adminTHE late Dennis Brown will be honoured with a massive tribute album to be released in May 2016: We Remember Dennis Brown!
February 1st, marked the late reggae and lover’s rock icon Dennis Brown’s 59th birthday. Hailed by NPR Morning Edition as one of the 50 great voices of all time and by Bob Marley as one of the best reggae singers in the world – the revered Jamaican icon began his recording career at the tender age of 11 and has more than 75 albums to date. Even though he passed away at the early age of 42, his music and legacy lives on.
VP Records, reggae’s leading distributor and label, will pay homage this spring with an extensive tribute album We Remember Dennis Brown of his timeless hits covered by some reggae and R&B’s most renowned artists today.
Each song was re-produced by Jamaican legend Clive Hunt with his all-star team of musicians to give each song an authentic yet fresh feel.
To celebrate the icon during his birthday month, VP Records released one song from the album every week including Caress Me Girl on Feb 5 from one of Jamaica’s brightest voices Romain Virgo, Milk & Honey on Feb 12 by roots reggae rockers Raging Fyah, Bloody City on Feb 19 from the Caribbean’s soulful songstress Jah9, Promised Land on Feb 26 from Hawaiian reggae band The Green and Have You Ever on Mar 4 by R&B powerhouse Marsha Ambrosius.
In addition to these power hitters, We Remember Dennis Brown will feature an array of singers from Brown’s native country and across the globe who he influenced. Jamaica’s latest crop of stars (including Jah Cure, Gyptian, Chronixx and Jesse Royal) as well as the island’s icons who worked with Brown (like reggae vocalists Bushman and Freddie McGregor) all offer their contributions.
Freddie’s son Chino McGregor and Christopher Ellis, the talented UK-based singer and offspring of Alton Ellis (another one of Brown’s musical mentors and confidants), both deliver powerful renditions of Brown’s classics. New Zealand rockers also create a breezy rendition of If I Had The World. The worldly collection proves that his universal sound transcends all boundaries of time, race and creed. Each artist adds their own original flair to Brown’s profound soul-stirring sound – touching the hearts of new and old fans alike on this unique multi-disc collection. We Remember Dennis Brownwill include deluxe packaging as well as extensive liner notes on the belated legend.
Album tracklist
CD 1
01. I Need Your Love (Rasta Children) – Iba Mahr, Jesse Royal, Keznamdi, Chronixx, Exco Levi, Kelissa, Jahmiel, Kabaka Pyramid and Rockaz Elements
02. Don’t Want to be No General – Bushman
03. Promised Land – The Green
04. Milk and Honey – Raging Fyah
05. Created By the Father – Christopher Ellis
06. Words of Wisdom – Mutabaruka & Marla Brown
07. Melting Pot – Chino
08. The Existence of Jah – Yahsha
09. Halfway Up, Halfway Down- Jamelody
10. Little Village – Freddie McGregor
11. Easy Take It Easy – Mykal Rose
12. Bloody City – Jah9
13. Wolves and Leopard – Richie Spice
14. Liberation – Shugah
15. To the Foundation – VP Hit Team
CD 2
01. Caress Me – Romain Virgo
02. Have You Ever – Marsha Ambrosius
03. Rocking Time – No Maddz
04. Love Me Always – Maxi Priest
05. Love Has Found It’s Way – Jamelody & Ikaya
06. Your Love Got a Hold On Me – Sanchez
07. If I Had the World – Katchafire
08. Should I – Etana
09. Stay At Home – Jah Cure
10. Baby Don’t Do It – Christopher Martin
11. How Can I – Gyptian
12. For You – Ikaya
13. No More Will I Roam – Dalton Harris
14. Money in My Pocket – Jah Vinci
15. Silhouette – VP Hit Team
Young Lords album “Rise” out
After last year’s four track EP release Humble, the Young Lords, a fusion project of the Marseille based backing band The Handcart and singer Alex Keren, present their debut album Rise.
Renowned for their live performances on Europe’s Reggae stages with among others Linval Thompson, the Mighty Diamonds or the Abyssinians and also for their releases featuring Morgan Heritage (Mission in Progress) or Fantan Mojah (Stronger), The Handcart, in cooperation with their new singer, invite us to 12 tunes of 70s inspired Reggae and Ska.
Although, different in instrumental focus, the songs are similar in musical delivery, sometimes focused on the reggae basics which were coined in this decade crucial to Reggae music and sometimes experimental. In Precious for example, layers of acoustic guitars are the only form of accompaniment to Kerens pop-, and in this case, ballad like vocal performance.
The Young Lords take us through picturesque instrumental landscapes; hills and valleys, beaches and saloons, often painted by poetic and warm guitar lines and spherical falsetto back vocals in the style of Israel Vibration, as in the album’s first and name-giving song Rise. Songs like Call My Name, count on a catchy organ hook in order to create a nostalgic sound image.
Tired lives from an impelling brass hook, in Youth, the horns support the rich harmonies of some upright piano arpeggios which carry the singer’s phrases, and in Eyes On You, the brass section helps to create a majestic offbeat sound for a slow One Drop. Definitely one of the highlights of this album is Dennis Alcapone’s appearance on Rockin It, where the legendary singjay comments on a souly love song. With their video for Humble, the Young Lords already drew some attention last year.
Admittedly, the chorus doesn’t get out of your head that easily once you heard the song or watched the video.
This, however, can be rather annoying if you’re not a fan of flat didactic imperatives when it comes to lyrics. Just like Humble, Under the Sun which’s message is “I don’t really wanna go to work“ was released alongside a video last year. The only uptempo Ska tune on the album, Someone Else stands out, yet, is still authentic within the band’s aspired sound concept and therefore fits well within the rest of Rise.
With Beauties of Life andGrab It, the Young Lords present two groovy and solid Roots Reggae riddims, which keep their magic independent of the songwriting.
Being a stylistically confident Reggae band in terms of the quality of its riddims, it pretty much depends on how much significance the individual listener attaches to content and lyrical delivery if Rise eventually ends up in his or her shelf. Reggaeville.com
For contributions on reggae/dancehall music and latest news contact Ras Libz Kartel on 0773 219 891.
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