R. Nature (Sacred Groove, 2004)

*GUEST REVIEW*
On R. Nature, Adrian Xavier tries to carve himself a personal style that blends soul, hip-hop, and some rock and smooth jazz with reggae.  Usually, as is common, what this means is that Xavier plays reggae and, every once and a while, does something stereotypical from one of these other genres that the reggae song underneath could probably have done without.  However, there are times when he does something that's kinda funky and thus cool.  For instance, in the song "R and R Creation," an inspiring song about love being what unites creation (the antithesis of love is what causes hate/violence/war), he periodically breaks out the '80s metal guitar for a little squealing hook that is entirely useless. On the other hand, there's this funky acoustic guitar breakdown at the end of each bridge that's pretty tight.  So, in one song, he can have useless appendages and useful ones, honestly I think that's a compliment.  The overall style of the album is similar to Prince Malachi in that his beats are often upbeat and of a pumpy texture and his melodies are generally catchy, often Afro-Caribbean/tropical, his concerns, pretty socially/spiritually oriented. On the other hand, unlike Prince Malachi, I don't know many artists that layer as much as A.X., often this is very cool, as with the synth lines on "Live It", but sometimes you start wondering if he isn't just cluttering it up a little ("Universal Harmony" and on others) where you have about 5 Adrian Xaviers multi-layering up incongruously.  This would be cool if there was a point, but it sounds like he's trying to be musical and inspired, but it's simply not happening. That's not to say that it sounds like he's trying to do to much, I just think he gets a little carried away in his over-layering.  He includes a lot of instrumentation reminiscent of Peter Tosh and also early Toots -- you know, the funk-soul thing, and he does it well.  Generally, the least remarkable parts of his composition are his horn-lines, though, I think the sound would definitely be too thin without these. Though his vocal harmonies are not too fabulous, they are interesting and fun, and his got a pretty good female vocalist who's mostly above average.  As a lyricist, he is plainly very righteous and poetic. Sometimes, he's a little blunt, and sometimes, a little too redundant.  For me, this isn't a problem and doesn't get in the way, but I can see it bothering some people. Also, though he can sing, and does generally have a good delivery, there are times when it sounds forced and melodramatic.

- Trammell Scruggs