This
is another one of those albums that I came into having pretty much no
knowledge of the artist. It's sort of a hybrid between electronic and
reggae, only I don't know if I can call it reggae, since I can
understand more than every fifth word. My experience with reggae is
admittedly limited, being just a Madlib album, the occasional Bob
Marley song, and that one dude from Grand Theft Auto IV. With that in
mind, I can't say whether or not this is good in the context of the
genre as a whole, but as as it's own work, I definitely enjoy it,
particularly the storytelling elements by Pato Banton, particularly
in 'Gwarn,' and the live instrument feel (even if they are made with
a computer) presented by the Professor. To me, the best remix albums
are those that don't wholly change the original content, but add
tweaks and minor alterations, more like Shades of Blue
rather than [insert any one of the myriad of Jay-Z remix albums].
That's done here, for the most part, retaining the reggae feel while
still incorporating the mixer's own interpretation of the music, sort
of the way you can (or at least I do) mess around with the beats to
different songs in your head as you listen. It is a short album, but
it feels twice as long, simply because every track is excellent. The
best track of the album, by a distant long shot, is 'My Opinion.' It
just oozes raw feeling, as he waxes poetic about England, politics,
and religion. It's always great to hear an artist or style that I'd
never heard before.
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