Coming Soon Vol. 14.5

Okay so, I forgot a couple of BIG things just the last time I ran this one, so I thought that I'd run it quickly again.

{Or I just didn't feel like writing today}

Coming Soon

Natty King - Born To Be Free [House of Riddim]

This was the one that made me do a double-take and kind of pissed off that I didn’t get to mention it, because it is TRULY a big fucking deal. You might know the Austrian label House of Riddim from dealing with artists like Yah Meek, Marlene Johnson, Fitta Warri and the other European/European based/European traveling artists (like Cali P) (and Black Dillinger) and they’re now stepping out with what has to be regarded as their most high profile release to date, a full blown album for the one Natty King Born To Be Free. The album becomes his second and a half, following No Guns To Town and the construct which was Trodding from last year (biggup Zojak) and I am SO looking forward to getting my paws on this thing because I think it is going to be EXCELLENT. Natty King is an artist who has proven himself capable of carrying the vibes for an entire album and I have a good mind that this piece will be his biggest to date and just downright MASSIVE as well. Why? Well, at first I had a good thought because the first tune was one of my own personal favourite efforts from the King, ‘Slew U In The Open’ from the Ilove Riddim, but even thought that particular piece is changed (to an acoustic set), later on you’ll stumble upon another of my favourites from the singer, ‘Fyah Bed’ which was HUGE! And just listening through this thing, I find myself getting eager and more eager to take it for a spin.

Potential Rating: 5/5

Releases on April 16

{note: You can find this one on preview on Juno Download and you know they let you listen to entirely too much of the tune on the sample (I swear that thing must be 90 seconds long), so you can pretty much listen to half the damn album on that page}

Riddim Driven: Classic [VP Records]

And the other one which I wanted to mention was one I actually knew about (because I’ve had it for a couple of weeks now), but just didn’t put up because. . . I didn’t have a big cover and the track sequential (yes, those are actually the reasons) - the latest edition of VP Records’ famed Riddim Driven series, the Classic. Of course, this one is all over my senses because it comes via the greatest Reggae producer on earth, Kemar ‘Flava’ McGregor (see note) and is his latest creation to date. The riddim has a vibes to it which DEFINITELY earn its title and on top of that sweet old school classic vibes, the thing is just COOL! Featuring efforts from the likes of Beres Hammond (of course), Etana, Wayne Wonder, the Lindo siblings, riddim topper Singing Melody and a HUGE combination of Duane Stephenson and Ras Shiloh which is almost overdoing it at this point (I mean REALLY! You put two artists like that and. . . Damn). And all of that leads me to potentially declaring the Classic the finest edition of Riddim Driven since. . . well, since Flava dropped the Rub A Dub a couple of years ago.

Potential Rating: 4.5/5

Releases on April 19-20

{note: McGregor just recently launched his website (biggup Camille) where you can purchase a great deal of his work to date, including a new and exclusive full blown album from Gyptian, Revelations and you can see quite a few articles and reviews written by some dude named Achis from UnitedReggae.com and his blog. Check my favourite places for the link>}

"The Midas Touch": A Review of Closure by Maurice

Regardless of how misguided I may or may not ultimately be in doing so, I’d like to think that I’ve gotten to the point, doing what I do, where enough people know of me and place some type of trust in me to do something a little different. If you’re really confident in your material and you want someone to give you an honest and generally unbiased critique, you get it to Achis and if it is really good, I will talk glowingly about it, unlike anyone else in the world (and even if it isn’t that great, I will tactfully dance around it with the grace of the Nicholas Brothers) (actually not that gracefully, but I’ll try) (and fail), in my opinion. And it is similar to that rather strange level that I am trusted, that I also find myself placing musical TRUST in certain entities within this wonderful art form to do things for me as well. For example, the most glaring example (especially considering what I’ve been listening to most recently) is Soca music. I ‘trust’ people like Destra and Faye-Ann Lyons to cheer me up and to get me through that last kilometer or so on the treadmill, despite the fact that my legs lost their juice several minutes back. I trust people like Sizzla Kalonji, Vaughn Benjamin and definitely Lutan Fyah to offer food to my brain on nearly every new release they have and I put trust in artists like Queen Ifrica, Luciano and the legendary Garnet Silk to provide similar nourishment for my spirits as well. The same can be said for the powers that be which exist behind the scenes also. Looking up and down at what VP Records has in store for 2010 and what they’ve already done (releases from Sanchez, Sizzla, Capleton, Junior Kelly, Beres Hammond, Luciano, Busy Signal, Etana and Gyptian), I have no problem at all accepting and assuming the fact that they will probably be releasing big projects for many of the biggest names in our genre (which includes signing up many of the newer artists) into perpetuity. And we can even break that down further - My absolute favourite current producer (and probably, by the end of my life, my favourite of all time) (biggup Fattis at this point), Kemar ‘Flava’ McGregor - Whatever his next riddim is, following the forthcoming Classic Riddim, I’m almost SURE that I’m going to like it and it’s not due to any type of partiality, it’s due to the fact that the man makes EXCELLENT music. And actually, as I think about it, there’re quite a few producers, perhaps even more than artists, that I place a great deal of reliance in on a very consistent basis.

