Height Of Light, The

Jah Sun – The Height of Light
Reviewed by Sadie O., 8/15/07
Reggae/Dancehall/Hip Hop with extremely strong Rasta message. Much of the record is really delivering the same message over again without a lot of originality in the music, but there are a few real standout tracks. A shorter record with less of the female backing vocals would have been killer, IMO…
No FCCs detected. Track 16 is terrific, 7 and 15 are excellent.
1. 0:42 twirling radio dial, scraps of music, odd artist intro.
2. 3:17 **strong midtempo skank, female chorus. Nothing groundbreaking, but good solid sound.
3. 3:43 **uptempo bubble, sweet singing by Luciano, bits of toasting by Jah Sun.
4. 3:49 *slow folky riddim, hip hop vocals, Rasta righteousness message.
5. 4:31 **midtempo bouncy bubble, dancehall vocals, pleasant lyrics.
6. 5:11 *folky acoustic guitar, dancehall/hymn diatribe about modern evils. The chord progression is from somewhere I can’t remember and will probably be annoyed when I do…
7. 3:10 ****tough dancehall riddim, strong lyrics.
8. 0:56 phone conversation, ordering traditional Jamaican food.
9. 4:15 *eeesh… long intro about veganism. Downtempo dancehall skank about not murdering your food… One star for Lutan Fyah’s oddball falsetto.
10. 4:30 *slow dancehall riddim, diatribe – good lyrics, lousy riddim, and the female chorus is REALLY annoying on this one. Pity.
11. 4:02 **uptempo Lover’s Rock skank.
12. 3:27 **downtempo dancehall with a bit of Latin syncopation, hip hop love song. I like the riddim, the lyrics are an odd mix of lust and spiritualism.
13. 4:20 **slow folky riddim with a bit of nyahbinghi feel, strong hip hop vocals.
14. 3:55 ***midtempo skank, sweet song to Jah Sun’s kids. Good riddim and lyrics.
15. 4:16 ****odd delayed intro with record scratches, then midtempo dancehall/hip hop/electronic riddim, hip hop vocals, Rasta warrior lyrics.
16. 3:34 *****uptempo soca riddim with slide guitar or something – amazing!
17. 8:29 slow folky piano, hip hop lyrics relating tragic stories. Female “R&B” vocals – I find this painful to listen to on many levels… ends a bit over 2 minutes early, then Jah Sun’s kids do a much more positive slow dancehall number.