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| Tributo a Bob Marley (Delanuca, 2006) You wouldn't think that there would be any ways left to freshen up Bob Marley songs that you've heard 100 times already, but Tributo a Bob Marley finds a way. It's sort of like finding a new way to cook chicken ("With Cap'n Crunch? Brilliant!"). Delanuca Records finds new life in Marley's oeuvre by taking it to Argentina and Puerto Rico and recruiting some of Latin America's top reggae talent to put their own unique spin on this revered material. And spin they do. The sound that's invoked by these unexpected reggae hotbeds incorporates not only the expected Latin influences but also an intoxicating blend of jazz, blues, rock 'n roll, and genre-bending experimentation. Sessiones' version of "Sun Is Shining" is the most extreme example, a tour de force of sound that begins with African drumming and traverses through reggae (natch), jazz, and electronica before returning to Earth. Satelite Kingston even regales us with a horn-filled instrumental rendition of "Trench Town Rock." The songs are well-chosen, mixing the well-known ("Trench Town Rock," "Is This Love," "Sun Is Shining") with the not-quite-as-well-known ("Top Rankin," "Jah Live," "Wake Up and Live"), while sparing us from the obligatory "One Love," "No Woman No Cry," and "I Shot the Sheriff." Basically every track on Tributo shines, but those acts who particularly stand out and beg to be heard more outside of Latin America include Resistencia Suburbana (whose lead singer has an irresistibly craggy voice, sort of like Apple Gabriel with a sore throat), the fiercely righteous Fidel, and the buoyant Cutltura Profetica. |
| Track Listing 1. Pimper's Paradise -- Los Cafres 2. Judge Not -- Mimi Maura 3. Wake Up and Live -- Fidel 4. Zimbabwe -- Cultura Profetica 5. Iron, Lion, Zion -- Resistencia Suburbana 6. Sun Is Shining -- Sessiones 7. Top Rankin -- Satelite Kingston 8. Nice Time -- Los Cafres 9. Concrete Jungle -- Mimi Maura 10. Jah Live -- Fidel 11. So Much Trouble -- Cultura Profetica 12. Roots, Rock, Reggae -- Resistencia Suburbana 13. Them Belly Full -- Sessiones 14. Trench Town Rock -- Satelite Kingston 15. Is This Love -- Serrano & Sus Jamones |
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