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Anthology (One Way, 1994) Most
people of the appropriate age in America remember Musical Youth as a "one hit
wonder" for their Top Ten 1982 smash "Pass the Dutchie," a sans ganja
version of The Mighty Diamonds' "Pass the
Kouchie." However, they had no less than 8 songs hit the charts in the
UK during the group’s short existence (about five years).
Due to this abbreviated lifespan, it's not terribly difficult to
compile an anthology of Musical Youth's work, and Anthology does about
what you would expect: collect every track from their two studio albums,
1982's Youth of Today (plus an extra tune, "Blind Boy," recorded
around the same time) and 1983's Different Style.
I'm not sure why, but the earlier album’s tracks -- which account
for the first half of this compilation -- are in a random order, while the
latter album's cuts -- the second half of Anthology -- are in the
exact same order as the studio album. With the material separated as it is, it's easy to see that
Musical Youth fell prey to the sophomore slump. More specifically, they were victims of their own success, as
it seems apparent that their label (MCA) pressured them to produce a crossover
hit as big as big as "Pass the Dutchie."
Thus, while Youth of Today was the group's shining moment, full
of artistic and creative freedom, Different Style was just a shining terd,
full of forced pop and hammy theatrics. Listening
to the tracks from Youth, though, it's amazing to think that these kids
-- two pairs of brothers, Patrick and Freddie "Junior" Waite (sons of
Freddie Waite Sr., formerly of The Techniques)
and Michael and Kelvin Grant, plus lead singer Dennis Seaton -- were
still teenagers at the time. Their
sound, while youthful in its energy, is remarkably mature and composed overall,
with taut songwriting and musicianship every bit the equal of their elders.
They buck the type of material you would expect from the stereotypical
kids' band -- bubblegum lyrics and sugary melodies -- in favor of the
topical messages of "Youth of Today" (inflation and social pressures
affecting youths), "Blind Boy" (an admonition of a youth who blindly follows
the lead of rude boys), "Mirror Mirror"
(youths' frustration and disillusionment), and "Children of Zion" (a call
for unity). Even "Pass the Dutchie"
broaches the topic of hunger ("dutchie" referring to a cooking pot,
whereas the original "Kouchie" referred to a different kind of
"pot"). And the music here
largely eschews soft sounds like pop and lovers rock in favor of a harder style,
mixing roots and a rocking ska/rock steady flavor (a little reminiscent of early
UB40) with early dancehall -- the latter coming courtesy of
the young DJ of the group (I think Kelvin Grant) whose
voice has yet to break, making for a unique flow that resembles an even younger
Billy Boyo. It's a real testament
to the talent of these lads that they wrote 6 of the 9 songs on Youth -- plus the excellent
"Blind Boy" -- the other three being written by the
elder Waite and, of course, The
Mighty Diamonds. It's truly stunning, however, how night-and-day Youth of
Today and Different Style are. As
good as the former is, the latter is equally as bad. All of the corny conventions that you would expect from a
kids group can be found here: bouncy, fluffy music and melodies and throwaway
puppy love lyrics (beyond their remake of Desmond Dekker’s "Shanty Town"),
all aimed at the mainstream public. Once
"Pass the Dutchie" struck gold, the group's label sprinted to expand their
crossover appeal, and thus we have songs written by Stevie Wonder (the
wretchedly cutesy "Whatcha Talking 'Bout," which could've easily been
written for Gary Coleman) and Motown's Lamont Dozier ("Sixteen") and
featuring Jody Watley ("Incommunicado") and Donna Summer ("Sixteen"
again, a creepy tune in which the adolescent puts the moves on the elderly
Summer). Plus, we get songs like "She’s Trouble" and
"Incommunicado" that are so pop-tinged that they can barely be considered
reggae. The songwriting was sadly
largely removed from the hands of the group, and it's not surprising that the
three songs they did write on Different Style -- the last three --
are easily the best and the hardest in sound, as they are all lead by the
pint-sized DJ inna dancehall stylee. These
tracks can't save this train wreck of an album, though.
It's a shame that you can't buy Youth of Today by itself on CD (at
least, not in the US), because that's all you really need to appreciate the
talent of these so-called one-hit wonders. It's
truly a reggae gem that is too often overlooked because "Pass the Dutchie"
is seen as such a gimmicky lucky shot. If
you can't buy this album by itself, Anthology is the next best option;
just turn the CD player off after Track 10. |
Youth
of Today: 
Different
Style:
Anthology:
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Track
Listing |
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