Rating:
Genre:
Reggae
Release Date: 09/26/2006
Westbound Train has been skanking around the Boston scene since the new millennium got under way, and
Transitions is the group's third album and their debut for the
Hellcat label. Like
Bim Skala Bim, the godfather of the Beantown
ska scene, the septet's trad sound is fired by emotive, soulful vocals. And although they're not quite as polished as
Bim yet, this
Westbound Train is still bound for the big time. On this 16-song set, the band showcases the
Transitions that drove the Jamaican scene through the '60s, from the horn-drenched,
jazz-flavored numbers of
ska, through the sweet, harmony drenched sounds of
rocksteady, and on to the rougher, more adamant rhythms of early
reggae. The band are equally adept at all these genres, and freely adapt them to their needs, bringing the music full circle with the inclusion of '60s American influences as well --
Motown,
Stax,
funk and even
rock weave their way through
Westbound's sound. Obviously, those labels and styles heavily influenced the Jamaicans as well, but
Westbound utilize them in more traditional American ways than their island counterparts ever did. As for the songs themselves, there are so many great ones within that it seems self-defeating to play favorites. Be it the nod to
Dave & Ansel Collins on the incendiary
"Soul Revival" that counter-intuitively boasts a great sax solo, the ebullient
calypso-
mento tribute
"Fatty Boom Boom!" (the perfect entry for the
Jamaican Independence Festival Song competition, except for its composers' nationality, of course), or the glorious proto-roots meets
Motown of
"Travel On," this album is stuffed with instant classics of every genre. The bustling
reggae of
"Please Forgive Me," the sweet harmonies spilling across
"I'm No Different," the strutting vocals on
"The Runaround," the emotional vocal performances elsewhere, and through the rousing instrumentals and stirring solos splattered across the set,
Transitions isn't just an homage to the past, but a reinvention of all its power and glory.
~Jo-Ann Greene, All Music Guide
;)
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