|
The Good: Dude, Vitamin S, Dick, Bad Man
The Bad: Ms. Thing can’t sing.
The Ugly: This album has five potential crossover hits, a la the “Diwali”-fueled successes. But VPis busy promoting Elephant Man’s abysmal “Jook Gal”
|
As a Dancehall compilation album, Riddim Driven: Fiesta is pretty damn good. As a collection of tracks on the same rhythm, it’s sublime. No matter how you slice it, Dave Kelly’s triumphant return to the business of producing Dancehall rhythms is cause for the sort of celebration implied by the album’s title. You may debate about where the “Fiesta” rhythm stands among Dave Kelly’s greatest beats, but there should be no doubt that this is one of the best Riddim albums ever.
Coming in at a tight 10 tracks, Fiesta resists the temptation to crowd a bag of struggling artists onto a 20-song compilation album. There is no room for filler on this album. You get Baby Cham, Beenie (twice), Elephant Man, Lady Saw, Tanto Metro & Devonte and Cobra. Big time stars on a big time rhythm.
You also get at least four certified Dancehall smashes. Baby Cham’s “Vitamin S” has been dueling for months with the Beenie Man/ Ms. Thing duet “Dude,” and there is no clear winner. Elephant Man’s “Bad Man” is a simply hilarious shotta tutorial, and easily his best work since Ele became a “star.” Ms. Thing’s “Regular” is also an anthem, although it may be the worst-sung hit in the history of Dancehall – Ms. Thing cannot sing. Beenie Man is also making some noise with “Dick,” and the Doctor should be thanking Dave Kelly (again) for resuscitating his career (again).
The rhythm itself has the now-obligatory post “Diwali” handclaps, but its true calling card is a sample of some jaunty acoustic guitar strumming and a jarringly fake-sounding synthesized steel pan. Teamed with Kelly’s trademark heavy staccato drum programming, the rhythm is a winner. And, unlike most of the rae-rae rhythms coming from the latest hurry-come-up producers, Kelly’s “Fiesta” is both danceable and listenable – even without any accompanying vocals.
THE VERDICT: Fiesta is a boom rhythm with a whole heap of big tunes, and some overlooked gems (we like Cobra’s “Badness Nuh Wear Pon Face” and Saw’s “Man Is The Least”). But, remember that it is still a one-rhythm compilation; so if listening to the same beat for 45 minutes isn’t your idea of a good time, even this stellar compilation won’t do the job for you.
|