Such as the case here. When I think of people who I know of in the business who’re exceptional at finding new talents and developing them, of course the first name which comes to mind is the architect that is Dean ‘Cannon’ Fraser. Having served that direct purpose for artists like Luciano, Tarrus Riley and MANY others (and indirectly for most of Xterminator’s artists, which of course includes Sizzla), Fraser has proven himself a genius at establishing new voices. Certainly far less known, but increasingly crucial is the talent Dean Pond displays in doing the exact same thing. If you are a fan of Reggae music from out of the Virgin Islands, then artists like Ras Army and definitely Pressure Busspipe (and who knows who else) surely play a large role in your musical appetite and it is partially to the credit of the one Dean Pond for establishing said appetite by providing some of the EXCELLENT music for these artists to make their name on and having a hand in their development as well. Not only that, but even more recently he ‘gave’ us (along with Eno Stafford), Revalation, a potentially HUGE artist also from out of the Virgin Islands. So, given his history with his various labels and endeavours, it’s pretty safe to say that the next time Dean Pond deems an artist worth enough of his time to produce an entire album, even if it’s a Hip-Hop or a Heavy Metal Rock album, I’m probably going to pay it SOME attention, based on his involvement alone (and of course it helps when I’ve already heard the first single and I like it). Well, that just so happens to be the case with Maurice’s debut album (I THINK) Closure, which comes via Dean Pond’s new label, Rymshot Productions and is pushed the lovely people at Zojak Worldwide. You can definitely call Maurice the latest 'discovery of Pond, but he just as definitely doesn’t have the same lineage as many of Pond's previous finds. First of all, he’s Jamaican. I’d imagine that the two linked in Florida in the States (as both live there now) (I think), but Maurice’s history is EXTREMELY interesting, particularly given the fact that he is somewhat Reggae (Dancehall) ROYALTY as the brother of the late Dirtsman and of course, the legendary and arguably greatest Dancehall DJ of all time (in terms of skill), Papa San. And with a bloodline like such, one might imagine that Maurice is yet another either extremely harsh, but talented DJ (like Dirtsman) or an almost overwhelmingly brilliant master of the spoken word (like San) - And in doing so, “one” would be wrong. NO! Maurice is, instead, a very impressive kind of soulful Lover’s Rock type of a singer. There’re also many international types of flashes in his style. Lover’s Rock is a subgenre in Reggae music which hasn’t had a glaring ‘face lift’ of sorts in terms of the actual style itself unlike pretty much every other form of Reggae music within the past decade or so, so what you’re going to hear in Maurice’s style, ostensibly, is what you might hear from many of his contemporaries, although thankfully he does have a bit to his ways which does offer his music a sense of originality. Maurice (or maybe Pond) (although I’m pretty sure it’s Maurice) is obviously a fan of modern American R&B and that’s something which also comes through and maybe it’s something that you could look at and call a ‘nuance’ or something like such (a ‘wrinkle’), but it’s SO close to his style that it is a part of his style (the album cover even looks like R&B). Whatever your preference for describing Maurice, by its end, his debut album is one which is almost certain to delight fans of Lover’s Rock (particularly new ones), in one way or another.

This album comes as a further showcasing of Dean Pond’s Rymshot Production. Following an extended stay with Studio 340 (biggup Eno Stafford) and also DSP, Pond recently returned with the new label with a HUGE release for VI Reggae superstar Pressure Busspipe Coming Back For You and, as you might’ve expected, the two releases share a bit in common musically speaking (including the starring artists, more on that in a second). What is original to this album however is that it is Maurice himself running the show and he gets things started on his new album Closure with in a very familiar fashion with the STERLING ‘Can’t Wait’. The tune utilizes the same hypnotic riddim which backs Pressure’s tune ‘Pure Life’ (which coincidentally began his album also) and the tune itself is VERY strong. Here, you get a very nice taste of Maurice’s vocals which, as I alluded to, definitely have more than slight overtones of what you might find in the arena of R&B, but with fantastic compositions like this, it never REALLY becomes an issue on the song. Strong beginning. ‘Moonlight’, the next tune in is also quite familiar, however, in this case, for a very interesting reason. The tune uses the New Chapter riddim of all things, which is a creation of superstar producer Stephen McGregor (and was thought to have been smashed and left for dead by Etana and her MASSIVE ‘Who Gave You The Right‘) and it was a pretty nice deviation for him. For Maurice, however, it’s another similar powerful statement. This one struck me as being quite the clever tune for various reasons and it definitely is a standout here and maybe one of the stronger tunes on the entire album. Not nearly as strong, however, as the following tune which was definitely the one here which I was most looking forward to, the first of two EXTREMELY high profile combinations, ‘African Girl’ alongside the previously well mentioned Pressure Busspipe. This tune is just COOL! I can’t even put it into more context than that, but I will say that it is an even stronger tune than ‘Baby Girl’ the rather funky combination between the same two artists back on Coming Back For You and I’m assuming there will be and looking forward to more tunes from this very EFFECTIVE link.

I believe that before Closure much of the discussion surrounding the forthcoming album in circles where Maurice is popular (which apparently extends all the way to Canada where he seems to have quite a large following), was largely for two tunes. The first, chronologically speaking (I THINK), was the other combination on the album, ‘All Of A Sudden’ which just so happens to feature Reggae superstar Wayne Wonder (as UNDERRATED DJ alter-ego, Supriz). Apparently Wonder and Maurice are pretty good friends and have performed a bit together and while the tune isn’t my absolute favourite on the album, the two clearly have a nice rapport which definitely helps the tune’s ultimate quality. The other tune is the previous official single (which was also released not too long ago by Zojak), the OUTSTANDING ‘In My Dreams’, my choice (and my Wife’s as well) as the finest tune to be found on Closure altogether. This one has such a nice and ‘airy’ and COMFORTABLE vibes to it that it strikes chords and nerves unlike any other tune to be found here. It’s not groundbreaking or really profound in a significant way, but what it is just a GORGEOUS tune and the head of the class of quality for the album, without a doubt.

