MORGAN HERITAGE

Full Circle

(p) 2005-jun-07

CD:

Tracklisting:

 
01 Jah Comes First (aka Jah Comes Only)  
02 Armageddon Calls  
03 One Day  
04 Move On  
05 Uncomfortable (aka Hail Up The Lion)  
06 Hail Rastafari  
07 I'm Still The Same  
08 Your Best Friend (ft. LMS)  
09 Girlz 'Round Da World (ft. Damian Marley)  
10 Enough Is Enough (ft. Cobra)  
11 I'm Coming Home  
12 Gangsta Groupie  
13 Propaganda  
14 Mek Wi Try (ft. Bushman)  
15 So Much To Come  
16 Tell Me How Come  
17 U've Got Me (Remix) (ft. Bounty Killer & Sizzla & LMS)  
VP / 71 RECORDS / VPCD 1685 CD
VP / 71 RECORDS / VPRL 1685 LP

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



Morgan Heritage's sixth studio album for VP records is called Full circle and like it's predecessors it has again become a very slick album. Nobody should question the musical abilities of the self proclaimed Royal Family of Reggae. Roy (Gramps) and Peter, who take most of the leading vocals on their recordings, have really gifted voices and the four riddims/tunes on their latest album which they actually wrote themselves are not better or worse than the other productions. Full Circle consists mostly of modern rootsy reggae songs with a rock streak.

All of Denroy Morgan's kids were raised with rasta values, but still inside in the US of A. No one in their right mind could thus accuse the Morgan family, whether it be Morgan Heritage or their siblings LMS of selling out to an American audience. This is their innate form of reggae; a mix of the styles they grew up with. When they voice tunes for true reggae and dancehall producers like e.g. Bobby Digital, Vendetta Bennett or Donovan Germain over already existing riddim tracks, Morgan Heritage sometimes sounds a bit tacky but also always crispy in a sort of clear R&B-ish style. When these tracks later appear on a Morgan Heritage album like Full Circle they often are remixed, with added rock guitar riffs, vokoders and the likes, in an attempt to make the album more appealing to their home audience. The cover of the album has the group dressed up in tough black and white and shows two of the Morgans in very lavishly garmented leather jackets. Appealing?

The lyrics on Full Circle are mostly conscious. The straight rasta tunes are pretty good, but the socio critical ones are not really critical; "Living in a time, when joy will turn to pain, sunshine will turn to rain, one day, we'll all smile again" (from 'One Day'), or what about: "If you think the judgement started, there's so much more left to come, if you think your tears are run yet, there's so much more tears to run, if you think you've seen 'nough blood yet, there’s so much blood to run" (from 'So Much To Come')? With lyrics like these do they not feed the fear so many Americans are addicted to in our time?

There are also some attempts at more uplifting or easier R&B style lyrics but some of these are really hard to swallow from a rasta group. Just one quote from 'Your Best Friend'. Read and see what you make of it; "Your best friend, who became my friend, and behind your back she tried to get in my pants, baby I admit it, I didn't hit it, cause if I did, I wouldn't be no better than your friend, who became my friend, and (..repeat)". Lyrically wise these guys often reap frowns.

Full Circle consists of seventeen tracks and some ten of those are over rhythms which were previously released on 7", like the Bushfire riddim on the All Access label, Nine Eleven on Lion Paw, Telephone Ting on Big Yard and the One For The Road riddim on Digital-B. There is also a cut on what many consider the best roots riddim of 2004; the Drop Leaf riddim from the Don Corleon label. Two of the riddim tracks are derived from foundation tunes. 'Hail Up The Lion' (aka Uncomfortable) is cut over a version of 'Stop That Train' by Keith and Tex from ±1967 and 'Gangsta Groupie' is over Penthouse's brilliant rendition of Dennis Brown's early 1970's hit for Niney the Observer; 'Some Like It Hot'.

Morgan Heritage's latest outing sounds good and is a rather well balanced collection with some dancehall tunes but with a heavy reggae overtone. The selected riddims are very nice and guest appearances by Cobra, Bushman, Sizzla, Bounty Killer and by very hip Marley kid Damian "Jr Gong" complement the production. Reggae with the American touch and some crossover rock songs but reggae still.

(Teacha Dan)