Miracle (MCA, 1994)

Comprised of Denroy Morgan's 8 (!) children, Morgan Heritage was signed to a major-label deal practically right off the bat in their career.  This partly explains why their style sounds undeveloped and generic on Miracle.  The other part of the equation is the major label, which undoubtedly molded the material here to suit the mainstream market -- with all of its rock guitar riffs, hip-hop/Soul II Soul beats, etc.  Taking all of that into consideration, this album isn't as bad (i.e., as pop-oriented) as it could've been.  Still, though, it's bad.  It's bad.  You know it, it's bad.  Sh'mon.  The best tracks are the danceable "Love Police" (which still has an unfortunate pop rock guitar wailing through the chorus), the lovers rock "Darlin'" -- which hints at the group's later brilliance -- while the righteous dancehall of "Primitive Self" is also decent.  However, stinkers like the light rock ballad title track, the R&B/dance "Life," and "Human Cry," which features an agonizingly awful rap, stop this album before it has a chance to start.  Thankfully, Morgan Heritage soon left MCA, allowing them to produce truer, more mature examples of the genre.

One Calling (VP, 1998)

The thing about putting out good material is that the expectations of your listeners end up being sky-high (without the Mau Mau).  Such is the case with Morgan Heritage, whose Protect Us Jah was so exemplary, One Calling has a difficult time living up to it.  One Calling is good, but noticeably inferior to Protect Us Jah.  Marginal love songs like "Good Bye" and "Down With You" (the latter's lyrics being surprisingly suggestive: "I wanna get down with you...Let me into your secret garden, baby.") and recycled dancehall rhythms provided by old school producer King Jammy give his album a relatively uninspired feel.  There are no real boom shots here, but there is nevertheless niceness to be found, particularly on the first half.  Rootsy yet catchy describes the best tracks: "Warning To Wicked Man," "Give We a License," "#1 Bingi Man," "God Is God," and "Coming Home."  Morgan Heritage's great sound is still intact, even if the material isn't as consistent as it has been.

Morgan Heritage Family and Friends Volume One (Artists Only!, 1998)

I think that all one-rhythm albums should have a warning label on them.  I don't think I'm alone when I say that these aren't my favorite types of albums.  That said, leave it to Morgan Heritage to come out with one that is actually pretty good -- probably the best one-rhythms album I've heard (Actually, one song has a different rhythm from the other 18.), due to the high-quality music, songwriting, and vocal performances.  The music is an instantly likeable rootsy, horn and bass-driven number consistent with Morgan Heritage's style.  The better-known performers like Morgan Heritage, Denroy Morgan, Capleton, Toots Hibbert, LMS (more Morgan kids), Pinchers, Bushman, Ras Shiloh, and Jahmali (the latter 3 being some of the brightest new stars around) are predictably solid, while the other little-known "friends" support the project admirably.  Capleton provides one of the best songs, with his atmospheric, thundering "Jah Jah City," while Morgan Heritage's emotional "Liberation," Jah Cure's "Love the Solution," and Ras Shiloh's hit "Unto Zion" are just as good.  Typical of a Morgan Heritage project, each track on Family and Friends contains a positive, cultural message (which naturally goes well with the roots flavor of the music).  Other standouts include DJ Military Man's "Never" and singer Prince Theo's "Can't Forget the Times."  After 19 cuts, the music gets a bit old, but this is still quality stuff. . . for a one-rhythm album. 

Don't Haffi Dread (VP, 1999)

Along with proving Morgan Heritage one of the more prolific reggae acts of the late '90s (this being their fourth album in 3 years), Don't Haffi Dread establishes them as one of the most talented as well.  The title track epitomizes the growth of the group since the disastrous Miracle, its instant classic roots melody and charismatic Marley-esque vocals (courtesy of Peter Morgan) setting a standard for modern roots.  The first 11 tracks here are polished paragons of modern roots, with emotional singing, live instruments, swaying tempos, old-fashioned harmonies, and spiritual messages.  There are so many songs here, though, that the group can't maintain that level all the way through (Indeed, if they had stopped after #11, this album would be an all-time classic.).  Still, the last 7 cuts are decent enough to not bring this electric album down too much.

More Teachings... (VP, 2001)

One of the leading forces in modern roots, Morgan Heritage seemingly has an endless supply of gorgeous melodies, vocals, and music stored in their bodies, waiting to spring forth and invigorate the world.  More Teachings... definitely starts out like this, with "Ready or Not," the title track, and particularly the lovers-tempo "Jah Seed" and the powerful "Know Your Past" leading things off.  However, like a brick wall, "Same Old Song" brings this album to a jarring halt, its insipid hip-hop/dance beat and flat melody making the group sound like a Rasta boy band.  Whereas normally Morgan Heritage crafts stirring, emotion-packed material, their emotion can at times lead to cheesy sentimentality.  Combining this with their penchant, at least on this album, to experiment musically, and we get questionable works like the straight R&B R. Kelly-wannabe "Always on My Mind," the weepy, acoustic guitar-led "Questions," and the drippy pop ballad "Children of Tomorrow."  Furthermore, Morgan Heritage seems set on taking a page from their less consistent siblings LMS by adding rapping in several songs.  Who thought this was a good idea?  Even good raps wouldn't be welcome in my book, but these are really half-assed vocal attempts.  What, did "Mr. Mojo" Morgan feel like he wasn't contributing enough?  Luckily, only 3 of the 17 songs on More Teachings... have him rapping, "See Things Clear" and "More Teachings..." being strong enough to overcome it (They would've been two of my favorite tracks on the album without it, though.).  Nonetheless, with all of my complaints, this isn't a bad album at all.  Indeed, the fact that I still enjoy it overall is a testament to just how good the good songs are.  Besides those already mentioned, "Meskal Square," the Marley-esque "Seen the Sun," "So Much Confusion," and the hit "Down By the River" are all stellar examples of Morgan Heritage's exhilarating sound.  More Teachings... is sub-par only by this group's elevated standards.

