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| Riddim Rider Volume 20: Father Jungle Rock (Jet Star, 2005) I don't think a one-rhythm album will ever be mistaken for Album of the Year, but some of them can provide fun -- if a bit repetitive -- diversions. This is no such album. Father Jungle Rock isn't a terrible rhythm -- it has a bouncy, tinny, horn-driven, old-school appeal -- but it's still nothing to write home about. And none of the performances -- a mind-numbing 20 of them -- are awful, but it all just reeks of mediocrity. There's so little creativity here, in fact, that when Determine's "Better Must Come" chops up the droning riddim a bit, it actually set my heart aflutter...or at least, it woke me from my stupor. Too bad this flash of color doesn't happen until Track 18. There's too much talent here for this album to be so dull. Artists like Elephant Man, Anthony B, Junior Kelly, Beenie Man, and Norris Man all under-perform here, as even the best tracks -- Sizzla's "Go Somewhere," Luciano's "Bless Me," Tony Curtis's "18 Yards," and Tanto & Devonte's "Sure" -- sound just slightly less by-the-numbers than the worst. |
| Track Listing 1. Go Somewhere -- Sizzla 2. Get Mean -- Elephant Man 3. Everybody -- Vybz Kartel 4. One Pound a Day -- Beenie Man, Cornell Campbell & John Holt 5. Bless It Up -- Luciano 6. Make It -- Anthony B. & Norris Man 7. Gansgta Call -- Lukie D & Admiral Bailey 8. People Cry -- Utan Green & Chuck Fenda 9. 18 Yards -- Tony Curtis 10. Rock On -- Junior Kelly 11. Virtuous Woman -- Ninja Man & Thriller U 12. True Love -- Determine & Robin 13. Sure -- Tanto Metro & Devonte 14. Fi Wah -- Frisco Kid 15. No Charge -- Gregory Isaacs & Screechie 16. Ready to Ride -- Anthony Cruz 17. Sound Boy Crucifixion -- Mega Banton 18. Better Must Come -- Determine & Robin 19. From Wah Day -- Military Man 20. High Grade -- Singer J, New Kidz & Egg Nog |
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