CD Review

"Fifth Anniversary Edition"

Various Artists

Jamdown Records

Mr. Marlon

In the riddim-by-day pace of dancehall, five years might as well be equivalent to five dog years, and Jamdown Records celebrates its longevity as part of this Fifth Anniversary Edition. Armed with two discs, one titled Reggae and the other, Dancehall, there's a gathering of over sixty tunes from it's classic Dancehall Xplosion series, to their Best of the Best series, all the way through to their other Reggae Hits series, Dancehall Bashment and Ultimate Reggae & Dancehall Mix series.

On disc one, although titled "Reggae," the engine is revved up to spark some vicious dancehall tonic in the beginning as Sean Paul spits the electrifying current on "Give Me a Try," blended right into Buju's "Up Close & Personal" and then into Tanto Metro & Devonte's classic, "Everyone Falls in Love," all over the same riddim. Wheew! This is the exact session that brought Jamdown to fame, as Jazzy T put it down on their Dancehall Xplosion '97 series. What a way to kick off, and the party don't stop. Continuously mixed from hit to hit, the next crucial riddim blending in succession extends with the "Pink Lotion" riddim, where we see Brian & Tony Gold on "Must Be a Sign" cool the tempo into a swinging lovers' rock groove. Tanto Metro & Devonte are up next, elevating the enjoyable vibes on their "Longtime." From here on, others like Beres, Ghost, ARP and many others try to uphold disc one, but by the mediocre material they've left here compared to the highlights mentioned above, it's on to the next disc.

On disc two, titled "Dancehall," Sean Paul again sets it off, this time over the "Bookshelf" riddim on his real breakthrough smash, "Deport Them" which slips into Mr. Vegas' "Jack it Up" and by the time the blending gives Tanya Stephens the light on her version, "From Yuh Hot," unleash your rag to dry the sweat off your brow. With sirens wailing and bass pumping your speakers into a climax, the reminiscing on these upcoming tunes are precious as Jazzy T loads the turntable with Red Rat's "Dwayne" and I give you permission to scream - "Oh noooooooo!" From here on out, nothing disappoints - Scare Dem Crew's "Girls Everyday" minces up the pot of stew bringing in toasters next in line, from Mr. Vegas' "Yuh Sure (Hands Up)," to Spragga Benz's "She Nuh Ready Yet." Plus other timeless riddims like Dave Kelly's "Bug" and "Joyride" riddims are ridden by Wayne Wonder and Tanya Stephens. Even Sean Paul's "Punkie" finds itself here, and with a string of number one hits by Mad Anju, Beenie Man, Elephant Man and Harry Todler still to come, it is this second disc that makes the Fifth Anniversary Edition, a must for any true lover of dancehall.

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Mr. Marlon, "Musical Murder" columnist of The Beat Magazine, is the dancehall reviews selector, as well as the annual guest editor for The Beat's dancehall issue. He's occasionally the digi DJ under another alias, DJ Pelau, and he's been a music consultant for DMX Music's reggae format for the past five years. Outside of the reggae world, he's a staff writer for hiphopsite.com, and continues to be a contributing writer to The Source, Rollingstone.com, Cdnow.com, launch.com, Atmosphere Magazine (UK) and more if you can catch him!