Click pic to buy!

Chants (Melchizedek, 1997)

The first thing you might think when you listen to Ras Shiloh is, "I thought Garnett Silk was dead!"  Indeed, the great Garnett Silk has passed on, but through Ras Shiloh, his legacy lives on.  Both in sound and substance, Shiloh is reminiscent of Silk, but it would be a mistake to dismiss him as a mere clone.  If you take the time to appreciate the depth of beauty and emotion that he puts forth, you will see that Shiloh is a truly gifted writer and vocalist who should make as big a splash in the reggae industry as, say, a Sizzla.  Chants, his debut, displays only a portion of his talent, and his impact is unfortunately watered down by his competent yet unspectacular "idrens" Knotty B and Ras Shaka, who helped him get his start in reggae.  Although released in 1997, this album contains more old-school, early '90s-sounding dancehall riddims (furthering the comparison to Silk) that at best sustain the songs, but never really propelling them.  Some of the beats are used on more than one track, making them even more tiresome.  Shiloh nonetheless makes the most of the music, his emotive vocals squeezing out inspirational, rootsy yet catchy melodies.  The best songs on Chants are the ones where the vocals and rhymes are both at the top of their form, as on the opening track -- the bouncy "Say You Love Jah" -- as well as the airy "Jah Calling," with its heavy dancehall bass line, African drums, and blistering lyrics.  Solid supporting tracks include "Rich & Switch," Knotty B's "Cocaine Cowboys," and the more lovers-tempo tracks "Something For Something" and "Caught Up in the Circle."  A nice debut, but only a hint of the genius of his next effort.

Click pic to buy!

Click pic to buy!

Listen Well (Who Dun It, 1999)

Any album following Babylon You Doom is bound to be a let down, but Listen Well is more of a let down than I would've expected.  The liner notes in Chants said that Ras Shiloh was "working in the hip-hop field to broaden his music," and alas, Listen Well seems to be the fruit of that labor.  Actually, less than half of this album contains hip-hop beats, but 4 out of 11 tracks is considerable, especially considering the dearth of such a sound in Shiloh's music up until now.  I suppose it's his American side coming out (He's actually from New York.).  "Zion Calling," produced by HiFi Killers (an thus having their typical heavy-bass funk/hip-hop sound) is easily the best of the hip-hop cuts, the others -- "Don't Go Astray," "What's the Meaning of Life," and "Sounds of Silence" -- being marginal at best.  Luckily, the other tracks return to the rootsy dancehall style that we're used to, propelled by big-name producers like Phillip Burrell, Morgan Heritage, and Tony Rebel.  His hit "Unto Zion" is simply entrancing, as are the echoing roots of "Asking Thee To Spare" and the wailing "Hardcore," probably the best song here.  Inexplicably, however, Shiloh throws in an unnecessary dancehall remake of Soft Cell's "Tainted Love," along with a cover of the Abyssinians' classic "The Good Lord" -- which, though a good song, heightens the relatively stale nature of this album.

Click pic to buy!

From Rasta to You (VP, 2002)

I must admit, I was becoming a bit concerned that Ras Shiloh's Babylon You Doom was an anomaly in his career.  I mean, aside from that masterpiece, Chants and Listen Well don't amount to a spectacular body of work.  Well, Shiloh eliminates my fears with From Rasta to You, finally his first major label album (well, major for a reggae release).  This album basically picks up where Babylon You Doom ends, forgoing the sterile hip-hop sound of Listen Well in favor of an engrossing blend of pensive roots, tender lovers rock, and light dancehall, all buoyed by his remarkable penchant for crafting sweet melodies.  In fact, this album is such a continuation of Babylon You Doom that it contains two tracks from that set, "Child of a Slave" and "Are You Satisfied."  It's almost as if the executive producers assumed that no one listened to the earlier album, so this was a way  for them to give it some exposure.  Needless to say, if you do have Babylon You Doom, you might be a bit peeved to find the repetition of songs.  Additionally, if you have Buju Banton's Inna Heights, you'll find "Give I Strength" familiar, and Garnett Silk fans will certainly recognize "Complain," one of the nicer versions of the song that have been recorded.  Still, even if you already have a few of the songs on From Rasta to You, there are plenty more to appease your palate.  When Ras Shiloh is on top of his game, he's one of the best songwriters around.  He molds dulcet -- but not corny -- melodies suited for his airy voice and smooth delivery, while lyrically he's as adept at romantic messages ("Running Away From Love") as poignant messages ("Child of a Slave"), messages of cultural pride ("From Rasta to You"), and social ills ("For Once in Your Life").  As with Babylon You Doom, little on From Rasta to You is fast forward-worthy; Ras Shiloh hits another home run and eases my fear that he might be a one-trick pony.

