Search - Various Artists :: Strictly Best 17

Solid - Worth Four AND A HALF stars.

jahluv | Hamilton Bermuda | 04/29/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This album is a great sampling of the best Dancehall Reggae artists out when it was released. Every track is good, with most being of a very high standard. There are only a couple which in my opinion can be skipped past, and they don't cause pain if they aren't skipped. The whole thing has been put together very well, it sounds like whoever put it together actually sat down and thought about the track order rather then just throwing them together, which compilatios can suffer as a result of. As I already said - these tracks are HOT. It really is "Strictly the Best!" The first intro is kind of forgettable. It's at track two that the good stuff really starts. After the driving bassline of "Robin Hood" by General Degree (track two) comes Beenie Man's "Blackboard" with jazzy horns and Beenie's signature style mixing perfectly. It's all uphill from here, with other standout tracks being "Politics Time Again" by Buju Banton, "Fire Pon Rome" by Antony B, and "Who Send Them, remix" by Bounty Killa which uses what sounds like a sample of 2Pac's "Troublesome" as the beat in the background, and sounds fierce as hell. EVERY SINGLE SONG ON THIS COMPILATION SHINES THOUGH - those are just my personal favorates. The only track that I sometimes skip past on there is "Nutty Butty", which is not the more famous version of the track, but a collaberation between a female vocalist named Little Wicked and beatboxer Doug-E-Fresh. It isn't bad (at all) but after all the strong bass and hot production on the other tracks the beatboxing seems a bit spare on it's own. As a whole this album is a must-have for any Reggae fan AND FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST GETTING INTO REGGAE. It featrues most of the best artists and some of their best songs. A solid selection worthy of at least four stars, or more.."