Customer Reviews

Awake

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'll keep it short and sweet. Best CD from Julian to date! LOVE IT! Every song is excellent. If you were to take Stephen Marley's last cd and Damian Marley's and fuse the two you get this CD! The best of both worlds I would say. Not to take from either of those two cd's because they are both excellent as well. Great job Julian! Keep makin' that fyah! Look forward to seeing this album perfomed live! Next..Damian's new one?! Meanwhile I will listen to this and wait for the Damian/Nas callobration until Jr. Gong hits us with his next solo cd! Love & Raspect!

Julian Marley has released a couple other albums previous to "Awake." His previous efforts were good, but not nearly as polished as "Awake." A major reason his new album is more polished is that it is extremely well produced. Adding the talents of the likes of Stephen Marley, Marcia Griffiths, Damian Marley, and Mr. Cheeks does not hurt either.

"Awake" is fairly straightforward reggae with some R&B. The roots reggae songs are particularly strong. Some people think that of all the Marley children, Julian sounds most like his father, Bob Marley. If anyone doubts that assertion, just listen to the song "Stay With Me." You would swear that Bob recorded this playful little number. It's an amazing song. There are no bad songs on the album, with the vast majority being excellent. Listing my favorite songs would essentially result in my listing most of the album. The overall quality is that impressive.

It's refreshing to see the Marley children each taking their own direction with their music. It's also cool that they are collaborating with each other some, as in the case of "Awake." Stephen and Julian really put together something special as the producers of the album. "Awake" should greatly please fans of reggae music.

You can play this CD straight through. My top songs are A Little too Late with Stephen Marley, Oh Girl W/ Mr. Cheeks and Violence W/ Damian Marley. Finally music with substance. All the Marley brothers make music for the mind and soul.... No autotunes!!!

Rastaman! Wow , what a great cd . I saw Julian live in Beijing at the 2008 Olympics. His dad would be so proud of him inheriting so many of his characteristics. An amazing sound ,carefully mixing his own style of reggae with what his father taught him. Would love to hear an album from Bobs kids cover playing all the legendary songs from the master himself Bob Marley.

this is my first julian marley cd. i am very impressed with both the musical and lyrical quality of his work. this is an excellent fusion of rasta culture and progressive reggae music. give it a listed and you will find yourself wanting to listen again and again.

Hands down, one of the best reggae albums ever! Stand out tracks to me include Boom Draw, Awake, and Sharp as a Razor. If you're into reggae, definitely check out this one!

Awake is a good solid album. The title track is really great and Boom Draw just makes me want to listen to it over and over. Violence in the Streets is done well. I give this 3 stars because a few of the songs sound uninspired and a bit generic, but they are not in any way bad, they just don't make you sit up and say "Wow!" I am very happy I made this purchase. Julian is my 4th favorite Son of Bob and I want to own more of his music. When he gets it right, it is top notch and even the tunes I didn't care for too much are still pretty darn good.

It is like listening to a contemporary Bob marley. Best work so far Julian, dad must be smiling down.

The `yutes' get their comfort in the connection between unemployment and crime on Violence (featuring Jr Gong, the other outright rockers tune) and Marley's statement of manhood in Trying. The omnipresent, but unspecified `Babylon' and its tricky ways is addressed on Sharp As a Razor. There is the "get on the dance floor and jam" invitation On The Floor and the outright stab at philosophy on All I Know (which plays on the `bucket to the well every day

I'm known for being quite the "Jr. Gong" fan (always), however, over the past few years, I've gotten to hear all the Marley men, and they are all quite talented. I recently had the privilege of listening to an interview a friend of mine did with Julian for NewsTalk 93FM in Jamaica regarding this particular album and I must say that "the more you know, the more you grow", so to speak. And believe me, Julian Marley has his own voice--he knows it quite well and is very much "Awake". And like Damian (whom he works quite well with, and Stephen as well), he's grown quite nicely over the years and will continue to do so--without little doubts. His father would be very proud of all his children. As I heard it said, "it's all about the message". And the music. And Julian definitely has unique vibe all his own that is very natural that come from his roots and from deep within. He's not trying to sound like anyone but Julian and he executes it brilliantly.

But what do I know..I've just been doing research for a major reggae music project. I have to know my genre from the beginning to its current state and following an entire musical tradition from its foundation helps a listener to realize a lot of things--and believe me, Julian and his brothers KNOW EXACTLY where they came from--and a little bit more.