Bob Marley & The Wailers - One Love, The Very Best Of

YOURZ

As Mine will attest, I really do like me some reggae, mon.  (Okay, this is as far as I take the white-boy rasta crap, okay, so relax).  For the most part, I'm not a devout fan of any particular reggae artist, with the exception of Bob.  And I think this has something to do with a teenage memory.  There has been enough already written about Marley, I'm not going to bother rehashing stuff you probably already know.  But I am going to tell you a wee story.

You see, throughout high school, my family lived on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, in a beautiful neighbourhood.  This was in the late mid to late 70s and we lived this almost-idyllic beachside lifestyle, riding skateboards or hanging out with a bunch of neighbourhood kids at the beach.  In the summer holidays, we spent virtually every moment there.

One of these kids had an elder sister who we all adored from afar.  She had long straight hair and a surfy-hippy chick thing happening.  Or maybe it was more the Marcia Brady thing going - can't tell me if you were my age back then, Marcia was always the one.  The only difference was Marcia didn't sunbathe topless.  Our friend's sister did and had no problems hanging out at the beach with us. If fact, I think she enjoyed the attention.  Naturally, we spent a lot of our time lying face down in the sand.  For some reason, when I hear the songs of Marley, I am reminded of her.  This is not the only reason I like Bob, but it is a good one.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP, little darlin'...

MINE

I've mentioned before I'm not really that fond of reggae music - although the musical stylings of Bob Marley are somewhat of an exception.  This is a great best-of album, and I loved singing along to Exodus, I Shot The Sheriff and No Woman No Cry.

It's just not the sort of album I'd envision putting on when I'm at home reading a book, or doing some housework.  It's not an album I'd reach for voluntarily at all.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

For more information: http://web.bobmarley.com/

Damian 'Jnr Gong' Marley - Welcome To Jamrock

YOURZ

Barely two years old when his father died, Damian 'Jr Gong' Marley grew up in the shadow of his Bob's reputation and the fanatical following he inspired around the world.  His youngest son could well have turned out to be another spoilt underachiever living on the reputation of his parents (like so many).  But if anything is true, it's the opposite.

A musical force in his own right, Damian turned the collateral of having a famous father into a spectacular Grammy-winning career.  Performing since the age of 13, he's a reflection of the Marley clan's many talents, his speciality being a toaster (and not the baddies from Battlestar Galactica either - how's that for a geek-fact). 

On Welcome To Jamrock, he continues updating the traditional Jamaican template to include samples, beats and sounds more associated with hip hop than with reggae but with such great effect it won him two Grammys on the same night, something no reggae artist has ever previously done. 

Now, if you like reggae and hip hop, this is absolutely a must have.  Every track, from the opener political manifesto of Confrontation to the more personal Beautiful (for the ladeez) and the genre blurring tracks Pimpas Paradise (featuring The Roots Black Thought) and Road To Zion (featuring Nas) are just brilliant.  In fact, there is not a dud track on this record, as far as I'm concerned. 

I like this album so much, I'd love to call it a Forgotten Gem.  Problem is I play it too much so I'm not likely to forget it.  For me, it is truly one of the greatest albums of this genre and well in line to be one of THE albums of the decade. (Mine says: And there's a great example of how different our tastes can be sometimes.)

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

I have a confession to make.  I don't like reggae music.  Oh sure, I'll sing along to some old Bob Marley or Peter Tosh, but generally it's not really my thing.  You know the quote about golf being a good walk spoiled?  I think reggae's some good music spoiled.  (YourZ sez: and yet you love ska - what gives?)

Notwithstanding Damian's stellar lineage, this album just annoyed me.  There's too much shouting at me from the toasters, some of the nominal melody lines are horrifically repetetive, and then there's the matter of being able to understand what's being said or sung or shouted, which is intermittant.  And that's not because Damian doesn't know how to enunciate, it's that he chooses not to.  Or chooses to stir in that thick, gluey Jamaican accent.  Now, all power to him, Jah be with him and keep him and all that good stuff, and I'm not criticising the music or the playing or the production.  But I just can't imagine ever wanting to listen to this ever again.  Not even if you paid me.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

For more information: http://www.myspace.com/damianmarley

Sublime - Sublime (Deluxe Edition)

MINE

Another example of the wide, wide distances that exist in this musical marriage.

Sublime are great at what they did, when they did it, but I find nothing in common with a bunch of SoCal surfer/skater/smoker dudes.  I've listened to this CD all the way through, twice, and occasionally I nod or tap in time.  I can't deny the voice of the late Bradley Nowell is beautiful.  The production's great and there aren't many songs that have me reaching for the skip button.

