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Reggae Max Part 1 (Jet Star, 1996)

Before his untimely death in 1994, Garnet (or Garnett) Silk was hailed by many as the next Bob Marley, and judging from this collection, it's easy to see why.  It's not that he really sounds like Marley -- indeed, he's very different in that his music is largely digital dancehall-influenced and his voice is much lighter -- but rather it's that his message was similarly cultural and positive (refreshing in an era of slackness), his vocals were similarly evocative, and he was just so similarly well-loved and respected.   Since he recorded only a few albums, several of those tracks are included on this marvelous set, but a remarkable number of the tunes are unavailable on his studio albums (So, if you have them, you won't get a lot of repeats.).  There are a few omissions -- "I Am Vex," "Splashing Dashing," "A Place in Your Heart," "Babylon Be Still," and "Kingly Character" -- but the inclusions are luscious as well, the only noticeable exception being his icky hip-hop cover of Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now," featuring the Muppet-voiced Yasus Afari.   It's easy to forget about that faux pas, though, with classics like the tender, Luciano-esque (or rather, Luciano can be Garnett Silk-esque) "Hello Africa," "Oh Me Oh My," and the lesser-known "A Man Is Just a Man" and "Gave You Everything," the latter of which certainly should've been a big hit.   Also solid are the hits "Zion in a Vision" and "Let's All Spread Love," the lovers-rhythmed "Necessity," "Cherry Promised," "Love Me Baby," "Lion Heart," "A Man in Love," and "Love Is the Answer."  As you can tell, Silk's message was all about love, and odds are, you'll love this collection.

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The Definitive Collection (Atlantic, 2000)

 As hard as it was to believe that Garnett Silk was killed so early in his life, it's almost as hard to understand why Atlantic sat on this material -- recorded for what was to be the singer's major label debut -- for so long (6 years) before finally releasing it, along with some of Silk's older hits, as The Definitive Collection (In general, the first disc has the new tracks and the second the old ones, although older cuts like "Love Is the Answer," "I Am Not For Sale," and "Green Line" are on CD 1.).  The thing that stands out immediately about the unreleased material is the live instrumentation, which lends a vitality and rootsiness not always found in Silk's digital work.  Leading the way is the full-blooded roots sound of "Tell Them to Stop," "Life Is Like a Piano," and especially "Love You From a Distance."  The latter, not to be confused with Beres Hammond's "Love From a Distance," is not a love song, but rather an earnest, poignant tale of distrust of one's brother or close friend.  The quality of tunes like this exemplifies why he is missed so much.  However, I'm afraid that time has taken its toll on a few of these unreleased tracks.  In particular, "Your Time Has Expired," "Too Frightened to Be Scared," and the God-awful "Beyond a Dark Cloud" feature the dated early '90s pop/dance/hip-hop musical influences with which so many major label reggae releases at that time were contaminated.  Without these 3 songs, Garnett Silk's unreleased Atlantic album could've been a true pleasure with longevity.  As it is, it's merely OK -- it has its moments, but they are sullied by some forgettable hokum.  And even the collection of "hits" is questionable.  First of all, why do they have "Love Is the Answer" on both discs?  Granted, one is supposed to be the remix, but there is so little difference between the two versions, I can barely tell them apart.  Furthermore, several of these tunes were distractingly "overdubbed" and re-done after the initial recordings, most disturbingly "Place in Your Heart," to which a DJ was added.  And why, oh why would anyone choose to include in a Garnett Silk greatest hits collection tunes like "Consider the Garden" and "Rejoice in His Name" at the expense of "I Am Vex," "Oh Me Oh My," "Kingly Character," "Splashing Dashing," "It's Growing," and "Babylon Be Still"?  At least they thought to include "Fill Us Up With Your Mercy" and "Zion in a Vision."  Bottom line: Worth getting?  Probably (since there's relatively little Silk material in existence).  Memorable?  Possibly.  Definitive?  Not a chance.