examples of that are very few and far between ESPECIALLY to the saturation that is exists in Reggae. Go look over to the tags on the right of this same page and you will literally see DOZENS of individuals making music with a spiritual and culture core and doing so in a way which is not a niche at all within its genre. Like I said, we have things which do not exist anywhere else. You know what else we have in Reggae which, by definition, simply does not exist in any other genre of music in the world??? It just so happens that THE greatest SOUND every put into anyone's voice, EVER, is property of someone who sings Reggae music. It isn't Opera or Pop or R&B or anything else you may come up with, it is Reggae as long controversial Kingston native, Jah Cure, has.... damn wonder in his voice. If you have not heard that man sing, then you have not heard anything like that man singing and, again, he has spent a long (detour-filled) career utilizing it singing Reggae music. I'm going to write this review at least attempting to ignore the obvious 'elephant in the room' (dealing with why you will not actually SEE Jah Cure, himself, on his new album) but were the Cure to call it a career at this very moment, he would be known for two things: Being very 'interesting' outside of making music and being blessed with one of the greatest musical 'instruments' the world has ever seen - reaffirmed virtually every single time he opens his mouth.
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| 2015 & 2019 |
Largely because of that tool (and, to his credit, when he is at his best, he is a very good songwriter as well) Jah Cure's music always comes with a 'built-in' interest. If he makes something and you don't like the melody and you don't enjoy the lyrics, there's still a chance that the tune could be of interest to you because of what he may do vocally. If he turns in an epic performance, you're going to want to have a listen and it is a situation that I found myself looking at late last year or so when news popped up that a brand new album from the Cure was forthcoming. It's been well over a decade now since the last time we actually reviewed a Jah Cure album, but he most certainly has not been idle and, in that time, he's done some relatively impressive work, though I do confess I remain a bigger fan of much of his earlier material (back when we are downright mystified by his backstory, wondering if his actual name was truly Siccature Alcock and still trying to figure out exactly what the hell we were listening to) (... I guess, technically, we still are trying to figure that out, aren't we) ["Run come love me toniiiiiiiiiight"]. Most recent was 2019's "Royal Soldier", which was decent, featuring some more than solid combinations with Damian Marley, Capleton, Yami Bolo, Junior Reid and others (like Mya). Ahead of that was 2015's Grammy nominated "The Cure", which was a fantastic set arguably rivaling almost any album before it in quality. That album, if I recall correctly, also did quite well commercially and, listening through it nearly eight years on - I am not surprised. Now, keeping with his four year release schedule, early 2023 sees the release of "Undeniable", the ninth full album release from Jah Cure. Like most [all] of his recent work, the new album also comes via VP Records and this time it features production from a K-One from out of Sweden [by way of Iran], who I'd never heard of before, but subsequent research has placed his background, largely, in Hip-Hop, though he's also worked with European Reggae veteran, Million Stylez and the venerable Clive Hunt was also instrumental in the realization of the new project (Hunt is one of those people who has done more work on more music than anyone will ever know and it's probably literally IMPOSSIBLE to credit him for everything that he has done at this point). Jah Cure has previously done work which seemed to place him in a more international spotlight as far as the style of his work (for some reason I tend to recall the SoBe/Danger Zone years as being more 'mainstream' than they actually were. if you go back and listen to an album like "The Universal Cure" now: That's a Reggae album) and when I began to dig into the 'meat' of what we might encounter on "Undeniable", for some reason I just presumed that we'd see more of that (listening to "The Universal Cure" right now - DAMN! What a beauiful album that one was as well). While I wasn't entirely wrong on that, what "Undeniable" does turn out to be is a piece of work which has one predominately constant direction split into about three different styles. The results, while certainly not vintage Cure, at least have a chance in making a nice impression on many of his listeners. Let's take a listen.
