Title
Artist
Label
Format
Date

 Against The Grain
Lloyd Brown
Charm-Jet Star
CD
16-06-2003

Track list
  1. Intro
  2. Ebony Jones
  3. Main Squeeze
  4. No More
  5. Food For Thought
  6. Mr. Brown
  7. You Must Know feat. Don Campbell
  8. Close To Thee
  9. The Living Years
  10. Bless Me
  11. Romeo
  12. Sitting In Limbo feat. Enyonam
  13. Nothing But Love
  14. Can't Done
  15. Satisfy My Soul
  16. Jerusalem
  17. Smile
  18. Feeding Off The Love Of The Land feat. Omar
  19. Love Within The Music feat. Richie Davis, Bitty McLean, Patrick Johnson, Michael Gordon, Trevor Hartley, JC Lodge, Sylvia Tella & Donna Marie
Rating : from 5 (excellent) to 1 (poor)
Vocals : 5 Backing : 4/5 Production : 4/5 Sound quality : 5 Sleeve : 4
Although he's been making quality reggae music for almost two decades, Lloyd Brown achieved wider recognition in the past few years. With a growing reputation in the UK following his excellent "Deep" album and reggae chart singles such as "Fill Me In", "Main Squeeze" and "Bless Me", he's now making substantial inroads in the US and will continue to do so with the Jet Star release "Against The Grain", Lloyd's highly anticipated new album. This well produced 19 track cd shows that he's definitely one of the UK's finest reggae voices, which makes that he's now being compared to Jamaican greats like Beres Hammond and Freddie McGregor. On this entertaining set Lloyd Brown sings of reality, matters of the heart, and his personal relationship with God. This cd includes most of his recent output on 7" single and thus you're treated to "Main Squeeze" (on the "Columbus" riddim) and "Bless Me", two recent singles that dominated the airwaves for months and opened important doors for UK reggae in the US, with producer Lloyd Campbell licensing the wonderful "Bless Me" for VP’s "Strictly The Best 30", and "Main Squeeze" racing up the New York reggae charts. Further great tunes worth of hearing are the wicked "Ebony Jones", "Food For Thought" - the killer vocal to a vibrant reworking of Aswad's "Warrior Charge" - and the wry cover of "Mr. Brown". Also outstanding efforts are the impressive "Close To Thee (great organ and horn parts!) with its talk of false testament, the soulful lovers tune "Nothing But Love" and "Romeo", a song that glows with tenderness, and also wise counsel. CD only tracks are the solid duet with Don Campbell "You Must Know", the outrageous "Satisfy My Soul, a faithful version of The Abyssinian's "Jerusalem", the beautiful "Can't Done", a combination with Omar on Stevie Wonder’s "Feeding Off The Love Of The Land" and a version of the current Penthouse All Star single "Love Within The Music".
All in all a varied and entertaining album on which Lloyd Brown's artistry shines from every track.


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