Journey To Jah

Gentleman – Journey to Jah (Four Music)
Reviewed by Sadie O., 8/10/06
Righteous and lovely roots rock by Germany’s first artist to become a major star in Jamaica. Lots of top ranking guests, recorded at a variety of studios mostly in Kingston. Gentleman’s writing and delivery are unique and cool – my only caveat is that sometimes I found the female chorus overly luscious. That’s a minor issue, mostly it’s a rock-solid Reggae record.
No FCCs. I like 8 and 15 best, but 3 and 10 are also major hits, and everything with guest artists provides for interesting interactions.
1. 4:01 *mellow and sweet midtempo roots rock
2. 3:49 **slightly downtempo, very cool mix of voices
3. 3:39 ***great diatribe, catchy tune
4. 3:30 ***nice midtempo bounce, great rhymes from Bounty Killer
5. 4:32 **upbeat, bouncy riddim, big chorus, sax
6. 3:50 *upbeat bounce
7. 3:50 ***great beat from the keyboards, nice interchange between voices
8. 3:25 ****dramatic and rather cinematic, great diatribe
9. 3:53 ***forceful beat with electronics, good message
10. 4:45 **downtempo, big sound, lots of vocalists, notably the gorgeous singing of Luciano
11. 4:09 *downbeat, perhaps too many vocals (esp. chorus), but still pretty roots rock
12. 4:08 *pretty midtempo love song, nice drum production
13. 3:56 **slow, bubble comes in after a minute, great vocals and manic laughter from Capleton
14. 3:45 **sweet roots rock with lots of solid instrumentation
15. 4:44 ****slightly downbeat with cool instrumentation and vocals, fine song