Customer Reviews

Trojan Soulful Reggae

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

 

 

First off, let me say that the Trojan box sets are the greatest thing since gin met tonic. That said, I was very disappointed with this particular offering. The songs don't translate well (mostly), the singing was bad (sometimes mediocre), and, after reading the track list a few times, I realized that most of the original versions weren't that great to begin with. "Rock The Boat"? "Kung Fu Fighting"? "T.S.O.P"? W.T.F.?
Q: So why buy this set anyway? A: Because you need to get your hands on ALL reggae, good and bad. You'll have to look long and hard for these songs individually, so why not shell out the $25 or so and get 'em all neatly packaged w/ liner notes. If you're on a budget (like most of us), get something else, like the Instrumentals set or one of the Ska volumes.

If you can play most of these soul standards, imagine throwing in the reggae rhythm section. This box is great. James Brown's "make it funky" becomes "make it reggae"! "Aint no sunshine" and the marvin gaye tune are excellent. This is also nonstop fun. I bought this before a long drive and had to figure out what each tune was in the first couple of measures. Soul and groove are definitely here. If you dont dig it you must be bloodless! Quality of guitarists in Jamaica must be a little weak though!

If you love these 70's tunes, you are gonna love this box. I have about 9 or 10 of these boxes and this is one that I probably listen to the most because it's soooo fun. The songs are pretty close to the originals without an overwhelming reggae influence, but it makes them almost better than the originals.

After having the market flooded with nearly four thousand box sets, how is one to choose?

I went with this one thinking it was going to be nice and funky interpretations of American soul songs, but instead am left with three cds of bland covers. It's like listening to a Jamaican wedding band. The tracks are just straight covers with a little skanky upbeat thrown in for the "foreign spice".

The only cd worth listening to is the second one, devoted to 'funk'. This is actually pretty enjoyable. Disc one (motown) and disc three (love songs) are so boring I couldn't keep my finger off the fast forward button on my remote control.

If you're into funky interpretations of American soul or soulful reggae, stick to the SoulJazz label's 100% comps or the Studio One Soul collections. Much more worth your money, even if you are only getting one cd for the one cd price.

If you love these 70's tunes, you are gonna love this box. I have about 9 or 10 of these boxes and this is one that I probably listen to the most because it's soooo fun. The songs are pretty close to the originals without an overwhelming reggae influence, but it makes them almost better than the originals.