Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Busy Signal - D.O.B. (2010)



Artist: Busy Signal
Album: D.O.B.
Label: VP Records
Genre: Reggae: Dancehall
Release Date: July 13, 2010
Mood: All over the map
RIYL: Assassin, Mavado, Bounty Killer

Rating: ***

This Busy Signal LP is a bit of a disappointment in comparison to its predecessor, the excellent "Loaded". "Loaded" was a cohesive collection of club numbers, militant riddims, and Busy's pension for culture lyrics; there was plenty of variety, yet it all worked well together. The same cannot be said here. Busy tries his hand at a latin dancehall number ("Busy Latino") which falls flat miserably and results in goofy sounding salsa. He also gives a go at the strange, longstanding tradition of opera dancehall on "Opera", which isn't a total loss (largely due to the high quality of Busy's lyrical craft on that track) but certainly isn't great and sounds miserable stuck in the middle of the rest of the album. The best tracks here stand at two entirely different ends of a spectrum of mood: militant anthems and lover's numbers. As singles the lovers songs "Sweet Love" and "One More Night" are actually quite great and something Busy hadn't done before to this level of success. The militant numbers "Money Tree" (in which Busy considers how the social changes he would make in Jamaica if he was infinitely rich) and Summn' A Guh Gwaan (another culture number featuring Bounty Killer) are both massive chunes and are the highlights of the album.
The two Stephen "Di Genius" McGregor (current reigning king of dancehall production) tracks ("How U Bad So" and "Hairdresser Shop") aren't bad, but surely Busy has had better cuts with Big Ship in the last few years. Also sorely missed on this album is any sign of the Jafrican riddim by Coppershot Productions, which Busy had two or three excellent versions on. And if Busy Signal was looking for genre variety certainly he could have replaced the awful "Busy Latino" with the excellent "Wooeii Gal Wooeeii" soca number featuring Trinidad and Tobago's Machel Montano. The Stagalag riddim (a reworking of the legendary Stalag riddim) does make an appearance here with Busy's cut "Hi Grade"; however, his version was far from the best on that compilation.
But, a fan accustomed to dancehall albums as carriers of three to four great singles and a few misses will find what they're looking for here in the stronger numbers. Definitely recommended for Busy Signal fans, but not a crucial release to pick up this year.

  1. How U Bad So ***
  2. Picante ****
  3. My Money (Money Tree) *****
  4. Yes Dawg ****
  5. Busy Latino *
  6. Gal Dem Song ***
  7. Sweet Love (Night Shift) *****
  8. Hi Grade ***
  9. Opera **
  10. One More Night *****
  11. Summn' A Guh Gwaan (feat. Bounty Killer) *****!
  12. Hair Dresser Shop ***
  13. Nuh Fraid ****
  14. Peace Reign **
  15. Nuh Boy Caan Buy Without (Acapella) [CD Bonus Track?] ***

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