*GUEST REVIEW*
I write this review having no clue how I came to possess this CD. However, regardless of the circumstances in which I acquired it, have it I do. The title of this CD may be a bit misleading, as are so many compilations. More appropriately it should probably be entitled Modern Rootsy Dancehall Masters or something to that effect. That being said, I am by no means an expert on dancehall or even the semi-roots modern sound of a lot of these tracks and their respective riddims, which I'm sure some or many are heavily recycled. Regardless of that, however, this CD has some real gems of tracks from some of the more modern dancehall/roots reggae artists many of us love and know well, as well as some really un-impressive efforts that tend to plague compilations such as this. The tracks that particularly shine in my opinion are the more directed aggressive, high-energy tracks, while the more laid-back tracks here tend to be the least effective on this particular effort. My personal favorites here are Morgan Heritage's "Children of Selassie," which shows the beauty this group can produce when it wants to (and seems to do so inconsistently), and Buju Banton's "Negus Negast," which simply has great energy and vibe. Other strong showings here come from Capleton, Anthony B, Junior Kelly, and a pretty decent track from Yami Bolo. The weakest efforts here in my opinion come from Sizzla, Luciano, Beres Hammond, and Bushman. This is in no small part due to the level of quality one comes to expect from these particular acts, knowing the quality of content they have the ability to produce. My least favorite track on this album has to be Tony Rebel's "Foreign Crazy," which to me has the absolute opposite of "catch" to it. There's nothing really groundbreaking here, "Children of Selassie" being the only track that's actually lyrically "deep," but regardless of that there are some truly catchy tracks here. Ultimately however it's a about a 50/50 ratio of "pretty good to very bad".

- Ras Javan