Dancehall Vibes (JamDown, 2000)

JamDown's heavy dancehall-dominated releases are generally hit-or-miss, but you can usually rely on them for at least a jam or two per album.  Case in point, Dancehall Vibes, which is below-average for the label, still manages to contribute Professor Nuts' "Nothing Nah Gwan," a boom shot featuring uniquely appealing vocal interplay between the Professor and a (digitally altered?) "youth."  "Unique" is the word to describe much of this album, as the rhythms used aren't of the run-of-the-mill variety...for better or worse.  Tracks 1 through 3 get things off to a horrendous start, as the riddim that runs throughout is derived from DeBarge's festive (to be polite) "Rhythm of the Night" -- a nausea-inducing formula for a dancehall beat if I've ever heard one.  Fast forwarding to numbers 4 through 7, these tunes ride the 007-ish riddim used on A.R.P.'s "Soon" (found on companion set Reggae Vibes), but none of them reach the heights of that one -- Kip Rich's "Mi Nuh Done Yet" coming the closest.  Cuts 7 and 8 feature the best, most pure dancehall beat on Dancehall Vibes, and as such, both are solid, fun and catchy.  The aforementioned "Nothing Nah Gwan," the best on this album, shares the riddim using Jennifer Lopez' "If You Had My Love" music with numbers 10 and 11 -- neither being spectacular.  Tracks 12 and 13 meanwhile don't have a dancehall rhythm at all, but rather a generic hip-hop beat, and "Nuh Fraid a Yuh" doesn't even have chatting, but rather rapping (by the unfortunately named Nadz), rendering it pretty much a poor hip-hop tune on a poor dancehall album.  Even the Professor Nuts (not the most fortunate name either) track doesn't make Dancehall Vibes worthwhile, unless you can find it used.