Incidentally, if the bestowment of the honour of the album’s second best tune doesn’t go to ‘African Child’ then the tune that it does belong to follows ‘In My Dreams’ (after a cool interlude) - ‘Forgiven’. The tune kind of symbolically (at least I think it’s symbolically) places Maurice in the all too familiar role of having to apologize for what he’s done and as it’s a skill that I’ve become AMAZING at over my years, I can definitely relate and the tune itself is another beautiful effort as well. So good, in fact, is ‘Forgiven’ that it makes up for the very curious selection, ‘Good Enough’. The phrase kind of, to my opinion, presupposes that there is BETTER when you tell you someone that they are “good enough for me”, but the lyrics of the tune don’t exactly carry that out. Still, I can’t help but wonder (PAINFULLY) what might become of me were I to tell my wife that she’s “good enough” as opposed to ‘THE BEST‘. The balance of Closure finds Maurice instinctively walking the border between R&B and Lover’s Rock and doing so, for the most part, very impressively. Although not the most impressive in the first instance, to my tastes, the most obvious ‘odes’ to R&B comes in the form of two tunes. This first is ‘Pretty Brown Eyes’ which is, of course, a remake of the song of the same name by US vocal group, Mint Condition. The song is SLIGHTLY Reggae’d up, but it’s likely to get quite the reaction, despite not being one of my favourites on the album. The other R&B tune here that I recognized was a tune that I used to LOVE by a group named Ruff Endz, ‘Someone To Love You’. This tune, I think, was pretty obscure, but somewhat of a hit nonetheless and apparently it hit Maurice with the same intensity that it did for me and he takes it and ever so slightly gives it a Reggae treatment, although from what I can tell, it’s pretty close to the original, which isn’t a bad thing at all. Another nice piece to pay attention is the much stronger (in my opinion), ‘Just A Little’. This one had a very American vibes all over it until it REALLY got going and although that didn’t dissipate completely, I hear a pounding almost Dancehall vibes in there as well which definitely grabbed my attentions. The same I’ll definitely say in regards to ‘Because Your Mine’ which rides the same EPIC riddim as the title track of Pressure’s Coming Back For You. This tune (not to tell you entirely too much of my business) definitely has a bit of ME in it and it dazzlingly captures more than a few sentiments which I share with Maurice apparently. VERY WELL DONE (“just look, just look, it‘s not everyday your woman should come home and have to cook“). ‘Ready For Love’ re-Reggaefies the mood of the album following ‘Pretty Brown Eyes’, despite being a remake of its own (which I didn’t recognize AT ALL and I suddenly feel compelled to go back and run the rest of these tunes by wife (who did recognize the tune) to see what else she might hear that sounds familiar) of an India Arie tune. This tune I really liked a lot and despite the fact that I didn’t know it was one of hers, it is to no surprise at all that it is something that Arie sang, because she is wonderful. And lastly there’s the spiritual selection ‘Father’ which is pretty obviously the changeup for the album. This one has a ‘bigger’ type of vibes to it (not to the point of what is traditional gospel, but not too far from it either) and is, as expected, on an inspirational vibes. The tune is probably one of the strongest on the album and I love the deviation in any case. There’s also a bonus tune which I don’t know if I’m supposed to mention, so you’ll just have to pick up the album and spin the (very familiar) tune for yourself.

Overall, definitely take Maurice’s name and add it to the VERY impressive roster of artists with which Dean Pond has been involved. While he certainly is a far cry from Pressure, Army and Revalation, Maurice is an artist who, respectively, belongs in that class but for far differing and ORIGINAL reasoning. Closure is an album which, because of its ‘intense’ and inherent type of appeal has a nice chance of ‘crossing over’. I can imagine that it’s getting a nice response, particularly in Florida, on more of the mainstream radio stations where many of the tunes on the album are likely to fit in quite nicely. But will they fit in nicely in the collections of heavy Reggae fans (which is what YOU are)? I think so, but there’s a catch - If you have the same disdain or complete neutrality to American R&B that I have towards Hip-Hop, then you probably won’t like this one. Similarly, if you’re looking for Lover’s Rock in the most traditional range of the genre, then you also might not like what is to be heard here. HOWEVER, if you do have the ear for R&B and definitely for Lover’s Rock in the more modern sense, then you’ll LOVE Closure. I even would have liked to see them do other things with it also (a Revalation combination?) and I also just have the sneaking suspicion that in terms of ultimate talent, Maurice has even more than he’s revealing here. That’s saying a great deal, because for me, Closure is VERY GOOD by its end and I’m looking forward to the next album. Well done.

Rated 4/5

Rymshot Productions/Zojak Worldwide

2010

Maurice @ Myspace

Stuff . . . YEP!

Yow!

Hope all is well yeah, everything around here is going so nice, had a TON of things going on this week and while next week figures to be a little different, hoping to see things continue like such, definitely. We're taking the little one to visit the Grandparents next week, we'll be up from Tuesday until the next Tuesday (23-30) and, as usual, you won't notice too much different around here (except for the fact that I'm probably not writing on Monday) (and I'll probably be posting late as hell on Tuesday). So, hopefully the visit will produce copious amounts of FREE SHIT for me, already tied up a few pieces (HOPEFULLY), including one that I'm REALLY looking forward to, which we hope manifests this time.

