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Ruff Cutt in Roots (Tabou1, 2000) The British label Ruff Cutt and founder Tony "Ruff Cutt" Philips are relative newcomers on the scene, but that shouldn't cause you to shy away from this razor-sharp collection of modern roots reggae. Ruff Cut also releases a lot of dancehall, and it shows somewhat on Ruff Cut in Roots; although the music is certainly roots, it has a bass-dominated dancehall edge (particularly Gregory Isaacs' "Love Triangle"), and the music doesn't always sound like it's being played by live musicians. Nevertheless, traditional roots fans can't deny the strength of the songs here. The music is fresh and vibrant, and the artists' performances -- though many are virtually unknown -- prove convincing. Excelling are Freddie McGregor's "Give Jah the Glory," Trevor Dixon's "War," Junior Kelly's "Jah Jah Live On," the Junior Kelly-ish DJ Kanni's "Green." Veteran singer Little Roy chimes in with two strong Bob Marley remakes, "Payaka" and "Rock Steady." He picked these tunes wisely, as they represent some of Marley's early, lesser-known work -- as opposed to Vincent Napp, who foolishly covers "Get Up, Stand Up" (gee, haven't heard that one too much). The only other misstep is the Gregory Isaacs track -- not necessarily because of the music (although it's nothing special), but rather because I find Isaacs' now-feeble vocals un-listenable; I wish it wasn't the case, but he sounds like a retarded Muppet. Still, with the fast-forward button, you can pretend that that track isn't even on this otherwise outstanding album. |
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