Wailin' For Love

Junior Marvin – Wailin’ for Love
Reviewed by Sadie O., 1/30/08
Modern roots rock Reggae by the Wailers’ erstwhile guitar man. (Yes, that’s “Marvin” as in the Wailers, not “Murvin” as in “Police and Thieves”.) The strongest element here is some very hot riddims with some really cool details and syncopation. Marvin plays a rather Metal style of lead guitar, which can be an interesting juxtaposition. Some of the cuts veer dangerously close to overly commercial production, and Marvin’s vocals are sometimes a bit forced, but it’s all at least “good” and a lot of it is terrific.
No FCCs detected. I like tracks 4, 8, 12, 15 and 18 best.
1. *big chords intro, uptempo skank, sounds like a love song at first, but turns into a paeon to Bob Marley. Big electric guitar solo.
2. *midtempo funky hip hoppy riddim. This one is a love song. A bit commercial sounding, but the bit of cuica is a great touch.
3. ***bouncy uptempo shuffling skank with lots of guitar. Bit of 70’s style funk. Nice slide solo towards end, too.
4. ****great bloopy riddim, uptempo skank. Kinda goofy hippie lyrics, again a rather 70’s feel.
5. *downtempo skank, pleasant.
6. ***cool midtempo electronic riddim. Again a bit commercial, but still unusual and bopworthy.
7. *odd intro, then acoustic guitar with the instantly recognizable riff from the Wailers hit. Downtempo, quite similar to original except without Bob… Gets a bit overproduced, IMO, but the violin is actually quite nice.
8. ****midtempo roots bubble. Cool guitar solos, nice instrument sounds.
9. *pleasant midtempo skank, pretty sentiment. I prefer to use an AK-47, personally…
10. *pretty skank, but very commercial production. Nice percussion.
11. *midtempo skank, love song. Lots of electric guitar.
12. ****really fun midtempo electronic shuffling skank. Song about music.
13. This is apparently the metal ballad.
14. ***every bit as goofy as the title would suggest, and fun, in a 70’s disco kinda way. Maybe I’m just easily amused.
15. ****downtempo, subdued skank with a bit of nyahbinghi.
16. **downtempo skank, love song.
17. **downtempo skank, nice sound.
18. ****lots of bloopy electronics. Very disco, but I like it.