Customer Reviews

300% Dynamite: Ska, Soul, Rocksteady, Funk & Dub in Jamaica

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Wow. This was a most pleasant surprise. It actually had me walking back to Open Mind music in San Francisco to find out what exactly this genre was. Is it reggae? Is it dancehall? I found out, it's basically early dancehall. Tracks like "Sleng Tang" (a late 70s dancehall gem) are worth the price of admission alone. Jesus, if this is volume three, then I can't wait to get my mitts on #1. This is fast late-night groovy times music.

I've owned 10-12 Soul Jazz reggae comps and believe I can say with confidence that most are amazing and every one warrants at least three stars. The third volume of the Dynamite series is, unfortunately, one of the catalog's weaker entries.

This might be a matter of personal taste - I prefer the classic, mid 60's Studio One sound to 80's drum machine/synthesizer reggae or dancehall, and several of 300%'s tracks are clear precursors to that style. The production on these tracks lacks the signature reverb and pedal effects of the 60's-70's C.S.Dodd material. I, for one, would rather hear the harmonies and dub breakdowns that formed the bedrock of the Studio One sound by artists like the Wailers, Sound Dimension, Horace Andy, etc. than proto-dancehall tracks like "Under Me Sleng Teng" and a lifeless instrumental based on the "Mission Impossible" theme. I skip several of the album's 15 tracks when listening - "Uptown Top Rankin," for example, is little more than another "I'm Still in Love" retread.

That's not to say that the album has no great songs. An early Toots and the Maytals ska track is solid, the Jackie Mittoo instrumental is further evidence of his greatness and Lloyd Price's funkier "Coconut Woman" offers a nice change of pace. But if you, like me, seek only classic traditional reggae compilations and expect otherworldly greatness from the amazing Soul Jazz label, 300% will probably disappoint.

This is an excellent introduction to anyone who likes true reggae but finds the jungle of unknown artists a tad dawnting to pick through.On the whole all of the Dynamite series are worth buying and this is the pick of a good bunch.All the tracks are exciting, happy and uplifting but none are cheesy or tacky.There are 4 tracks that are absolute classics:

'Under me sleng teng' by Wayne Smith
'Bam Bam' by Sister Nancy
'Take it Easy' by Hopeton Lewis' (worth the price of the album on its own).

'Coconut Woman'

This is an album everyone would enjoy for it's funky,catchy beats.