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CD Review
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Mix Magazine, CD Review >>
Ironically, two recent releases that celebrate and embellish bedrock raggae, originate not from kingston, Jamaica studios, but in Virginia, Brooklyn and Queens.And both releases couldnt be any more different, even though each immerses the listener in solid "Jamrock" sounds.Virginia based bluesman Corey Harris lastest, "Zion Crossroads," continues the Charlottesville resident on his spiritual journey. he moves from the rural blues and New Orleans sounds he's perfected to embracing hard-core Rasta reggae that conjures up musical visions of such classic artists such as Toots Hibbert, Desmond Dekker, Burning Spear, and, yes, Bob Marley.Ticklah (a.k.a. keyboardist/producer/engineer Victor Axelrod), on the other hand, takes the listenerinto hypnotic, mystical and electronic dub-raggae beats conductive for languid sessions on the dance floor or chillin at a local club.Harris recorded his album at studios in Greenwood (about halfway between Waynesboro and Charlottesville) and at New York City's Brooklyn and Queens boroughs, using engineering help from Axelrod, who also plays tambourine and shaker on most tracks.Backed by his road-tested touring band adept to crucial rhythms, Harris plies his full bodied , expressive blues vioce through a slew of originals that sound like vintage kingston based Tuff Gong studio jams. Arrangements sound straight out of wailers or maytals song books with room for a dancehall tune toasted by Ranking Joe and an unabashed rock rave-up.The disc fits nearly into Harris' continious exploration of African based music, now going from blues to rock-steady. Song lyrics reflect Harris' musicological and ethnic quest with subjects ranging from Old Testamont dogma and redemption to Black history and Pan- Africanism.In fact Harris' musical quest recently earned him a $500,000 John D. and Catherine T. McArthur Foundation 2007 Fellowship, popularly known as the "MacArthur Genius Grant."Ticklah does not bring such a prestigous honor to the table, but instead a truckload of musical props to his brooklyn based studio that includes keyboard work for the Easy Star All Stars and the Antiballas Afrobeat Orchestra along with collaborations with Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Amy Winehouse, and Lily Allen. He played a myriad of instruments including keyboards, drums, bass and guitars while using several crack backing musicians and top young reggae singers such as Mikey General and Mayra Vega.Ticklah is essentially a musical alchemist who takes backing tracks, dub beats, song remixes, turntable effects and grooves from his band and mashes them up. He cooks and simmers them to create echo-y, somewhat soporific and languid club music firmly rooted in basic reggae styles. Some songs are mere atmospheric ambient grooves while others smolder righteous rhythms. Vocals rendered in Jamacian patois, English and Spanish - all seem to float, creating a dream-like modern sound.Both "Zion Crossroads" and "Ticklah vs. Axlerod" showcase familiar reggae rhythms while setting each in different musical contexts, proving that the Jamacian based sound is still a viable musical entity thats moved beyond " Bonnie and Clyde" and "My Boy Lollipop."
- Eric Feber 11/01/07
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