Album Review: The Journey: The very best of Sizzla

This is why I love Pandora radio so much, because it helps me find great music like this.  Sizzla came up on my Buju Banton radio station the other day and I was so intrigued that I had to learn more about him.  He is supposedly a dancehall artist but on this particular album he seems to be channeling Bob Marley more than Bounty Killer.  This actually serves him well because he has the vocal chops to stand up as a peer to Bob Marley in fact when he gets too many synthesizers and dancehall elements into his songs it actually takes away from them in my opinion.   He creates a distinctly old school reggae sound by incorporating real instruments in with his electronic sounds and by utilizing some very talented back up singers to really hammer home the melodic choruses that are common in his songs.  The tone on this album is very Rastafarian with most songs involving praising Jah, Selassie and Rastafari. 

Sizzla's voice work is pretty exquisite, he almost takes a R&B approach to many of his songs, and his vocal range is impressive to say the least, in the song "like mountain" he utilizes quick upbeat rhymes in a driving beat; while on the track Be Strong he utilizes an impressive falsetto over a slightly latin sounding guitar and classic reggae instrumentation.  In all it is safe to say that Sizzla's vocal prowess is advanced and he knows how to use it to keep the listener interested.

The tracks that I like on this album are:

1) Just One of Those Days (Dry Cry)

This song is a straight up classic reggae throwback, complete with reggae instrumentation a minimum of electronic tinkering if any,  It also comes complete with skilled background singers and showcases Sizzla's vocal range.  This is also one of the only songs not concerning Rastafarianism on the album instead being a "Missing You" type of regretful love song.

2) The Solution

A little bit more Hip-Hop than Dry Cry, this one utilizes mellow reggae instrumentation as well with minimal electronic meddling.  The lyrics are what make this along with the heartfelt delivery.

3) Ain't Gonna See us Fall

Getting into more dancehall territory with this slow jam, electronic manipulation is a little more evident, the beat is pretty sick, and the intro really gets your attention right away. Vocal work on this track is exquisite and the lyrics are great.

 4) Love is Divine

This song uses a drum machine in more dance hall influenced beats but also uses instruments in a Reggae influenced manner, the intro gets your attention right away and the lyrics again are very good. The vocal work besides the intro isn't as interesting but this is one of my favorite songs on the Album nonetheless.

If you like Reggae, I would strongly recommend checking out Sizzla and this album in particular.