Rating:
Genre:
Reggae
Release Date: 11/06/2007
At a time when
dancehall dominates the
reggae charts and singers and deejays alike tend to favor a harsh and gruff vocal delivery,
I Wayne harks back to the days of sweet-voiced tenors like
Johnny Clarke and
Cornell Campbell. His lyrical subject matter is similarly old-school, and he focuses on roots-and-culture concerns in a mostly upbeat and hopeful style. His second album features rhythms in a variety of styles, and finds him paired with a nice assortment of deejays -- most of them impressive (note in particular
Icoflamez's excellent performance on the one-drop anthem
"Annihilation") and a few of them less so (in particular the awful
Iniball on
"Could a Never"). Unlike some modern
reggae artists,
I Wayne is actually at his best when he focuses on the
reggae verities and steers clear of experimentation; the lovely
"Free the People" makes excellent use of a vintage
reggae rhythm, and the album's highlight is a bouncy combination track with
Deva Brat on which both singer and deejay dance lightly over a tense high-tempo rocker's beat. When he explores funky non-
reggae sounds, as on the album-closing
"Natural Ites," the results are less compelling. Recommended overall.
~Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
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