Rating:
Genre:
Reggae
Release Date: 06/11/2002
To say that South African
reggae superstar
Lucky Dube has a distinctive sound is to put it rather kindly. To put it less kindly, he has one melody -- a big, unabashedly cathartic one -- and he's been singing it for over 15 years. Luckily, it's a very good melody, and he makes it work again and again on his tenth album, in particular on heart-tugging anthems like
"Romeo," "Money Money Money," and
"Good Girl." He mixes things up stylistically a bit more at the opening and close of the album, with the aggressive
rock-flavored
"Put a Little Love" and
"Sins of the Flesh," which uses
mbaqanga-derived harmonies and a
funk groove to create a sound that has little, if anything, to do with
reggae, but everything to do with
Dube's homeland. In between are those big, cathartic
pop-reggae gems and a few other noteworthy tracks, including the bluesy two-chord vamp of
"Sleeping Dogs" and a snarling political putdown titled
"Teach the World," whose message may be aimed at the U.S. or South Africa or maybe Colombia -- it's not really clear which. Fans know what to expect; as for those looking for an introduction to
Dube's distinctive brand of
Afro-reggae, this is as good a place to start as any.
~Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
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