As far as what's been going on around here. It's been all about Junior Kelly and Bescenta. TONS of reaction from both of those reviews now and definitely see it going on for awhile. So interesting that I didn't think too many people rated Bescenta, but a lot of messages coming in like "oh yeah, I've been waiting for him to have an album for SO long, definitely". Stuff like that makes me feel very nice and that's why things like that are up here and definitely be sure to grab up Red Pond also. I've also been trying to make a few nice NEW connections with people and have been decently successful. But that's now! What about what's coming up???

• Actually I'm thinking about going with three reviews this coming week for the first time this year (I THINK). First we have a review that I wrote a long ass time ago for the Breadfruit Riddim album, then hopefully we'll have Maurice's new album Closure (which I'm listening to now) and then later on we can have Sahra Indio's album Change.

• Past next week, you can expect reviews for Ayaaso Band, Alison Hinds, Midnite (maybe), No Glory Riddim (maybe), the African Riddim, Destra and whoever else that jumps up (and I'm sure I'm missing someone in there also).

• I'm also working on an idea for a REALLY cool Completely Random Thoughts that is going to take a bit of research, so I might wait until I get back home to deal with it. But I might give you another (far easier) one that I'm working on as well.

• Also have a very SEXY idea for a video drop, which is kind of involved (if you consider spending about 3-4 hours on youtube to be "involved" to any degree), but I think it's cool, so you'll probably get that next week.

• Thinking of doing a list of the biggest disappointments/underachievers, have to develop that a bit more though and it may be awhile on from now.

• You're definitely going to get a version of 'Check It'. I was working on that last preview and when I finished it, I was surprised at how much I had actually forgotten to add also.

• And who knows what the hell else I'm going to do. I'm looking for some DECENT Zouk. I had my eye on Kim's album Premier Pas, but it wasn't really hitting me too heavily, so I think I'll pass, but hopefully before the end of April, we can get back something Zoukly.

Just want to remind everybody that I'm writing all the time (exclusive stuff, which you won't see here) for UNITEDREGGAE.COM (biggup Camille) and you can also see some of my reviews reprinted for REGGAEVILLE.COM (biggup Julian). So definitely check out both of those sites, helping Reggae take over the entire world.

Biggup everybody . . . Everybody, I'd name you, but my eyes are closing. You know who you are, big respect and I'll name you ALL pretty soon (if that makes any sense, I am so damn sleepy). Okay song! (if you don't LOVE this tune, leave this blog and never return) (EVER).

Picture

Bescenta

Big Album

Go get it

Coming Soon Vol. 14

Greensleeves Rhythm Album #90: Set Mi Free [Greensleeves Records]

First is this week is the 90th installment of Greensleeves’ once mighty Rhythm Album Series, Set Mi Free from Heart Of Love Productions. A few years ago it would have absolutely been a shock to me had you told me that it would be 2010 and we still would be on #90 in this series given its pretty ridiculous former level of prolificacy (now, by its current level, we’ll probably see #100 in 2015 or so), but on the good side, now that it’s slowed down its releases definitely get more publicity and promotion and are just generally a bigger deal (rather than waiting all of two weeks or so between releases as it was a few years back. This installment comes via Heart Of Production (which means it’s probably the first non Shane Brown riddim in this series in maybe a year or two by my count), who is best known as the masterminds behind Erup’s (more on him in a minute) former big hit, ‘Gal A Run Dem Head’. This particular riddim was quite popular (and still is) and unbeknownst to me for awhile, it was actually constructed by Stephen McGregor which is always a big deal. Fans can look forward to efforts from the likes of Mavado, Ele, Assassin, Vegas, riddim topper Bugle (with ’Mirror’), Bramma and Suki and of course the gangly Vybz Kartel whose tune ’Love Dem’ is pretty average by my opinion, but birthed a video containing a PRODIGIOUS amount of ass.

Potential Rating: 3.5/5

Releases on April 6

Erup - How We Ride [Truckback Records/Zojak Worldwide]

Speaking of Erup - I he sorta kinda makes his debut album here doesn’t he! Okay, How We Ride kind of pops up out of nowhere, but given Truckback’s (biggup Heather) penchant for hitting the digital side of things HARD (and Zojak‘s penchant of pushing it through immediately) (biggup Zoe), I suppose I shouldn’t be very surprised here and of course I’m happy about it! Erup is one of the most talented young artists the Dancehall has seen in awhile and the fact that this compilation style release is forthcoming, is definitely something to take a look at. The piece is (duh) full up on Erup’s tunes for Truckback and it kind of actually is more of a fat EP given the fact that five of its twelve numbers are actually the same song (shame on you if you can’t guess which one), in various forms. Besides that wicked ‘clicking’ tune, fans can look forward to previous big drops such as ‘Mek Noise’ and ‘Ignorancy’ [aka ‘Roll Serious’] and combinations with Anthony B and up and comer Nature (who is VERY good). There might just be a next Erup studio album forthcoming in 2010, but as it stands in terms of official collections of his material to date, although dated, How We Ride is top of the line to my knowledge.

