Luciano – Write My Name
Reviewed by Sadie O., 12/17/10
Rather overproduced but still fine roots rock reggae. Luciano’s gorgeous vocals should need no introduction. Most songs feature backing vocals with good harmonies, but frequently over-use the immediate repeating of lyrics that seems to be fashionable lately, and lots of the riddims seem a bit too dense, like the producer is trying a bit too hard. Still, it’s Luciano singing, and that’s never a bad thing.
1. 3:48 **high “OOOO” intro, then upbeat, uptempo roots rock one-drop, Rasta praise lyrics. Sweet.
2. 3:45 ****pretty vocal harmonies, upbeat midtempo bubble, belying (true talk) doomsday lyrics.
3. 3:49 **siren and soft speaking intro, then pretty midtempo skank, more tragic lyrics (pot bust). Riddim is a bit overproduced or something, but singing is good.
4. 3:42 *rather busy midtempo skank, pretty love song.
5. 3:47 *relaxed midtempo bubble, female backing vocals, rather commercial sounding.
6. 3:36 ***bit of vocal intro, then slow roots skank with nyahbinghi overtones, Rasta praise lyrics. Bit of spoken preaching towards end.
7. 3:23 ****relaxed midtempo skank, spoken intro, very pretty vocals.
8. 3:37 **upbeat, bouncy skank with a hint of nyahbinghi hand drums, love song.
9. 3:38 ***slow, complex and minor key skank, Rasta preaching lyrics. A bit mysterious nyahbinghi vibe, like classic roots rock reggae updated.
10. 4:20 ***electronic chimes, voices weaving around each other, slow skank with very faint drums, wah-wah, female vocals. Swishy beat comes in after a while. Odd song, but it’s growing on me.
11. 3:42 ***slow, rather sparse skank with prominent nyahbinghi drums, female backing vocals.
12. 3:48 ***very slow commercial…elevator music intro. Fortunately, it turns into a nice strong midtempo skank, nice vocals. Whew! Good stuff, after all.
13. 3:29 **intro flows rather disjointedly into the riddim, a bouncy midtempo bubble.
14. 3:44 **pop intro with xylophone, then midtempo bubble, with slow vocal line based a bit on an old BeeGees song… Huh!
15. 4:16 ****big vocal intro with nyahbinghi drums, then very slow skank with hand drums, Rasta psalm. Quite nice, really.
16. 3:29 **big production version of track 11. A bit more midtempo and bubbly and less nyahbinghi.