Tag Archives: Ziggy Marley

CD Review: Various Artists, “Disney Reggae Club”

Once Ziggy Marley picked up a Grammy for his album of children’s music, you knew it was only a matter of time before Disney joined in the junior reggae fun. Well, that time is now, and The Disney Reggae Club is here, offering 13 tracks of the songs you (mostly) know and love (mostly) from the studio’s classic films, performed by an assortment of reggae artists that includes Yellowman, Burning Spear, UB40, Sly & Robbie, and — surprise! — Ziggy Marley.

Say the words “Disney” and “reggae” together and you might have to suppress the urge to vomit, but the truth is, The Disney Reggae Club isn’t bad. I was disappointed with the track listing, which strays into obvious choices (“Kiss the Girl,” “Under the Sea”) and well-known songs that aren’t really identified with Disney movies (“The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” “What a Wonderful World”). On the other hand, it’s hard to argue with the acts they lined up for the album — and even if you never wanted to hear UB40 do “I Wan’na Be Like You,” and couldn’t recall a note of the Mulan number “True to Your Heart” if you were held at gunpoint (it’s performed here by the Wailing Souls), this is still a mighty fun record. I mean, if you’re going to listen to a reggae version of “Kiss the Girl,” it might as well be performed by Burning Spear, right? Continue reading

CD Review: Bob Marley, “B Is for Bob”

Bob Marley – B Is for Bob (Tuff Gong, 2009)
purchase from Amazon

A perfect blend of the utterly crass and the undeniably entertaining, Tuff Gong’s latest Bob Marley compilation stitches together a dozen previously released tracks — eight of them with subtle remixing and repurposing from Ziggy Marley — bundles them with a whole bunch of nifty bonus content, and serves them up for one more round of consumption. On the one hand, it’s label tomfoolery at its most repellent — how much Marley product do these people need to sell? — but on the other, it’s really sort of brilliant; after all, now that Legend has passed the 10 million-in-sales mark, is there a reggae fan left on Earth who doesn’t own his greatest hits? It’s time to start building new ones, which is where B Is for Bob comes in. Though I doubt most people have ever thought of him as a children’s artist, a lot of Marley’s music is quite kid-friendly — simple, catchy, and carrying messages of peace, love, and happiness — and though it seems safe to say the original versions of these songs would have worked just fine, Ziggy’s remix job hasn’t done them any harm; in fact, unless you’re a dedicated Marley disciple, you probably won’t even notice a difference.

Adding value to the compilation is a raft of extra online material, unlockable when you insert the disc into a Web-connected computer.

buy avanafil online buy avanafil no prescription no prescription

In exchange for purchasing these songs for the umpteenth time, you get things like coloring book pages, a music video, and a one-year subscription to Parents magazine. None of it is truly essential, of course, but it’s a fun little package, and something that’ll make a terrific gift for any budding Bob enthusiasts in your life.

buy lipitor online buy lipitor no prescription no prescription

You might get more sparkle from a more contemporary artist, but for classic songs that will last a lifetime, this batch is just about impossible to beat.

buy clomid online buy clomid no prescription no prescription

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

CD Review: Ziggy Marley, “Family Time”

Ziggy Marley – Family Time (2009, Tuff Gong)
purchase this album (Amazon)

I didn’t have much use for Ziggy Marley when he was riding high (ahem) on the charts 20 years ago, with the hacky sack anthem “Tomorrow People,” and nothing I’ve heard from him since then has changed my mind — until now, that is: for his new children’s album, Family Time, Marley has pulled out all the stops, assembling an Ocean’s Eleven-style dream team including some major names both within kids’ entertainment (Elizabeth Mitchell, Jamie Lee Curtis, the dreaded Laurie Berkner) and without (Jack Johnson, Toots Hibbert, Willie Nelson, Paul Simon). The result is a wonderfully easy listen that’s a lot more cohesive than you might think, given the succession of cameos — and if you, like me, have never given Marley much thought, it proves unexpectedly entertaining as well.

buy symbicort online buy symbicort no prescription no prescription

The record strikes a sunny, bucolic vibe right off the bat — the title track, which opens the album, begins with the words “Lift up your hearts with a smile / Life up your feet with a dance / Lift up your spirits with a song” — and holds it steady throughout the first 11 songs. (The last two tracks, brief spoken word snippets narrated by Jamie Lee Curtis, aren’t awful, but neither do they seem terribly necessary.

buy elavil online buy elavil no prescription no prescription

) Taken together, the songs form something like a set of training wheels for young would-be reggae fans — not only simply by virtue of Marley’s presence (and those of family members Judah, Rita, and Cedella), but through some savvy choices of material to cover (“Hold ‘Em Low,” “This Train”) or reinterpret (“Wings of an Eagle” spins “If I Had the Wings of a Dove”; “ABC” does the same for “Bend Down Low”), mixed in with some thoroughly enjoyable originals. The guests generally tend to fade sensibly into the framework of whichever songs they appear on, too, with the possible exception of Willie Nelson, who sounds like he thought his bus pass was taking him to a different studio. (Best guest appearance: Paul Simon proving he hasn’t lost his affinity for reggae phrasing on “Walk Tall,” where he trades lines seamlessly with Marley.

buy orlistat online buy orlistat no prescription no prescription

)

Ultimately, the album is a rather slight affair, but then, you get the feeling that’s exactly what Marley was aiming for — an amiable, uncomplicated good time for children of all ages. Call it an unqualified success, then, and prepare for Family Time to last a good, long while in your household.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]