Potential Rating: 4/5

Releases March 20-30

Maurice - Closure [Rymshot Productions/Zojak Worldwide]

Staying with the beautiful people at Zojak for a moment - Despite the very strange circa 1997 loverman R&B-ish looking cover (biggup Johnny Gill and Ralph Tresvant and Aaron Hall), I have a REALLY good feeling about Florida based Jamaican singer Maurice’s debut album Closure. Why? Well the album’s first single ‘In My Dreams’ has steadily been growing on me (and even more so my wife) for awhile now and on top of that there’s that whole ‘Rymshot Productions’ thing which means that it’s a Dean Pond production. Dean Pond is one of the biggest Reggae producers to ever emerge from the Virgin Islands and we owe to his credit the discovery/maturation of artists like Ras Army, Revalation and definitely Pressure Busspipe, so with such a history if that man deems Maurice worth working with and listening to, then who am I to deny it! Seriously! I’m expecting a kind of a romantic/spiritual set, given the song titles and like I said, I have a REALLY good feeling about this one being REALLY good. Also, there’re combinations with the aforementioned Pressure and Wayne Wonder of all people. My readers can expect a full on Achis style review coming very soon.

Potential Rating: 4.5/5

Releases March 20-30

Influential - Road Hog [Sons of Spoon/Zojak Worldwide]

It was probably 2008 when Influential first blew up on the strength of a BIG tune about fucked up drivers ‘Road Hog’ and definitely made a name for himself and somewhat surprisingly he now drops an album/large EP (eight tunes) for his homebase label, Sons Of Spoon (who you probably know from having produced D’Angel’s ‘Stronger’) (also look out for their riddim album for the E-10), pushed digitally by the girls and boys at Zojak Worldwide. This one, which I’ve been playing with for most of the day is very good actually. Influential is a kind of a singing chanter and he’s very good, has very nice lyrics and while his melodies will probably get better, what he lacks there he makes up for by the application of genuine (or genuinely convincing) EMOTION which definitely gives his releases a nice dosage of colour and originality. Besides the title track, check ‘Principle’ (across the same riddim as the aforementioned ‘Stronger’) (whatever it was called), the all too personal ‘Cancer’, ‘Prayer For Mamma’ and the pretty much obligatory tune for Buju Banton ‘Free Buju’. Definitely give this one a check, it is VERY strong and I’m well expecting big things from Influential in 2010 and beyond.

Potential Rating: 4.25/5

Releases March 20-30

Jamaram - Jameleon [GLM Music/Impulso]

Okay, whatever I’m about to tell you, you take with this knowledge - I know nary a damn thing about Jamaram and I don’t feel like doing any research right now either. I think they’re German (I’m pretty sure they’re German) and despite the fact that I’m calling them “them” and “they’re”, but for all I know, Jamaram could just be like one guy. . . Or a girl. Regardless, whoever he/she/they are, Jamaram is (/are) putting out a new album, Jameleon, probably not they’re first but definitely they’re newest. My interest in this one comes on the tune ‘End Of The World’ because it just happens to feature new favourite of mine, Sara Lugo. I’m (SERIOUSLY) sure that this one is a big deal, particularly to European fans and just from listening through the clips, musically it sounds very on point and who knows when it drops I may just grab up a comment (instead of just getting ‘End Of The World‘ which I am going to do anyway).

Potential Rating: I have no idea

Releases on March 26

Sanctuary

And lastly coming soon this week is just a whole heap of releases from Sanctuary (which mean RAS Records basically). Releases from Israel Vibration (shown here), Junior Byles, Freddie McGregor, Eek-A-Mouse and others are popping up digitally everywhere. Some of them have previously been made available, but hopefully whoever is orchestrating this is intending to finally just unload RAS’ entire catalogue digitally which is a great thing so definitely do stay tuned as if that happens, GEMS, utter GEMS, are forthcoming.

In Stores Now

Alison Hinds - Caribbean Queen [Black Coral]

DEFINITELY the biggest deal here (and that’s saying quite a bit actually) is the fact that the DIVINE Alison Hinds has indeed dropped her sophomore solo album (as I predicted she would this year), the aptly titled Caribbean Queen. I’ve yet to get my hands on this piece, but as you might’ve suspected, it includes some of Hinds’ recent hits from the past couple of seasons and you KNOW Alison Hinds will never release an album which doesn’t include either ‘Roll It Gal’ or ‘Faluma’ and both are here. For the newer efforts, however, you can well take a listen to the likes of the remix to ‘Call On Me’ (alongside Jah Cure), ‘King & Queen’ (with Richie Spice), ‘Chocolate & Vanilla’, ‘Togetheness’, the OUTSTANDING ‘Again’ and my own personal favourite ‘Soca In Meh Body’. I pretty much know every tune on the album (and if you don’t, a couple of hours or so on you tube could probably familiarize you), but like I said, this one is TRULY a big deal and I’m hoping that Hinds is just the second of many (following Machel) big name Soca stars to drop albums for 2010.

Bunji Garlin & Fay-Ann Lyons - 2010 Carnival Singles [T&T Entertainment/Faluma]

Staying on the up to date Soca side is this here most surprising but WELCOME of releases. Bunji Garlin and his wife, Fay(e)-Ann Lyons are two of the biggest names in Soca and if you read me to any consistency you know I LOVE them both, so when you can take music which would otherwise be damn near impossible for people to find and get it somewhere as popular as iTunes (where you can find it right now), that too is a very big deal and that’s what we have here. Pretty much every single tune either Garlin or Lyons had in 2010 is available on 2010 Carnival Singles (the only tune I think is missing is their combination ‘Call Meh‘), so that includes their biggest hits - Brave (and its Road Mix) and Mad Carnival from Bunji and definitely ‘True Lies’ and ‘Start Whining’ from Fay-Ann. Of course, it seems like someone just pretty much threw it together and the tracklist is random as hell, but REALLY, who gives a shit. Pick through it and grab the hits, some of which aren’t likely to be as readily available anytime soon.

