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Riddim Ryders: The Remix (Blazing Flames, 2006) If you've heard Dancehall Xplosion 2004, then popping Riddim Ryders: The Remix into your CD player may create a sense of deja vu. The opening two tracks -- Vybz Kartel's "Nuttin' but Vibes" and Swade's "Come Home With Me" -- are repeated in (nominally) remixed fashion, riding the Timeless riddim that co-opts the music from the R&B slow jam "Tell Me If You Still Care" (covered by T.O.K. on their Unknown Language album). The best of the tracks that use that beat, though -- Voice Mail's "How Love Had to Go" -- will be new DX 2004 veterans. More repetition pops up at the end of the album, with the breezy Good Vybe riddim-driven "Trust" by Tony Rebel & Swade and "Me and You" (AKA "Jigga Jigga") by Cecile and Loogaman. Another repeat, Notch's escapist "Fly Away," closes the album nicely, its melody outstripping its somewhat generic riddim. In between the fist and last rhythms is a mixed bag that will appeal to dancehall heads but won't do much to draw in peripheral fans. The best beat is the dramatic thumper on which Delly Ranks & Devil, Lukie D, and Power Man & Spanner Banner shine. Even if you don't know these songs (or the name of the riddim...oops), this trio of tunes will get a party hopping. Apart from these three, Mega Banton provides the hottest tune on the album in the form of "Gal fi Get Wok," a tireless jam that hearkens back to his '90s heyday. Shadoo and Ghost, however, prove how the same music in lesser hands can come off as tepid and dull. The album further lags with the ho-hum Anaconda riddim that's ridden by Kiprich & Fiona, Galaxy P, and Cecile & Don Yute, and it completely breaks down on Da Groove, one of the most basic and insipid beats I've heard in a while, made all the less sufferable by Kirk Davis' whiny rendition of "You Sang to Me" (Shinehead did a better job on Praises) and Silver Cat's dull "Holder Her Space." Elephant Man gives it a good shot on his adaptation of "Love Come Down," but it's just not enough. There's plenty of niceness to be found on Riddim Ryders: The Remix, although if you already have Dancehall Xplosion 2004, you might not find it as fresh as it could be. |
| Track Listing 1. Intro 2. Nuttin' But Vibes -- Vybez Kartel 3. Come Home With Me -- Swade 4. How Love Had to Go -- Voice Mail 5. Need Good Loving – Kiprich & Fiona 6. Get It On -- Cecile & Don Yute 7. Living in the Fast Lane -- Galaxy P 8. Throw Your Hands Up -- Delly Ranks & Devil 9. Jack It Up -- Lukie D 10. Party Going On – Powerman & Spanner Banner 11. Gal fi Get Wok -- Mega Banton 12. Spend Pon a Gal -- Shadoo 13. Grand -- Ghost 14. You Sing To Me -- Kirk Davis 15. Holder Her Space (Simma) -- Silver Cat 16. Love fi Bow Down -- Elephant Man 17. Trust -- Tony Rebel & Swade 18. Never Let You Go -- Swade 19. Me and You -- Cecile & Loogaman 20. Fly Away -- Notch 21. My Kinda Loving -- Martina 22. Outro |
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