Reggae & Ska > Island Reggae & Ska

Yu Haffi Walk Like A Champion

Advantages: A few big tunes
Disadvantages: Not all experiments work

Buju Banton’s fourth album came in 1995 as “’Til Shiloh”. It has the Jamaican Reggae and Dancehall musician show further progression since debuting at the age of 15 with one of the most gravelly voices in the game, second only to his inspiration – Burro Banton. 1. “Shiloh” (Intro) 2. “’Til I’m Laid To Rest” Showing that this song was a turning point for the artist, since he had just converted to the Rastafarian religion, and you see him hail this ...
...of it all, and subtly displays that the album will have him bring tunes which bring out the type of thing which many were attracted to his music for. **Four Stars** 3. “Murderer” This is a heavy Reggae tune by him which allows him to make his powerful voice make the lyrics so much more effective than what they initially seem to be as he does a low-tempo song about the life of a murderer, and how tough their life is, especially when what they have ...

XICripZ 19.05.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Til Shiloh - Buju Banton

Not a touch on Rihanna

Advantages: A couple of decent R&B songs
Disadvantages: 11 out of 14 tracks are bad!

...what I got didn’t even manage to meet my low expectations. Shontelligence is available from iTunes for £6.99 & the CD is available from play.com for £5.99. I would suggest not to waste your money buying or downloading the entire album & just download a select few songs. ...

Great_reviewer07 06.03.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Shontelligence - Shontelle

Aswad - Live And Direct - Their best album?

Advantages: True roots style, fine sound quality, concious lyrics and that great bouncy live feel.
Disadvantages: Too short, too few tracks. No lyrics with CD.

Possibly Aswad's finest album, 'Live And Direct' has a deep rootsy feeling with every track and includes some of the more popular tracks such as 'Roots Rocking' and 'Drum & Bass Line'. The tracks were recorded at London's Notting Hill Carnival in 1983 and provide 45 minutes of smooth, rolling, roots reggae. Apart from track #7, which has a carnival/Trinidad influence of fast drums, the rest is slower with more of the deep flowing bass line and conscious ...
...studio albums. Personally, I find tracks #5 and #8 the most enjoyable to listen to, with track #8 being a medley of four songs put together, but it's hard to fault any of the tracks. As a conclusion, I feel this album is one for every fan of UK reggae and beats some of Aswad’s studio recorded albums. The sound quality is excellent and the album would be well worth your money, simply because it doesn’t seem to get old. ...

jjqburch 25.04.2007 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of Live And Direct - Aswad

Him Name Buju Banton... Nahh Mr. Mention

Advantages: Lots of bangers
Disadvantages: Ends on a track that's weaker than the rest

“Mr. Mention” was released in 1992 as the second album from the Jamaican Dancehall musician Buju Banton. It dropped soon after his debut (within a year) and so had him showing just how productive he could be at the time as he brought lots of his Dancehall material (that became much more Reggae-styled as his career developed and he embraced Rastafarians ways. 1. “Batty Rider” The album opens up with one of the biggest singles that he had released ...
...that here you get him blasting through a fly tune that has him bringing through the sort of controversial lyrics that gave him notoriety when he broke into the game at the age of 15 with “Boom Bye Bye”. It is a hardcore tune, but one that I can’t say is really for all due to the themes. **Five Stars** 2. “Love How The Gal-Dem Flex” This is a big tune on the release and one that is seen to build upon the sorts of things that were heard on the first ...

XICripZ 18.10.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Mr. Mention - Buju Banton

Dawning of a New Era: AMAZING!

Advantages: Perfect in every way! So many tracks!
Disadvantages: Nothing

...one of them! Dawning of a New Era gathers together tracks from the classic era of reggae, 1968 & '69, and like the equally-essential "Dancehall '69", was compiled by Michael De Koningh, which means you get an impeccable selection of prime reggae, beginning with the massive tune "John Jones" from Rudy Mills. From there highlights include the so-terrible-it's-brilliant "Rescue Me" by The Reggae Girls, the even better "Su Su Su" by The Pioneers, a perfect ...
...Flint", and "Reggae Hit the Town" - the absolute classic tune from The Ethiopians, plus my personal favourite - "Splash Down" by The Crystalites, a driving instrumental which could be used as the musical dictionary term for "skinhead reggae instrumental" (if there was such a thing), it's so good. With a great mix of skin organ instrumentals and vocal anthems, and with two CDs there are so many classics pakced on here that you'll have a fantastic ...

john_harrison 21.09.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Dawning Of A New Era (The Roots Of Skinhead Reggae) - Various Artists