Bunji Garlin Reggae [Supersonic]

Bunji comes back here in a FAR different style from the one I just told you about with two selections from the quietly mighty Supersonic Sound from out of Germany and he’s brought two friends with him. The first of the two, ’No Gangsters’ happens to feature Faye-Ann again (that E in her name is just mysterious as hell) and her presence here is probably even more significant than his. Over the last couple of years, Lyons’ music has virtually become the definition of what BIG SOUNDING Soca music actually is and because of that she hasn’t exactly been very close to a one-drop often, but when she is, she does quite well. ‘No Gangsters’ is VERY GOOD and I’m so happy it exists (and if you check the release there’re a few different versions of the tune available, including an a cappella version. The other piece here is also very interesting as you wouldn’t expect a link with Garlin and Swedish star (I think he’s from Sweden), Million Stylez as you have on ‘Long Time’. This one is very nice and vibrant (that riddim is BEAUTIFUL) and it shows the versatility of the mighty Bunji Garlin (I’m waiting for Garlin to just push a straight forward Reggae album one of these days) and the overall skill level of Stylez. You can’t go wrong with picking up either of these releases right now.

Gyptian - Hold Yuh [VP Records]

The apparently about to be quite busy Gyptian is getting things started for an expected run towards an album (lot of stuff going on behind the scenes there) and is doing so with what is EASILY his most interesting tune in a long ass time and probably one of his most interested of all time, 'Hold Yuh'. This tune is supposedly doing DAMAGE overseas and just listening to it, it’s kind of funny, but damn catchy at the same time and VP was obviously so impressed that they chose to use it as a ‘springboard’ of sorts to his next album. The tune is well interesting, so definitely listen it, but keep in mind that probably the most impressive thing about it is the fact that it got Lady Saw to be LADY SAW again and I’ll leave it to you to find her WICKED response.

Jimmy Cozier - Way Of Life [Cozi Music Group]

Sometimes I love hurrrrrrr. Sometimes I love hur nottttttt. Do you remember Jimmy Cozier? If not then . . . Well go do some research. The former kind of one hit wonder from the R&B world FINALLY returns like a millennium later and of course, like Heavy D, he’s now a Reggae artist, with a brand new Reggae(ish) album Way Of Life. This album has been talked about from forever and it’s supposedly been partly produced by Beres Hammond and recorded at Harmony House also (and you‘re going to recognize a few riddims here). Of Jamaican blood, Cozier is a VERY IMPRESSIVE singer and if he can do damage as a Reggae artist that would be so welcome, because given his history (and the fact that he hasn’t had an album in forever) non-Reggae fans are most certainly going to be paying attention to this one and from how it sounds, what they’ll find might be pretty impressive, but I’m still thinking about it.

"Stand Alone": A Review of Red Pond by Junior Kelly

One of my very favourite topics to write about is how our music is so unfortunately castigated and belittled as being obscure and less regarded in the ‘mainstream’, despite the fact that it is rather CLEARLY the greatest form of music in the world without question. I talk about the challenges our artists face to gain the attention that they deserve in the more popular circles and how almost every time one seems to break into those communities, it generally seems more of a matter of ‘being in the right place at the right time’ rather than an artist actually grabbing the public‘s attention. Well, sadly that’s also a phenomenon which seems to exist within our own community as well and it is even more frustrating here because when dealing with people who actually KNOW WHAT THEY’RE talking about, it becomes more and more difficult to decipher and decode exactly why artists who’re clearly amongst the most talented in the world don’t receive comparable exposure and attention to some of their more popular peers. Case in point - If you read me to any degree at all, you know who my favourite artist is and you know I look forward to his releases unlike those from any other artist (even when they obviously aren’t going to be very good in some cases). Along with ‘him’ (biggup Sizzla every time), I know people who have the same affinity for Capleton’s music (lots of looking forward for you guys these days isn’t it?), Luciano, even Anthony B (finding them more and more these days) and OF COURSE for Buju Banton. If you take and accept those names as THE dominant names from this current era of Roots Reggae music, leading into the next (with Ifrica, Tarrus, Etana etc.), and you very well should, then a name which belongs in that exact same class who you’ll rarely see given that ‘territory’ in the same way is JUNIOR KELLY. In my opinion, for whatever it’s worth, Junior Kelly is a star in Reggae music - A bonafide STAR. From the way the man carries himself, to the way he presents himself and performs his music and down to his actual music itself, the man definitely has star quality. He also has the experience which is just as important and despite the fact that he may not be as superficially popular as the other names I’ve mentioned here, one would still have to qualify and register his as a ‘household name’ in Reggae music in my opinion. He has the HITS behind his name, he’s traveled the world presenting his music and he’s certainly done the work as everyone here has, so just like them, when Junior Kelly has something to say, it should be celebrated and of course Reggae fans worldwide should well take note.

