Lest anyone be concerned that the re-emergence of roots reggae music hasn’t sufficiently overtaken the previous dominance of dancehall, recent releases from France’s Irie Ites label will put minds at ease.
Linval Thompson has been a major player in reggae for half a century, as both a singer and producer. His latest album Ganja Man (Irie Ites Records, 2024) shows he hasn’t lost a puff. His voice remains smooth and supple, yet with fiery authority when needed. Songs like “Pol-ice Man,” “Get Ready,” “Marcus Garvey Says” and “Ghetto Youth” address themes of consciousness well familiar in reggae, and Thompson nails every nuance in reasserting them. Ten songs and four dubs strong, Ganja Man is high grade from start to finish.
The title of longtime deejay U Brown’s album Still Chanting Rub-a-Dub (Irie Ites Records 2024) is reason enough to rejoice, because the man remains one of reggae’s top toasters. Of course, the title wouldn’t mean a thing if Brown couldn’t live up to it. But he does, mightily. From the opening invite of “Run Come Dance” (one of two selections where Brown plays his lyrical game solo) there’s not only an abundance of chanting, but of rhyming, scatting, wailing, shouting out and proclaiming in a manner at once rhythmic and melodic.
It’s of course a crucial factor that Brown is afforded the sonic space to weigh in alongside works by such veteran voices as Cornel Campbell, Glen Washington, Sugar Minott and Naggo Morris. Combination albums like this are a longstanding sub-genre of reggae, and this one’s up there with the best.
More about the label: www.irieites.net
Author: Tom Orr
Tom Orr is a California-based writer whose talent and mental stability are of an equally questionable nature. His hobbies include ignoring trends, striking dramatic poses in front of his ever-tolerant wife and watching helplessly as his kids surpass him in all desirable traits.