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Island Independent Winter Sampler '95-'96 (Island, 1995) I'd imagine that this release would be hard to get a hold of, since it was intended for promotional use only, but seeing as how the best way to learn about reggae artists is through compilations, you pick up what you can. This sampler isn't all reggae (since Island doesn't just have reggae artists), but over half of the 15 songs are, so that's good enough for me. Opening the compilation is Luciano's smash "It's Me Again Jah," which I still don't really care for, but apparently a lot of people do, so it may be your cup o' tea. Three mediocre cuts from Chaka Demus & Pliers, Spanner Banner, and Beenie Man don't exactly make this sampler sparkle, but the outlook is brightened by Foundation's blistering "Africa" and couple of classic cuts from old favorites, "Wild Suspense" by The Wailing Souls and "Botanical Roots" by Black Uhuru. A couple of hip-hop reggae songs make you want to burn the compilers in effigy, however: "Hand in the Air" by Beenie Man and Doug E. Fresh (which actually wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't DOUG E. FRESH) and "Make Way for the Indian" by Apache Indian and Tim Dog (a duo that is horrific on all fronts). A nice bonus that raises the value of this sampler is actually a non-reggae cut, Bootsy Collins' crazyfunkycool remake of "If 6 Was 9." Yeah, baby bubba! |
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