Reggae Reviews: One

Siboney Dub Style (One Music, 199?)

*GUEST REVIEW*
One is a lamentably little-known Canadian reggae supergroup featuring the estimable vocals of Chris Murray, late of Ontario ska heroes King Apparatus, and the music of bandleader/producer/One svengali Robbie Dee. Siboney Dub Style is a respectable attempt at creating atmospheric dub and roots sounds. Although Murray's voice is better suited to the upbeat ska of his old band and the acoustic rock steady he currently performs as a solo artist, he handles himself well over Terrence Kofi's loping bass lines and Dee's echo-heavy dub wizardry, particularly on standouts like "Stepping Out Tonite." The record, however, suffers from a lack of memorable tunes. Despite Dee, Murray, and company's best efforts at creating dreamy grooves, the lyrics and chord progressions tend to be fairly bland and generic and, aside from a few scorchers, the songs are, on a whole, pretty forgettable. Siboney Dub Style isn't a bad record by any means -- it's maybe just a little over-ambitious for a bunch of white guys from Canada with backgrounds in ska and rock. If the 13-track album had been shortened slightly with perhaps more of an emphasis on instrumentals than vocal-driven dub, it would be a lot more memorable. Curiously, the disc is undated and a release or recording date is nowhere to be found anywhere in the liner notes. It's definitely from the early/mid-90s, but for some reason it's not clear exactly when it came out -- or whether it was released before or after the other One release I'm familiar with, 1994's Smokin' the Goats, a more eclectic disc with an almost entirely different roster of musicians.

- Sam Thompson

Track Listing
1. Serve You Right
2. If You Really Want It
3. No Friend
4. Soldier
5. Stepping Out Tonite
6. Turn Turn (This Thing Around)
7. Higher
8. Chase Down
9. Guilty Eyes
10. Break Me Down
11. Doin' It on the Side
12. I Heard the Gunshot
13. Lost in Space

Smokin' the Goats (One Music/Virgin, 1994)

*GUEST REVIEW*
It's unclear whether this is One's debut or sophomore release, as the Canadian reggae group's other disc, Siboney Dub Style is undated, but regardless of the order in which they were released, there's a big difference between the two records. Different lineups aside (Smokin' The Goats-era One is almost entirely different from Siboney, aside from leader Robbie Dee and drummer Tim Foy), this disc is far more varied and eclectic than the group's dub effort, incorporating roots reggae, ska, rock, dancehall, and soul music. Vocalist Taylor (who seems to have no last name) is far more energetic than the better-known Chris Murray, who appears as lead singer on Siboney. His high-octane growl adds much-needed colour to otherwise boring ska numbers like "Bully on the Dance Floor" and what must be the nine millionth cover of The Maytals' "54-46.' Although the band gets into some serious horn-powered grooves, peppered with rock guitars, there's something inherently cheesy about One's sound. If you've ever seen a middle-aged white businessman rocking a dreadlock wig at a reggae show, you get the idea -- the guys in One are clearly very earnest about their love for Jamaican music, and they have the chops to pull it off, but as the goofy lyrics and ill-placed keyboards on many of the tracks demonstrate, they seem to be lacking a bit of soul. They've got the right idea, but they're just slightly off the mark. I guess you could call it "reggae lite" -- something that goes down smooth, but doesn't have enough flavour to warrant multiple tastes.

- Sam Thompson

Track Listing
1. Unlucky One
2. Doin' It for the Money
3. Wide Load
4. Strangehold
5. 54-46
6. Bully on the Dance Floor
7. My Own Man
8. Rainy Night in Georgia
9. Turn To Blue
10. Kind Buds
11. So Rude
12. Magdelin
13. Lies Ahead