I Love Marijuana (Trojan, 1996 [orig. released 1978])

How can you look at this album and not buy it?  Alas, if only the material were as entertaining as the cover art...  I Love Marijuana isn't bad, but it's underwhelming, in seemingly typical Linval Thompson fashion.  His style of singing and production is rather understated, without strong vocal or musical hooks.   Thus, it's hard for me to think of a really great Linval Thompson song (at least, one that he has sung).  The title track is probably the best tune here, the hard-beat roots carrying an early dancehall sound.  The only truly distinctive melodies (and two of the strongest cuts) on this album are actually remakes of Ken Boothe songs, "Not Follow Fashion" and the classic "Just Another Girl."   I Love Marijuana was an early attempt at self-production by Thompson, and while he would later make a mark as a producer of other great reggae acts, his mediocre songwriting hampers these tracks.

Six Babylon (Strong Like Sampson, 1997 [orig. released 1979])

A consistently average album from Linval Thompson, Six Babylon is nonetheless a step up from I Love Marijuana in terms of the quality of both the music and the melodies.  The best track may be "Give Thanks and Praise," featuring a classic organ and bass-heavy rhythm used in the '90s for hits like Sanchez' "Missing You."  Also moderately musical are "Don't Give Up," with its driving bass and bluesy guitar, the rocking "Africa We Want To Go," "No Confusion, No War," and "Be Careful My Brother," featuring a bass line reminiscent of Gregory Isaacs' "Soon Forward."

Strong Like Sampson: 80's Revive Cultural Collection Volume 1 (Strong Like Sampson, 1997)

A welcome collection of what Linval Thompson, in my opinion, does best -- production -- Strong Like Sampson gathers 13 early '80s tracks from his Strong Like Sampson label that feature his characteristic slow, bass and drum-heavy, early dancehall sound.   The best songs here -- Dennis Brown's bouncy "Caress Me Girl," the cultural "Perilous Time" by Mistic Eyes, Freddie McGregor's "This Ya Short Man" (from Come On Over), Roman "Tinga" Stewart's catchy "Rice n Peas," the heavy "Night Fall" from Johnny Osbourne, and the smoother "Can't Stop Us Now" by the Viceroys -- are all very, very good, but the average ones are, well very, very average.  Little distinguishes the remaining songs, and Thompson's style of music can sound a bit dull if there aren't strong melodies to support it.  Still, the quality cuts on Strong Like Sampson are awesome and well worth the price of the album.

Rocking Vibration (Makasound, 2004)

This is the first Makasound release I've heard (admittedly, I've only listened to a few) that has proved somewhat disappointing.  To be honest, though, it wasn't that disappointing, because I don't expect a whole lot from a Linval Thompson album -- at least one in which he's singing (as opposed to producing).  His songs just strike me as a mediocre Horace Andy some of the time; the same problem I have with Barry Brown.  The material on Rocking Vibration is pretty representative: droning, early dancehall-flavored roots with repetitive melodies that rarely jump out at you.  Fans of his style, though, should be pleased to find more of the same ol' same ol' on this album.  Unlike many of Makasound's albums, quite a few of the the tracks on Rocking Vibration are already readily available, such as "Never Push Your Brother" (AKA "Don't Push Your Brother") and "Just Another Girl" from I Love Marijuana, and "Mr. Bossman," "No Confusion" (AKA "No Confusion, No Tribal War") and "Give Thanks and Praises" from Six Babylon.  Other tracks that stand out include "Freedom Fighters," "Dangerous Position," "Natty Pressure Them," "Don't Push Me Around" (a DJ version of "Mr. Bossman"), and the title track.

Inna de Yard (Makasound, 2005)

It seems as if you can't go wrong with the Inna de Yard series.  I'm surprised that no other labels have jumped on a similar acoustic sound; it's so striking in its simplicity, like a reggae version of MTV's "Unplugged."  This session features perhaps the biggest name in the series so far, Linval Thompson, who has recorded little since the '80s.  His voice is just as sweet and powerful as ever, though (perhaps because it's well-rested), as he belts out a combination of past hits, like "Jah Jah Dreader Than Dread," "Train to Zion," and "Jah Guiding Star," and new tunes like "Mercy Mercy Mercy" and "Hit Dem With the One Drop," which features the subtle horn line from Dennis Brown's "Joy in the Morning."  As the horn indicates, there seems to be more instrumentation here than in the first two Inna de Yard albums, with bits of airy horns and organ riffs accompanying the requisite acoustic guitar and drums, but the pure, unplugged essence remains the same.  The digital dancehall-ers of today might want to take a hint from these albums: If you want to do it right, sometimes you have to go back "inna de yard."