That one constant course that I alluded to being present here is the fact that "Undeniable" is, basically, an album full of love songs. When you see the tracklist, you quickly come to that conclusion and it is proven true throughout. The range of sounds, to my ears, roam somewhere between Reggae, R&B and even Zouk (though I'm going to assume that I'm probably the only one who is going to make that leap) (love some Zouk). As you might suspect, that makes for a colourful sound and I'm thankful for that as it definitely spices things up here, musically. Jah Cure and K-One are sure to put their collective and proverbial best foot forward on their brand new album, "Undeniable" as its heaviest hitter altogether and title track sets things in motion. 'Undeniable' features up and coming big voiced singer, Kaylan Arnold, who definitely manages to hold her own alongside the Cure on this POWERFUL vibe. This tune is dynamic, it's fun to listen to and, just on its surface, it does not come off like a stereotypical 'love song', at all (we've become accustomed to calling Reggae love songs, "Lover's Rock", as a sort of subgenre. This is not Lover's Rock. It is something else). It is also quite apparent that everyone involved knew precisely what they had on their hands as well as, by more than twenty seconds, 'Undeniable' is the longest track on the album named for it (and the fact that they did call the album "Undeniable" is probably more evidence of what they thought about the music). BOOM! The album's second offering, 'Everything', is also its second and final combination, this one featuring the STALKING Stonebwoy who seems to feature on everyone's album [Note: Small world. Kaylan Arnold has an EP to her credit - 2021's "Hydrate", that album has one featured guest.... his name is Stonebwoy). I actually read an article where the Cure spoke on just how close the two artists have become over the years and how he felt compelled to make sure Stonebwoy was involved on his next project. Their work here doesn't reach the levels of the opener (nor do any of the next nine songs) but it is pretty solid and very unique. If you think about it (though I may be wrong), I don't think you see a lot of combinations featuring two male artists on a love song. It is something which seems to be somewhat rare and 'Everything' is a piece focusing on that maddening post-breakup portion of the relationship where you sit around, driving yourself crazy, thinking about 'everything' you did wrong and wondering whether or not it is too late to correct at least some of them ["Promise to do you right this time, around, if only I coulda rewind"]. 'Everything' also has a very nice vibes to it and I wasn't shocked to see it receiving a single treatment for "Undeniable" in the slightest. 'Trust' (biggup Buju) comes through next and it brings with it the first tinge of a bigger sound with that lovely piano intro, before ascending into some sweet Reggae/R&B hybrid (probably 65-35 in favour of Reggae). 'Trust' is just a very nice tune about... exactly what you think it is about. I wouldn't be surprised to see this one go overlooked to a degree; it won't change lives, but it definitely does help flesh out the body of "Undeniable" with its attractive and appealing sound. Then there is the sweetness that is another of the biggest winners here to my opinion, 'One More Time'. Again, maybe (probably) it's just me, but when I got here, I hear BEAUTIFUL, GLORIOUS Zouk from the intro and throughout this one and what happens is that 'One More Time' begins to build and build and, eventually, comes to a point where what you have is EASILY one of the most satisfying selections on the whole of "Undeniable". I'm going to stay right there as well because the very next drop, 'Good Life' (biggup Cocoa Tea), is similarly vibed in its sound, though just a bit more straight forward to my ears. Regardless of where you feel it is sourced (as it progresses into that SWEET riddim), I'm thinking anyone who hears 'Good Life' will not only appreciate it flatly, but also enjoy how the theme of the tune so perfectly matches its nature. You WANT to be a part of the Cure's idea of this 'good life'. It sounds fantastic.
'Think About It' was another piece that had me... thinking about its origins as it also sounds well Zouk-ified (probably the most so on the whole of "Undeniable). It literally sounds like sparkly, beached out Zouk and it actually turns out to be one of my favourites on the album, though it did take a few spins to arrive at that point; so if you're struggling with this one, I would suggest you maybe give it a bit more time before heading it on because (like several other tunes present here), 'Think About It' is quite easy to dismiss as just another pretty 'face'. Better still is the very next track in 'Be The One', which just may be the album's second strongest selection altogether in my opinion. There's some... very cool, slow-burning intensity on 'Be The One' which is quite odd because it doesn't take very long to make itself noticed at all. I heard it from the very first time I listened to the song.