Well I hope you, Reggae fan, have your pen out now because Junior Kelly has something to say and it is WELL worth hearing. Never the most active of artists and not one who seems to have a great deal in terms of consistent backing - in the way that Sizzla would have Judgment Yard or Capleton with David House - (both of which may be causes which have effected his standing to some degree), Junior Kelly has pretty much been on his own over the years and he has DEFINITELY done extremely well for a ‘loner’ when it comes to his music and particularly his albums. Therefore, although it wasn’t exactly on my radars in terms of expecting it, when it was actually announced that 2010 would bring the first legitimate studio album from Kelly since 2005’s Tough Life, it IMMEDIATELY skyrocketed on my list of ‘things to do’ this year. Well I’m ‘doing’ them now because I’ve gotten my hands on his excellent new album Red Pond and even before I dug into the actual music here, I had a VERY good feeling about this one given the various things I had heard surrounding it and also the early sounds I had managed to hear (and the ones with which I was already familiar). Besides just being a Junior Kelly album (again, in and of itself, more than enough to grab my attention and anticipation), Red Pond comes via the label with which the artist has had a great deal of the majority of the best work of his career to date, industry leader VP Records, also on board here, as far as production, is the legendary Firehouse Crew. Of course the artist with which Firehouse is most closely associated is Sizzla Kalonji (and they produced, just last year, the increasingly excellent Ghetto Youth-Ology from the August Town genius), but given the way their riddims are typically laid (at least to my ears), with much of this BIG and SPRAWLING anthem-like very modern sound (with just a twinge of the old school), myself and I think most Junior Kelly fans would agree that such a style is nearly perfect to meld with his style. With Kelly’s very vibrant (and somewhat varied) type of chanting which often borders into what I feel is quietly one of the better singing voices in all of Reggae music, and of course his experience in doing just that type of voicing, the link between the production on the album and his tones, even on paper, are very impressive. Furthermore, the two entities have also worked well in the past with the pinnacle being probably the BIG tune ’Black [Am I]’, arguably one of the bigger hits of Kelly’s entire career. And to speak back on the Junior Kelly/VP Records link - Red Pond becomes the fourth studio album of the relationship - following the aforementioned Tough Life, 2003’s Smile (on which ‘Black’ appeared) and of course Junior Kelly’s opus Love So Nice in 2001. So, if ever there could be an album which was almost CERTAIN to be a winner, even before actually listening to the music, certainly this one would have such a possibility. Also, have I mentioned that it’s been about four and half years since we’ve had the honour of digging into a Junior Kelly album! The passage of that time only adds to my own anticipation (and hopefully yours), for what ultimately proves to be a LOCK for one of the best Reggae EXPERIENCES of 2010.

What really stands out for me as far as the material on this album is how it’s quite a bit more socially conscious first than spiritually conscious. The album is one very much on a tangibly inspirational vibes and much more so than an ‘upward thinking’ inspiration. Perhaps that has something to do with very earthly title of the album which is the nickname of the community in St. Catherine (Frazer’s Content) where Junior Kelly is from (always thought the man was from Kingston for some reason), which would seem to portend a more ’immediate’ and social direction for the album. Said album, Junior Kelly’s excellent Red Pond from VP Records, begins so nicely with three of the most powerful efforts on the entire project, including my absolute favourite. The first of the triumphant trio, ‘Celebrate Life’, is definitely one of the more spiritual pieces on the project, but it makes such a wonderful tangible connection. I just like how the message comes through on this one because if you check the lyrics, “celebrate life whoa, fyah bun you if you no celebrate life”, it’s very much something you can get a quick handle of and Kelly takes it in so many different directions (including the resolution of conflict) as examples of celebrating life that you REALLY take in the fullness of this awesome opener very quickly. It leads very powerfully into my full on favourite tune on the album altogether, ‘Nuttin Wrong With The World’. This tune doesn’t have the SPECTACULAR sound you’ll hear coming from several tunes on Red Pond (including the opener), but what it does have going for it is a very sweet old school set, combined with the fact that it just may be one of the most lyrically impressive tunes of Junior Kelly’s entire career (which is saying a great deal, definitely). The tune speaks, BRILLIANTLY, of how people have essentially fucked the planet up and how it alone is without flaw and serves its purpose. “Nuttin nuh wrong wid di world, ah di people dem weh in it, if you don’t hail di King wi ahgo bun you every minute” (and it's grown on me considerably since I've first heard it several months back now). Kelly also, again, makes the proverbial bridge from the spiritual to the tangible and does so on such an impressive high level - “Alla di war weh fight inna district tell me weh man a fight fah? Fi control di world weh dun control by Jah Jah”. I mean this thing is DEEP! I’ve found myself spending half hour stretches at a time going back and back on this tune already and I’m sure it’ll resonate within heavy fans of the artist as well because it is GENIUS! Not far from that same level is ‘African Child’, another beautiful piece which speaks so nicely not only about Junior Kelly’s special lady, but is a tune I’ve taken to look at the love of an entire family. This one is very healthy also, checking in at just under four and a half minutes, it’s vibed to sound well over five minutes and I LOVED it. BIG BIG opening.

It’s interesting that I take the first three tunes and single them out as such an impressive stretch of tunes on Red Pond because I could just as easily make the case for most of the album being on a similar stretch. Another lineup begins with the former single, the very fiery ‘Murderer’, which flows over the Firehouse Crew’s big Wata Bed Riddim. You should simply just vibe this tune on your own, as it finds Junior Kelly on full intensity going after exactly who the title suggests (and violence in general) and sacrificing none of the GENIUS lyrics to do so. ‘Waan Lef De Ghetto’ is SERIOUS and it’s the next tune up (it kind of sounds like the old vibes Minor 7 Flat 5 used to push and I mean that in a good way). This one is HUGE and is probably my second favourite tune on the entire album. It presents the story of a person striving to improve themselves and get out of poverty, but not wanting to do so the wrong way and not wanting to abandoned his home either. It presents and ‘paints’ a VERY interesting set of ideas and it’ll definitely get you thinking. It’ll probably have you thinking in much the same fashion as the very interestingly vibed ‘Stumbling Blocks’ does on the following track. This excellent effort espouses on the corrupt system, itself, and does so in a very relatable way. It almost sounds like, at times, Kelly is intentionally stringing together simple thoughts to make some (clear) greater meaning and message and this one is the better because of it definitely - One of the most interesting pieces on Red Pond. The very classically tuned in ‘How Better Ah Go Come’ steps in next which, at least in my opinion, kind of takes a previous tune ‘Waan Lef De Ghetto’ to a more detailed step as it kind of outlines WHY exactly (people “waan lef de ghetto”) and how (it became a ghetto in the first place). It was around this tune on the album when I simply realized that Kelly was in ‘the zone’ in terms of heightening his vibes here for this nearly magical stretch and of course he didn’t stop there.

