Urban Beat Reggae

May 23 - 30, 1 9 9 6

** 1/2 Various Artists

URBAN BEAT REGGAE

(Heartbeat)

The "urban" in the title may mean reggae well seasoned with R&B/soul/funk/hip-hop accents. The best vocalists on this 15-track label sampler work feverishly with those touches, conveying an urban edginess far removed from reggae's usual laid-back beats. Michael Rose's "Short Temper" and "Rude Boys (Back in Town)" feature his wild scatting and quasi-Arabic wails, both soulful reminders of his Black Uhuru days. Sister Carol recites her politically-correct-woman-of-color poetry to relentlessly hopping rhythm tracks, sampling Marvin Gaye's "What's Goin' On." Everton Blender slowly and lovingly caresses every syllable of "Lift Up Your Head," a funky call for moral uplift.

Like every other budget-priced reggae sampler on the market, this is uneven fare. You can just imagine the profundity of Frankie Paul's "Sexy Thing (You Got the Body)," but even less acceptable is the inclusion of "Killing Me Softly," the Roberta Flack dirge, awkwardly whipped into an uptempo dancehall ditty by the late Garnet Silk. These gaffes aside, this is appealing music for urban(e) listeners.

-- Norman Weinstein

(Heartbeat Records celebrates its 15th anniversary at Mama Kin next Friday, May 31, with Michael Rose, Sister Carol, the Meditations, and Derrick Morgan.)