No Reservations (Island, 1993)

Despite his name, Apache Indian is not Native American; rather, he is of Indian (that is, from India) decent.  Since Jamaica -- and the Caribbean as a whole -- has a fairly sizable Indian population (although he's actually from England), an Indian dancehall DJ isn't that strange a concept.  Indeed, Super Cat is of mixed Indian descent, but he does not proclaim it as loudly as Apache does.  Since he is so proud of his ancestry, he peppers his songs with Indian music and language, which may turn some people off and others on.  I'm fairly ambivalent towards it; I don't understand a lot of dancehall lyrics anyway, so it doesn't make much difference if they're in Hindi.  Being neither Jamaican nor black makes his fight for stardom an uphill battle in many people's eyes, so it is to his credit that for the most part, he "keeps it real."  There is only one dancy crossover track, "Feel It fe Real," with Maxi Priest; the rest are undeniably dancehall.  However, while there are nice elements in many of the cuts, only a few put them all together to form good material.  The hit "Chok There," for one, is a likable, energetic jam, whose flow is the opposite of the equally enjoyable laid-back funk of "Come Follow Me."  Meanwhile, "Movie Over India," Apache's first single, may be the best work on the album.  With artists of any genre, a great part of the appeal lies in how people like the sound of their voices.  This is one problem I had with Apache; his voice just doesn't do anything for me.  While not wimpy, it certainly isn't  strong, and his chatting style is at times a bit slow and belabored, as if he has to put forth effort to get his patois right.  I don't know exactly what sort of accent he has when he talks, but the different inflections between English, Indian, and Jamaican when he chats create some discordance in his sound.

Make Way for the Indian

*GUEST REVIEW*
Most people picked up this CD because of the track "Boomshackalak," which has been used in numerous motion pictures and television shows. Apache's sound in this album is very different from No Reservations.  Apache's voice is definitely stronger in this album than No Reservations.  Where No Reservations had a great deal of influence from Apache's Punjabi heritage, this album has a lot less of that. That may turn some people off who liked his Indian influences and references in his songs, but might attract those who do not understand Punjabi.  To please the Punjabi crowd, Apache does include one track "Boba" which is mostly in punjabi, and is quite the humorous track if you can understand the language.  The CD starts off with "Make Way for the Indian" with Tim Dog, an American MC.  The song has a great rap-styled beat, and is extremely catchy.  Most of the tracks on the album are quite preachy.  Apache preaches against gun-violence and drugs on quite a few of them.  "I Pray" is a great relaxing song, and has a good message against tyranny, and addresses issues around the world.  "Raggamuffin Girl" featuring Frankie Paul is the only, but a great "feel-good" track that you can't help but like and sing along to.  There is only one track on the album that is not listening worthy and it is the very noisy and annoying, "Who Say?".  Overall the album is a great one, but lacks a little in variety, as more than half of the songs have the same message, albeit a good one.  The casual reggae listeners will be attracted to songs like "Make Way For the Indian," "Raggamuffin Girl," and of course, "Boomshackalak."  The rest of the tracks are also great for those who understand reggae a little better, and even the casual listeners will grow to like them as they understand the messages.  Get this album and enjoy it.

- Kesar Chawla