ALPHA BLONDY

Jah Victory

(p) 2007-nov-06

CD:

Tracklisting:

 
01 I Wish You Were Here  
02 Sankara  
03 Ranita  
04 Ne Tirez Pas Sur L'Ambulance  
05 Demain T'Appartient (ft Lester Bilal)  
06 Bahia  
07 Mister Grande Gueule  
08 Africa Yako  
09 Cameroun  
10 Jah Light  
11 Le Bal Des Combattus (ft Didi Kalombo)  
12 Tampiri  
13 Les Salauds  
14 Sales Racistes  
15 Ikafô  
16 Jesus  
17 Gban Gban  
18 La Planète  
19 La Route De La Paix  
ALPHA BLONDY PRODUCTIONS / MEDIACOM, MED 0307 CD

REVIEW IN ENGLISH:
SOURCE: ROOTS MUSIC Reggae & Dancehall
AUTHOR: Teacha Dan



That Pink Floyd music lends itself very well to be reggaefied has already been proven beyond doubt by the Easy Star All Stars when they released their album Dub Side Of The Moon in 2003. Alpha Blondy’s brand new set opens with a take on Pink Floyd's 'Wish You Were Here' and it is not a bad attempt at all. The riddim and acoustic opening are very okay but then comes the synthesised bagpipes melody, which will make the average Dutch reggae listener scream in agony. It is the same sound used for the melody of Piet Veerman's 1987 mega hit 'Sailin' home'.

Jah Victory holds a total of nineteen tracks and features a few more covers. 'Ne Tirez Pas Sur L'Ambulance' is a retake on Alpha Blondy's own 1986 signature song 'Jerusalem' but now he chants "Ma Côte d'Ivoire, je t'aime". 'Sales Racistes' is a French language version of Bob Marley's 'Crazy Baldheads' and it sounds just as convincing as his earlier attempts at Bob Marley songs like 'Mystere Naturelle', a cover of 'Natural Mystic', to be found on Grand Bassam Zion Rock (1996) and 'La Guerre', a cover of 'War' that can be found on Dieu (1995).

The tone of Jah Victory is generally upbeat with the usual superb backing vocals and the occasional rock guitar lick. Alpha Blony's voice is hoarser than ever, something that was also too apparent when he perfomed in front of a sold out Melkweg (Amsterdam) recently. This disc is his first in five years since he vowed not to release any more music until his beloved Ivory Coast knew peace once more.

There are some welcome surprises on Alpha's latest like the rumba inspired 'Le Bal Des Combattus' featuring young and hip Congolese chanter Didi Kalombo who uses his deeply earth grounded voice to great effect. The tune takes an African/South-American feel like the songs of Africando or even the Buena Vista Social Club. The next tune has been recorded with it's melody prsented as a ringtone! 'Tampiri' is very Arabic in rhythm and in it's instrumentation and the ringtonish Arab melody sets it apart from the rest of the tracks.

The album was recorded with Tyrone Downie, Sly and Robbie, Sticky and Chinna Smith, among many other, mostly non Jamaican artists. Though it boasts Tuff Gong as one of it's recording studios the album does not reach the same level of deep reggae roots found on the albums Jerusalem and Yitzhak Rabin which Alpha Blondy previously recorded at that legendary recording studio. Instead Jah Victory is a very fine traditional Alpha Blondy record, with plenty engaged and sometimes controversial lyrics, his nineteenth in twentyfive years as a recording artist.

(Teacha Dan, December 2007)