Youth

Matisyahu

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 7, 2006)
• Original Release Date: March 7, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000BYCOD6
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (111 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,679 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #2 in	Music > Folk > Jewish & Yiddish Music
  #5 in	Music > World Music > Europe > Eastern Europe
  #12 in	Music > World Music > Compilations > Reggae

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The thumbnail description of Matisyahu: File under Hasidic Beatbox Reggae. Despite having markings of novelty, it's really nothing of the sort. Fronted by a man named Matisyahu (born Matthew Miller), they are truly a band. Two independently released CDs brought them a rapid and well-deserved ascent, making their signing with a major label a logical step. Youth benefits from a more expansive sound and production by the fantastic Bill Laswell (Golden Palominos, Laurie Anderson, the Last Poets). Matisyahu's singing and the substance of his songs (spiritual living, self-awareness, the value of knowledge and learning, kindness to others) are presented with a loving sincerity, and buoyed by tremendous musicianship. In particular, drummer Jonah David and guitarist Aaron Dugan bring a wider set of influences and interests to their playing than the reggae tag the band often gets. Free of any proselytizing, this melding of Talmudic teachings and Jamaican rhythms flows so naturally that it underscores the shared roots of the two cultures. --David Greenberger

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Ultimate Cross-Over, April 22, 2006

By	Amanda Richards "Modest to the extreme" (Georgetown, Guyana) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Next time you’re strolling through Crown Heights, Brooklyn and happen to see a tall, bespectacled young man wearing the garb of the Hasidic Jewish community coming towards you, try humming a few bars of Bob Marley’s “Exodus” and see if he smiles at you and joins in.

Matthew Paul Miller (Matisyahu) spreads his messages of faith and “consciousness” through the reggae medium, and although this sounds strange to say the least, he’s getting his message across, particularly to the young people. As he sings on title track and second single “Youth”:

“Take a stand
Fan a fire for the flame of the youth
Got the freedom to choose
You better make the right move
Young man, the power's in your hand”

His style borrows heavily from the vintage reggae of Marley and the spiritual messages of singers like Luciano rather than the popular dance hall music of Sean Paul, but you can also hear other influences such as The Police in “Despatch the Troops”, and Matthew Wilder in “Jerusalem”, as well as rap and hip hop.

Matisyahu gives his all in his live performances, as can be seen in the video for “King Without a Crown”, his first single that made the world sit up and pay attention. If it takes a gimmick to get the message of peace and harmony to young people than I’m all for it.

Maybe not the best reggae album in the world, or the most spiritually uplifting, but certainly fun, catchy and with no need for Parental Advisory warnings.


Amanda Richards, April 22, 2006

39 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars begging for airplay, March 7, 2006

By	J. Duncan (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

this is a partial departure from Matis' (sadly) out of print debut album "Shake Off the Dust... Arise." whereas the first album was a delightful combination of reggae, hip-hop, gypsy and powerful spiritual rhymes, "youth" modifies the sound with strong elements of indie rock (especially the title track), folk ("what i'm fighting for"), electronica and even - eegads - vocoder. guitar solos most closely associated with rock are prominently featured, especially on the "king without a crown" remake and the title track (coincidentally my least favorite tracks.) some of the songs would fit quite nicely on a red hot chili peppers album.

that said, songs like "jerusalem" and "unique is my dove" deliver enough of the original matisyahu to keep current fans happy. the gamble is that the attempt for greater popular airplay will score a few hits while not losing too many existing fans. my guess is the indie-rock space is too crowded already and that this album won't lose too many fans. however, another album of this sort would probably take the shine off of this otherwise bright star without the hoped for benefit of a hit.

put another way, an essential part of matisyahu's appeal was the spiritual aspect which added a sincerity that made him standout from the constant bombardment of commercial acts. another CD like this would be all but certain to destroy that image and i'm afraid matis would digress into a clown act.

after a few listens i've pretty much abandoned "youth" and reverted back to matis' earlier stuff. normally i would have given this music 3 stars but out of respect for matisyhau i gave it 4.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT STUFF... too bad MTV entered the fray, March 18, 2006

By	Gabriel Elias "Gabriel Elias" (Beltway,USA) - See all my reviews

The new lion from zion does not dissappoint.

I noticed that MTV started playing his videos. Too bad. It means you get teenyboppers looking for Ryan Seacrest's newest fave. The most imporant thing to know about this album and his albums in general are that this is not the "Jewish" Bob Marley, traditional reggae (is there such a thing), or Sean Paul feat. Beyonce. It's enjoyable and spiritual: the man creates great music, has great charisma and a great message. Back to my original point, it is a different reggae-- Bob Marley, Shaggy, Sean Paul and (say what?) Sublime (some posts mentioned these) are just a few popular manifestations of a diaspora of beats that have notably conquered the world--South Africa and Brazil are great examples of reggae hubs. So why not Crown Heights already? In the tradition of the greatest reggae master Jimmy Cliff, he gives props and plenty of freedom of expression to his band. And yeah.. he's Chassidic. BFD. He could be an Eskimo and his music would still feel good!

Gabriel Elias