Click pic to buy!

Coming Home (VP, 2007)

Releasing albums on the relaxed schedule that Ras Shiloh has adopted puts a good deal of pressure on each release -- a success meaning that the wait was worth it, and a failure prompting reactions like, "We waited all that time for this?" Coming Home is an apt title, as the singer has been "sans album" for five years -- a long time even outside of the reggae realm, but an eternity by this genre's assembly line standards. (Fun fact: Since Shiloh's last album, Sizzla and Turbulence have released 237 of their own...Or does it just seem like that?) This Shiloh set hovers somewhere between success and failure. While it might provide enough to satisfy the diehard fans, it does little to win over new ones and is certainly not the powerhouse that previous efforts Babylon You Doom and From Rasta to You were. On the bright side, this is the same Ras Shiloh sound that we've come to love: earnest vocals and straightforward roots music, courtesy of Bobby "Digital" Dixon. It might, however, be a bit too straightforward. There's little here that we haven't heard before. It all feels like a very safe, by-the-numbers affair, which would be more excusable if Coming Home had arrived only a year after Shiloh's previous release. Coming five years later, it's a let-down. Not bad, but not the greatness that he's capable of. The melodies in particular are not memorable and don't do the music (which is far from groundbreaking) justice. That said, while there are no real monster tunes here -- the lovers tracks "Need Your Love" and "Are You Lonely" come the closest -- there are several nice songs that will feed your Shiloh fix for a little while (not for the next five years, though): the pleading "We Need More Love," the soaring roots jam "Volume of the Book," and a powerful duet with Natural Black, "It Will Be Over," are highlights. Coming Home fades down the stretch, though, as the last five tracks fail to bring this set to a satisfactory close. 

Click pic to buy!

Only King Selassie (Greensleeves, 2007)

*GUEST REVIEW*
I happen to have a son called Shiloh, upon whom I bestowed the name before the emergence of Ras Shiloh the singer. So there's no namesake considerations at work here: I like Ras Shiloh for his grainy, soaring vocal quality, his favoring of conscious songs over lover's rock and the humble aura his music has in spite of his being one of those stern-looking, head-wrapped dreads. His latest, Only King Selassie, is strong throughout, combining the contemporary vibe of dancehall with an overriding roots feel. "Rasta" is the first word Ras Shiloh's heard uttering on the disc, and testaments of faith ("I Know," "Jah Jah Lives," "To the King") comprise the bulk of the songs. Some familiar riddims are heard, most notably a harnessing of Black Uhuru's "I Love King Selassie" on "Rastaman to Africa." Still, Shiloh is clearly striving to be his own voice and he succeeds handily. The title track is particularly potent, full of nimbly heartfelt lead vocals bouncing off breathy female harmonies, and similar shots like "Hardcore Steppers" and"United We Stand" cut deep with a smooth attack that's shaken up when Shiloh goes into more of a deejay mode, as on "Mama Africa." The mostly King Jammy-produced tracks are played by the likes of the Firehouse Crew, the High Times band and Steely and Clevie, resulting in a good mix of live and programmed sounds. Though things stray toward lightweight love songs near the end and the album would have ended better on more of a conscious note, it's still mighty fine.

- Tom Orr