"Give me that energy
Roll it and light it, then roll around with me"
I'd probably put it more on the R&B side which works well with the nature of this one - just a very solid, romantic piece which I expect to find a fairly sizable audience. 'Find My Way', on the other hand, just may be a future hit with everything going on there, musically. Armed with what is likely the single finest composition on "Undeniable" (that thing is SO NICE!), you can very well just lose yourself to a degree here as it is damn hypnotic at times within its brevity. I'd likely come back and criticize it, near closing, so I'll just do it now: At the end of this song, I think K-One and Jah Cure and whoever else really missed an opportunity to just allow that riddim to play on a bit as, pretty much, we get the final half-minute without vocals; were that closer to a minute on the very short track (the second shortest on the album), I think it would have gone a long way to showing off its finest asset. The tune itself is kind of a motivator set within a love song, which is nice touch but, again, everything bubbling around it is GLORIOUS and I think they could have made more of it.
After finding its way, I actually think "Undeniable" loses a bit of ground in closing as a couple of its final trio miss the mark in my opinion (and the other isn't great either), with both the BRIGHT 'If I Had You' and the closer, 'Turn Off The Lights', really just being average. Both sound quite nice (as does every other song on "Undeniable, that is undeniable), but they don't sound exceptionally so and the rest of them don't do much either for me, really. The latter also has the unfortunate circumstance of being entirely too damn short and it is the single briefest effort on the entire album by some ten seconds (remember I just told you that I wish that they had taken more time with 'Find My Way' and done more with it??? 'Turn Off The Lights' is ten seconds shorter than that). 'Beautiful' does come with this delightfully very BASIC vibe to it (that never develops much, which is a good thing) and it also does more lyrically ["You've got royalty in your genes yeah, but you're living in a skin-deep world"] than 'If I Had You' and 'Turn Off The Lights', but a few weeks from now, when I think back to this album, I cannot imagine any of these final three have made much of an impact on me. 'Beautiful' MAY be the exception, as it does have its moments, but those points still do not see it even near to the class of "Undeniable" for me.
Something I do feel inclined to mention about the way "Undeniable" plays out (because I harped on it so much in setting it up) is the fact that we never really do get THAT vocal display from Jah Cure within these eleven tracks and thirty-four and a half minutes and it's kind of a disappointment. It could have definitely used a BITE to it and, in retrospect, what aggression it does have probably comes most via Kaylan Arnold on our title track, so it would have been nice had the Cure, himself, taken off that harness and unleashed his greatest asset more.
Overall, judging it by what IS present, "Undeniable" is likely best seen as a nice display of music... I know that sounds absolutely ridiculous, but you know how much I love to elabourate, so here we go. The growing point I attempted to make here was just how nice "Undeniable" SOUNDS! Even some of the lesser tracks have a certain charm to them which is pleasing at the very least and, at the higher end, represent some very talented work on behalf of K-One, Clive Hunt, Jah Cure, himself, and others who worked on the production here. That is what "Undeniable" is. It is a very nice sounding project and not a whole lot more, actually. As strange as it may sound, however, I don't feel particularly disappointed with what happened here as (apart from the voice not being fulling represented) (that part definitely IS too bad because you'd think that if you sounded like THAT, you'd use it to its fullest as often as you possibly could), looking back now, I don't necessarily think that my expectations were extremely high and, again, there is enough material here which is going to make me (and a lot of other people) FEEL GOOD and there is a value in that. So, while "Undeniable" certainly is not one for the ages in displaying this one of a kind, amazing talent, it is a decent enough of a stop before the hopefully inevitable next time where THE Cure can be RELEASED again... in more ways than one.
Rated: 3/5
VP Records
2023
CD + Vinyl + Digital
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