But it's just not my language they're talking.  I'm a child of the so-called second wave of ska (Specials, Madness, etc) and find this reggae/punk/ska hybrid at the same time vaguely familiar and yet unsettling.  Like all those songs I keep hearing in the gym that remake the good and bad songs of my youth, it's not quite what I was expecting - it doesn't quite deliver what I want.  I'm a Two-Tone girl at heart, really.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN (play it while I'm out, hon)

YOURZ

Oh come on...  I honestly though Mine would get why I love this band so much and fall in love with it too.  I mean, it's not a big ask.  Like her, I'm a fan of the second wave of ska as well so I don't understand why she doesn't like it as this has so many damned good ska flavours on it.  I guess there's just no pleasing some people.  And she calls herself a punk.  Hah!  (Okay, I think I've baited her enough.  I do have to sleep next to her and don't fancy waking up with my testicles nailed to the ceiling).  (Mine says: never called myself a punk never ever.  She's a mod She's a mod...) (YourZ sez: I stand corrected; she IS a mod)

Me and Sublime go way back to a time when I was a guitar-playing punk (of a sort) in a band of punks who shall collectively remain nameless (as they are now very respectable sell-outs, the bloody splitters!)  I was introduced to this band via a CD called 40 Ounces To Freedom.  A rambling, somewhat disjointed disc of 20 plus songs, this became the soundtrack for a number of wasted years.  These guys sounded like a cross between NOFX and The Specials, with a little bit of Marley and The Clash thrown in for good measure.  I adored them and wished hard for them to tour the other side of the world so I could see them live.

But the whole thing came crashing down when I heard about the death of Bradley Nowell, from a heroin overdose mere months before the release of this major-label debut.  In a lot of ways, this had a much more profound effect on me than the death of Kurt Cobain some years earlier mainly because I had (and still have) a bigger connection to their music than I ever did to grunge.  And it's telling that this band's style is still a reference point for a lot of newer, lesser bands (yes, Sugar Ray, in your case, much lesser).

I have such an attachment to this album, it's hard for me to pick out favourite tracks as they all pretty much inspire and delight me with every listen.  From the SoCal punk of Paddle Out, the authentic ska of Wrong Way, the cruisy, dubby sound of Caress Me Down, the sheer summery delight of What I Got and the fresh (at the time) hip hop stylings of Doin Time, there's literally something for just about everyone.

RIP Brad, you're still missed.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.myspace.com/sublime

In our collection we also have 40 Ounces To Freedom, Robbin' The Hood, Second Hand Smoke and What I Got EP

Ben Harper - The Will To Live

YOURZ

Years ago, in the deep, dim memories of my past, I remember someone describing Ben Harper as a 'blues Bob Marley'. I always thought it to be a huge statement, especially given the Marley legacy.

So really, is Ben Harper the blues Bob Marley?

He certainly is a bit of a stoner, at least, judging by the cover of The Will To Live. (If that man isn’t off his face, then I’ve never done drugs either).

But does this mean he's as good as Bob?

Then there are his obvious skills with the guitar. Of this there's no doubt. He plays a mean slide guitar and can sing a decent tune too. He also comes across as a real nice, down to earth bloke, in a chilled, ‘hey dude’ kind a way.

But does this mean he's as good as Bob?

He even has a reggae styled song, called Jah Work, although it's what I'd call reggae-lite. Not really reggae, not Marley reggae, but alright none the less.

It's nowhere near as good as anything Bob did.

I guess Ben’s claim to fame is he inadvertently started a bit of a trend, one of the troubadour guitarist, with a band of musical mates sitting around a camp fire on a beach, playing tunes to pretty girls after the sun goes down. People like Jack Johnson and Donovan Frankenreiter owe him a bit of a nod.

I really like the first track. In fact, I think I bought the album for the first track. I also really like his playing, although it's fairly predictable. The thing I don't like about this record is too many of the songs just kind of start, cruise through and finish. There's none of the dynamics I really love about contemporary music, the hushed verses shifting to uplifting choruses or spun-out middle eights. Nope, Ben just kind stays on the cruisy level, content to just lowride on by.

From all this, one thing is particularly clear: I can honestly say I haven't listened to The Will To Live once since Mine and Yours, truly, amalgamated our collection, which is something I absolutely cannot say about Marley.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT (but be gentle, man) Peace


MINE

OK, confession time again. I'm not that fond of the blues. When I hear those guys (and it's mostly guys) I just want to tell them to cheer up, you know? However, it's not a genre I dismiss altogether, as there are some very fine bluesmen and some very fine blues albums.

But this is not one of them. It's an early album for Ben Harper and didn't get him much attention in his home country. I can't fault his musicianship, and he does know how to write a pretty melody. But as I've said before, I'm all about the lyrics, and he falls down on those. To start with, he mixes his voice right down so it's lost amongst the instruments, plus he's a slurrer of words. Even in the very last song, I Shall Not Walk Alone, where he's accompanied by just a quiet guitar/piano combo, I seriously had to Google the lyrics to discover what he was singing. I got the "Only tears/ Speak from my heart" but then "Break the chains/ That hold us down" sounded to me like "Beak na sheen/ That who us dah". So, unintelligible, with lyrics that are, frankly, uninspiring. Oh, apart from the title track which is quite nice. (Note the damning with faint praise there).

That said, the lovely guitar-playing and the pretty tunes make it good background music. So if you own a bookshop or a cafe, where you want the music to please and not alarm, I can highly recommend Ben Harper. What it's doing in our collection, I have no idea.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT (after maybe iPodding for a dinner-party playlist)

For more information: http://www.benharper.com/

In our collection we also have Diamonds On The Inside, though I'm wondering why...