Three in One (VP, 2003)

Over the past decade, Morgan Heritage has been one of the most gifted and reliable forces in the modern resurgence of righteous roots reggae, which makes their latest offering, Three in One, all the more disappointing.  An early sign of trouble appears right off the bat, with the opening track, "Jump Around," an amateurish pop/dance fluff piece with lyrics that sound like they were penned by an 8 year-old ("Jump around if you really love reggae ... Do the reggae."  Ironically enough, this song isn’t even reggae.)  Thankfully, the crossover sound doesn’t continue throughout the album (although it does rear its ugly head a couple of times), but much of it seems just so uninspired, and some of the lyrical choices are rather questionable (even beyond the inane "Jump Around"): "A Man in Love," for instance, is a supposedly heart-rendering first-person tale of a man (Peter Morgan singing from experience?) with 5 kids by 2 different women who still hasn’t found true love.  Poor guy.  Maybe he should’ve thought about if he truly loved these women before he brought a child -- or 5 -- into a loveless union.  Maybe when he finally finds "the one," this will be his wedding song. More dubious lyrics (aside from the saccharine "Anti-War Song") appear in "Ah Who Dem," which, although a likable funky roots jam, presents incendiary lyrics that may lean too far into religious intolerance:

        Look how much people they have led astray,
        And the way they worship is the pagan’s way.
        Talkin' 'bout it's Christianity;
        It’s hypocrisy.
        They call it Communion when they're drinking blood.
        The only thing we know do that is vampires.
        They’re only devils in disguise,
        So open your eyes.

Perhaps Morgan Heritage means only to implicate corrupt "vicars" in this song, but it doesn’t always come off that way.  Three in One isn’t without merit, however; the best tracks range from the potent roots of "The Truth," "Works to Do," the ganja anthem "Nice Up U Medi," and the best song here, "Rebel" (one of the group’s best to date) to the lovers rock of "A Few Words" and the Otis Redding-like hit "She’s Still Loving Me."  But too many tunes are either Morgan Heritage by the numbers ("Meant II Be," "Falling Race," "Massive Rock," "A Man Is Still a Man"), or have an irritating rap (what, does Mr. Mojo feel left out?) or crossover bent ("Judge Not," "What’s Going On," and the less said about the hard rock remix of "Jump Around" the better), or else are just limp and devoid of any real appeal (the flaccid folky "In the Ghetto" and "Anti-War Song" and the dull ska of "Everything Is Still Everything"). As I said, this album isn’t completely useless by any means, but it is easily Morgan Heritage’s weakest effort since their ill-fated MCA debut.

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Live in San Francisco (2b1, 2005)

This live set was recorded in 1999 after the release of the Don't Haffi Dread album, so if you're looking for Morgan Heritage's 21st century material, you may want to head further into the future. Still, the group recorded an ample amount of great material on their first three albums (excluding the ill-conceived Miracle) -- four, if you include the Family and Friends set -- so finding a concert's worth of worthy songs shouldn't be too difficult. Live in San Francisco draws primarily from Don't Haffi Dread, which accounts for half of the 14 tracks here, while One Calling and the superb Protect Us Jah surprisingly contribute only one track apiece. As is customary with these live 2b1 releases, it opens with a non-live hip-hop remix, the intense "Liberation" from the first Morgan Heritage Family and Friends, which leads into a three minute-long acoustic, Nyabinghi drum meditation "Intro." The fiery "Earthquake" and "Talkin' Bout War" pick up the pace, showcasing the group's infectious blend of revolutionary, Rasta-centric lyrics and soulful, sing-along melodies that carries through "Don't Haffi Dread," the original "Liberation" mix, and the epic "Protect Us Jah" -- that power of the latter making it all the more ponderous why it's the only inclusion from that album. One of the more intriguing tunes is "Live Up," which adapts the Abyssinians' classic "Satta Massagana" riddim and oddly enough is included on all three live albums Morgan Heritage has released so far, yet isn't on any of their studio albums as far as I can tell. "Reggae Bring Back Love," "#1 Bingi Man," and "New Time New Sign" aren't the strongest selections, but I'm sure they have their fans, and the group's performance of the latter engages the audience with a lovely call-and-response interplay. The only truly regrettable tune is "Big Up San Francisco," a cloying R. Kelly-like slow jam suck-up to the city: "We've been out here for so long sharing the love of Jah with so many different people now, but the truth is, San Francisco, we've never seen nobody like you." Are we supposed to believe they don't sing this same song in every town they visit?  Well, maybe not Detroit...