Album Review: U-Roy

 There is so much music that it’s impossible to explore it all. Even with literally entire artist Catalogs online. I mean I have been listening to punk for 30 years and I have barely scratched the surface.

The same goes for other preferred genres of mine- blues, funk, R&B, Prog, Folk even mainstream-style rock.

So it is with reggae (and musical cousins like ska and dancehall). I have really enjoyed listening to classic tracks over the last 20 years but it feels like I have just started down the path.

That track usually looks like hearing the names that get bandied around and then getting to the music. So I was just barely scratching into U-Roy when he passed this year.

2021 also saw the release of Solid Gold U Roy, a Covid delayed disc that was supposed to be a spotlight on the storied toasting pioneer.

Solid Gold is what I call a Supernatural record. There have always been Supernatural records and there always will be, but none has been as successful as Santana’s disc which featured the legend alongside current hitmakers. Prince’s Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic, Run DMC’s Crown Royal and Al Green’s Lay It Down are a few examples of variations of the “Supernatural” album in the last 25 years.

Solid Gold U-Roy despite its title and despite containing some of his most well known songs are all new recordings. Besides a guest list of musicians, sonically, it has some of the biggest names in the industry behind it- Zac Starkey, D Sardy, Youth (the Killing Joke bassist and prolific and eclectic producer, not to be confused with Reggae Legend Big Youth, who more about later) Sly and Robbie, and Dub legend Scientist.

How do you even measure this man’s influence? He’s a reggae legend but there is a direct course from him to “Rapper’s Delight”. There’s the punk angle for anyone who ever listened to the Clash, Operation Ivy or a Two Tone record.

Yet, the biggest and least obvious impact may be on the pop charts. Look through the playlists of past few years and look at all the hits with a toaster like Sean Paul, Shaggy or Shabba Ranks, and you literally are listing some of the biggest songs of this generation.

But of course, Solid Gold is a celebration of U Roy himself and his music and in that, even with impossible goals to attain, it largely is a modern masterwork.

Given the way U Roy makes his art, he needs a solid cast around him, and here he does.

It is interesting to see different reviews and different opinions on what works and what doesn’t.

One song where there is no argument is “Man Next Door”. As in most any case, where Santigold shows up to guest, the results are top notch.

Everything about it is perfect- a cross of generations. The song features in U Roy and Ken Boothe’s 1982 single “Peace and Love in the Ghetto” and most casual listeners might know of it from the Massive Attack/Horace Andy cover on Mezzanine. But here, it is a smooth vibe- something other than pop but no less an earworm, the combination of voices, at once separate but combined, with an incredible beat provided by Sly and Robbie.

After that, no review of this album is complete without mentioning the 15 minute plus Every Knee Shall Bow. Here, U Roy goes back and forth with fellow reggae legend Big Youth in a seemingly continuous ascent over hypnotic guitar from The Clash’s Mick Jones. This is followed by Scientist’s dub.

While these clearly are the highlights, the rest of the album is an enjoyable listen. Opener “Trenchtown Rock” is one of the songs that most critics are calling a misstep.

It is a song I did not like on first listen. It is one of my favorite Bob Marley songs and though I feel I have no ground to criticize Ziggy Marley for singing the song, I can’t help but thinking it needs more edge.

But after those initial listenings and thinking of it more as a tribute than a cover, I have at least partially come around to it.

I don’t think there are any other songs here I don’t like. A lot of critics point out “Tom Drunk” (recorded originally by U Roy in 1970) which matches him with contemporary reggae star Tarrus Riley, but I like it.

Marley gets revisited with Stop That Train which features present day toaster Rygin King. Crossover pop star Shaggy appears on Rule the Nation. Steel Pulse’s David Hinds elevates Soul Rebel. These are all a few of the collaborations- all worthwhile as a piece of the bigger picture.

It is of course, sad we lost this legend, but he has left behind quite a record for anyone who may not be familiar with his work.