The Plant's last two albums (Bush Rock and 10 Deadly Shots, Vol. 1) have convinced me that they are the U.S.'s premiere instrumental reggae...
Articles By Brent Hagerman
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Reviews10 Ft. Ganja Plant Shake Up the Place Published Aug 30, 2011
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ReviewsFrankie Paul Most Wanted Published May 31, 2011
Greensleeves' Most Wanted series has benefited from the company's purchase by VP Records, as it now has a larger vault from which to choose...
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ReviewsThe Jolly Boys Featuring Albert Minott Great Expectations Published May 03, 2011
This aging mento band were in danger of becoming a footnote in Jamaican music history, but, thanks to Geejam producer Jon Baker, the Jolly B...
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ReviewsDub is a Weapon Vaporized Published Apr 28, 2011
Dub traditionally was the realm of producers and engineers with Magico-techno smarts harnessing tape delays and reverb washes, but here it h...
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ReviewsMark Wonder True Stories of Mark Wonder and Friends Published Apr 05, 2011
Initially released digitally in 2009 with little pomp, Wonder's record was quickly reissued to promote the artist further a field. A little...
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ReviewsThe Aggrolites Rugged Road Published Mar 22, 2011
Their fifth album sees these road warriors doing a minor gearshift, dropping tempos and putting more emphasis on their instrumentals. Record...
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ReviewsElephant Man Dance & Sweep: Adventures of the Energy God Published Feb 15, 2011
Continuing the tradition of DC-styled animated album covers, Dance & Sweep presents the Energy God as a superhero on a mission to bring danc...
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ReviewsPrince Perry and the Gladtones Whatever You Can Get Away With Published Jan 22, 2011
Toronto, ON's Prince Perry transports listeners back to the heyday of the two-Tone era with this EP, and while the record isn't exactly an e...
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ReviewsOdel Johnson Redemption Published Nov 28, 2010
I bought a Messenjah album on vinyl last year; it blew my head off. They're like an Ontario version of Steel Pulse. Odel Johnson drummed for...
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ReviewsMichael Franti and Spearhead The Sound of Sunshine Published Nov 28, 2010
Great art comes out of great struggle, so the cliché goes. In Michael Franti's case, a taste of mortality (his appendix burst while o...
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ReviewsJam Down Emmanuel Bonn Published Nov 01, 2010
Jam Down, which was shot in 1980, but only released in France, bills itself as "a musical journey into the heart of Jamaica's 1980 roots reg...
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ReviewsLee "Scratch" Perry Revelation Published Sep 24, 2010
Some people, it's often said, can sing the phone book and make it art; Lee Perry is not one of them, despite the fact that at one point here...
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ReviewsThe Beatdown The Beatdown Published Jul 25, 2010
The recording sessions for Montreal's the Beatdown ― a band that emerged out of the One Night Band ― must have went something li...
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ReviewsVarious Tribute to a Reggae Legend Published Jul 13, 2010
You could argue that Putumayo has erased any incendiary residue from the king of reggae and replaced it with a smiling face, a sun-swept bea...
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ReviewsRocky Dawuni Hymns for the Rebel Soul Published Jun 28, 2010
Ghanaian reggae singer Rocky Dawuni is a freedom fighter for the modern age; his revolution is fought not only in studio and on stage, but,...
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ReviewsCarmen Souza Protegit Published Jun 17, 2010
Jazz singer, keyboardist and guitarist Carmen Souza has been lauded for her expressive style and vocal command. With Protegit, her third rel...
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ReviewsMarkscheider Kunst Utopia Published Jun 17, 2010
Yes, Russians can skank too. Get ready for the funnest album of the summer. If Benny Hill ever recorded a long lost rocksteady record, it wo...
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ReviewsJah Cutta A Me Dis Published Jun 14, 2010
Already a formidable force on the national reggae scene, Jah Cutta's third album finds the singer/deejay better than ever. Easy, bubbling ro...
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ReviewsFriendlyness and the Human Rights One Thing Published Jun 14, 2010
Positive vibrations are the order of the day on this hard-hitting reggae disc. With the lion-mane sporting Friendlyness chanting goodness ov...
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ReviewsVarious Shatter the Hotel: A Dub Inspired Tribute to Joe Strummer Published Apr 19, 2010
Joe Strummer's love of reggae and dub are celebrated here, with several artists taking a stab at versioning some of the hallowed Clash canon...