Greensleeves Sampler 15 (Greensleeves, 1997)

This perplexing installment features a good number of high-quality tunes, but also serves up some stinkers.  The former are led by the energetic, infectious "Bounce Along" by Wayne Wonder & Spragga Benz, Bushman's cautionary "Rude Boy Life," Richie Stephens' operatic style in "Slop Dem," and a pair of nice lovers tracks: Freddie McGregor's "Rumours" and the excellent "Time Is Slipping Away" by Jeff Redd.  The sub-par tracks include the much-more-annoying-than-"Slop Dem" operatic style of Buccaneer's "Man Tief Sonata" (which actually begins and ends with a full minute of gimmicky pseudo-classical string music), Beenie Man's gimmicky jazz-sounding "Nuff Gal," and Junior Reid & Outlaw Candy's corny (candy corn-y?) "Rub a Dubit," which usurps the melody from -- ugh -- "Rocking Robin."  Somewhere in between the good and the bad are Luciano's  borderline enjoyable, borderline sappy "This Is the Time," the similarly fun/nauseating "Girls Galore" by Richie Stephens & General Degree, and Mad Cobra's "Mr. Hardcore," which uses the melody from Soft Cell's "Tainted Love," but escapes the fate of being intolerable by being on the same album as the insipid "Rub a Dubit."  All in all, Greensleeves 15 is a hit-and-miss set, with a few more hits than misses.  Just be sure to get it on CD so you can easily forward past "the unpleasantness."