Right after that, three of the four most ‘differently’ vibed selections on the album come in succession. The first is the obligatory acoustic set, ‘Believe In Yourself’. This one impresses even more than such tunes have recently for me (and that’s saying a nice thing in this case, because I’ve been dealing with very talented artists as of late). It has other complimentary vibes in the backing as well, serving as a nice stage for Kelly’s very straight forward and comforting message. ‘Slackness’ is a bouncing almost Ska-ish type of number which kind of had me thinking that Kelly might be about to address some of his peers and their lyrical choices, however and of course, he takes the tune in a direction which observes SOCIAL slackness. Isn’t it always confusing with tunes like this? On one hand you want to observe its serious nature, but on the other hand you kind of feel like dancing don’t you (and then feel bad for doing so)? Well, you can find me doing both, simultaneously. And then there’s the kind of ‘churchy’ sounding (another acoustic piece) ‘Real Love’ which had to work on me a bit, but eventually GRABBED me and did so in higher way than ‘Believe In Yourself’, also. This tune just taps into your emotions and makes you feel good and I’m all for that!

I mentioned that those three pieces were three of the four most colourfully vibed tunes on Red Pond. You can find the forth ‘She’s Gone’ earlier on in the album and it is the first of three relatively high profile combinations here also. This one is a pretty straight forward R&B sounding tune and it features the talented singer Lukie D. It isn’t necessarily one of my favourites for the album (as you might expect already), but it isn’t a bad tune and I’m thinking quite a few people will probably enjoy it and to no small degree either. The second combination, however, I LOVE! I had my eye on ‘Papa’s Song’ ever since I saw that it featured the insanely talented Ras Shiloh, but I never made the connection to the fact that it was a tune that I had actually known. The tune was from a few years back and apparently just never received a great deal of attention (SHOCKINGLY) (in both of their cases actually), but it is wonderful and one of the best here. I always love songs that take things in a different direction and you have two of the music’s greatest practitioners singing a song for all of the (GOOD) Fathers of the world, it should have a far reaching strength and here, it most certainly does. And the final combination on the album is the most high profile and the most popular as well, the dynamic ‘Too Late’ which features the divine Queen Ifrica. This Al.Ta.Fa.An produced piece is excellent, it’s been around and popular for awhile now and I THINK this is the first artist’s album on which it appears so it’s certain to get a much deserved ‘second wind’ of sorts here, as a highlight for this release. Not bad at all, in full - For an artist who pretty much does things on his own and in his own way, Junior Kelly typically does strong combinations and Red Pond is definitely no exception.

That leads us into the final two tunes on the album, which are also two of its finest outings as well. ‘Treacherous Waters’ actually reminds me quite a bit (for some reason), sonically speaking, of the aforementioned ‘Black’ with it’s HUGE ‘rolling’ style of vibes. Junior Kelly uses the big backdrop to deliver a message warning the masses to BE CAREFUL in your daily works and be mindful and just INTELLIGENT in regards to with whom we associate. Excellent tune. And finally is ‘One Bright Day’, a tune which I’m fairly sure rides Firehouse’s nearly legendary and MAMMOTH Like Mountain Riddim (which you know from having backed Sizzla’s tune of the same name as well as Jah Cure’s EPIC tune ‘Chant’). Kelly does indeed live up to those lofty expectations amassed from the output of his contemporaries with the tune which kind of takes the opposite view of the traditional chant (to which it is not related), ‘Babylon Throne Gone Down’ [bka ‘Rastaman Chant’] as, instead of saying - One bright day the righteous shall inherit the Kingdom Of Zion - Kelly takes it in another direction and says “one bright day, heathen will get dem pay”. He offers a heavy SPIRITUAL warning to the wicked (and even WONDERFULLY breaks into reciting Psalms in the latter half of the tune) as he closes the door on Red Pond, hopefully to open another sooner than four and half years from now.

Overall, I do so much want to stress how not only IMPRESSIVE this one is (and it is), but also how SIGNIFICANT it is. As I said before, Junior Kelly is a Reggae star, whether people on the large scale want to show him that level of respect now remains to be seen, but that is EXACTLY what he is and when he has an album, it is a big deal. Red Pond is a BIG DEAL! It also happens to probably his most lyrically advanced outing to date. Kelly says some very interesting things and expands on some equally very interesting ideology on EVERY tune on the album. Of course the production is top notch from Firehouse Crew (and I do so much hope that they continue to release albums), which was to be expected and I’ll tell you what else I’m expecting - Come December you’re certain to see Junior Kelly’s Red Pond in discussion for album of the year honours. As far as big names go, Junior Kelly is the first of 2010 to offer a truly BIG album. Very well done.

Rated 4.75/5

VP Records

2010

Junior Kelly

Junior Kelly @ Myspace