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VARIOUS ARTISTS
Reggae Rocks - The Tide Is High (Bongo Boy)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
From its earliest incarnations in the Carribeanized R&B covers that Jamaican hotel bands played for the tourist trade to the most current dancehall sounds blasting from sound system speakers, American rock music in its various incarnations has always been central to the continuum of music parleyed under the labels of ska, rocksteady and reggae. Much of that music has been reserved for local consumption, though, with American audiences more interested in tales of Rasta, ganja and revolution than in hearing what the Jamaican bredren have done to America's top 40.
Meanwhile, stateside artists and their British compatriots have borrowed freely from the reggae stylebook, applying one-drop riddims to give their music an international edge. As a result, some of the songs on this new collection need practically no alteration to fit right into a reggae groove. Stevie Wonder's "Master Blaster" is a great example of this, with Chalice's version holding fast to Wonder's original version. Others, like Yami Bolo's "Johnny B. Goode," are reconfigured almost to the point of being unrecognizable to the casual listener. Frankly, if you don't listen to the words, you might not recognize the song. That's OK in this case, because it's a great version regardless.
Actually, they're all great versions - arguably improvements on the original in some cases. There's nothing particularly innovative here, but if you're up for some fine, fun music, this disc is full of just that.
Track List:
Fly Like An Eagle/Sugar Black * We Can Work It Out/Steel Pulse * The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)/Sugar Minott * Start Me Up/Toots & The Maytals * The Tide Is High/The Mighty Diamonds * Sara's Smile/Big Mountain * Here Comes The Sun/The Burning Souls * I Heard It Through The Grapevine/Toots & The Maytals * Master Blaster/Chalice * Johnny B. Goode/Yami Bolo * Hotel California/Edi Fitzroy * D'yer Mak'er/Lehbanchuleh * Blowin' In The Wind/The Abyssinians * Maggie May/Wayne Armond * Everybody Wants To Rule The World/Ken Boothe * Don't Stop/Judy Mowatt * Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)/Chrisinti
© 2001 - Shaun Dale