Cultural Roots Showcase ((Extended Mix))

Album review

It's a measure of his growing influence in the reggae world that producer and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Moore is able to draw such an impressive roster of vocal talent into the studio for his excursions in modern roots reggae. Having already demonstrated his mettle as a one-man band in the instrumental dub genre, in recent years he has been in increasing demand as a producer, and he combines both functions on this fine collection of recently recorded tracks. It features seven songs by five vocalists: Michael Rose, Admiral Tibett, Ranking Joe, Prince Alla, and Mikey General. All are presented in "showcase" style, the regular vocal mix segueing without pause into an extended dub version. On some tracks Moore plays most or all instruments; others feature such A-list session players as Sly Dunbar, Style Scott, Dean Fraser and Skully Simpson (even Twinkle Brothers frontman Norman Grant makes a cameo appearance on one song). The stylistic variety between the singers nicely counterbalances Moore's distinctive production style -- there's a lot of space between Ranking Joe's declamatory singjay, Admiral Tibett's conscious crooning, and the more stentorian imprecations of Prince Alla and Michael Rose. But all of them sound natural and relaxed in the context of Moore's rhythms, and the dub mixes are brilliant. Very highly recommended.
© Rick Anderson /TiVo