Big Blunts Volume 2 (Tommy Boy, 1996)

Although it doesn't contain as well-known a lineup of stars and songs as Volume 1, this collection is every bit as enjoyable and probably even more so. Like the first volume, this album is split evenly into two types of reggae, dancehall and roots (sometimes bordering on dancehall), each having its share of niceness. In the area of dancehall, Super Cat's little brother Junior Cat contributes the solid "Chronic Meditation" (produced by Bounty Killer), while D. Clarke and Yankee B. provide some mild hip-hop flavor -- provided by hip-hop reggae producer extraordinaire Bobby Konders -- with "Ganja Man Live On." A major faux pas of the dancehall portion of this album is the inclusion of 3 versions of Bounty Killer's "Eyes a Bleed." The original song isn't that great to begin with to warrant the inclusion of two additional remixes. Actually, though, the RZA remix is pretty good, and it far outshines both the unexceptional original and the so-stale-it's-rancid Cypress Hill-ish Tom LaRoc Remix. The roots songs shine a bit brighter, headlined by John Holt's "Police in Helicopter," a song that manages to be both militant and sublime at the same time (I'm a poet, and I don't. . . never mind.). Similarly laid-back (as all ganja songs should be, eh?) are Carlton Livingston's "100 Weight of Collie Weed," Eek-A-Mouse's "Ganja Smuggling," and Anthony Red Rose's "Gi We the Weed," all great tunes. Big Blunts 2 would've been better served if it had stopped at Track 10 and avoided finishing with 4 blah songs.