Posted on: February 9, 2011 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

There are not many artists that do a reggae style that have made it big in the last few years. The style of Akon is moderated through a number of other styles, and Shaggy has been in the public eye for well over a decade. Rankin’ Scroo, even though this is an album from six years ago, is trying to make it big in this day and time. The disc’s first musical track, “Riding West” is a pretty tame track that seems to go back to the same general tempo and style a number of times.

The only thing that stands out during this first track is Scroo’s harmonies at specific points. The track only breaks free of the general sound a few times during the track, and ends quietly before Scroo moves into “Lyrical Tongue”. However, the instrumentation is bland and does not give Scroo anything in the way of support. Considering that both “Riding West” and “Lyrical Tongue” are the first few tracks of the disc, the fact that these songs do not excite or invigorate in anyways is a shame. “Wyle Syde” is Scroo’s third crack at the big time, and the same problems plague Scroo. While there are times where the flow gets interesting, it just seems that there is little in the way of instrumentation that individuals just have to hear.

“Wyle Syde” pushes the harmonies to another level, but the meandering, slow style of Scroo’s instrumentation is just not enough to keep individual listening to this long (17 tracks) CD. The slightly faster tempo of “California Gangster” makes the track into the first song on “Godfada” that could be construed as a success. There is still the laid-back style present, but the harmonies mesh well with the instrumentation that is present to create a song that is closer to being a single than anything else previously on the disc. While it is always great to hear another album that was released that previously never shown the life of day, there is nothing here that individuals have to listen to. There are better reggae artists, there are better individuals laying down instrumentation for these styles of music. Skip “Godfada” and pick up a compilation disc of similar music; chances are good that one will find a much more interesting artist or set of artists on this disc than the chance that they will be impressed by Scroo.

Top Tracks: Pride, Coverlude

Rating: 2.5/10

Rankin’ Scroo – Godfada / 2001 Self / 17 Tracks / http://www.rankinscroo.com / Reviewed 24 May 2007

[JMcQ]

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