Various – Shades Of Love

While former member of the Fat Eyes crew, Collin ‘Bulby’ York, comes up with a relicked version of the Jah Shakey aka Far East riddim, producer/engineer Lynford ‘Fatta’ Marshall presents a lovely fresh original riddim on Shades Of Love.

Since the 1990s, ‘Fatta’ Marshall and Fat Eyes Productions have produced some of Jamaica’s best artist such as U Roy, Queen Ifrica, Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Mr. Vegas, Sean Paul, Yellowman, Beres Hammond, Terror Fabulous, Lady Saw, Tanya Stephens, Mad Cobra, Spice, Capleton, just to name a few. They created numerous riddims including the Hot Wax Riddim with Bounty Killer’s ’90s hit song Dem Leave Di World In A Suspense, the African Beat Riddim with Capleton & Yami Bolo’s Put Down Yuh Weapon, the Renegade Riddim with Lexus & Mr. Vegas’s hit song Why, and the Soldier Riddim with Beres Hammond and Flourgon’s I Love Jah. They also produced full length albums such as Culture’s Humble African and Singing Melody’s They Call Me Mr. Melody.

The tracklist of Shades Of Love features the names of seasoned artists like Lymie Murray, Jigsy King, and John Mouse as well as upcomers like Shanty B, Abafanti, and Diainty. And it’s title indicates, Shades Of Love features a riddim with a strong lovers vibe, which however doesn’t imply that every track deals with affairs of the heart. It are Abafanti’s great social commentary Down In A The Barrel, Jigsy King’s solid message tune Woman Is Active, and the uplifting Gather Yourself by Lymie Murray which show that you don’t necessarily need to deliver a love song across this riddim to leave a good impression. Silkkey D’s nice This Is Love feat. Joe Lickshot gets the lovers train going followed by Shanty B with the really appetizing Let Me Love You . Veteran singer John Mouse, given name Michael Hutchinson, shows that he’s still capable of coming up with a steady song. Next comes Diainty’s golden voice which can be fulljoyed while listening to Baby Boy. Only seven vocal cuts here, but you’ll surely enjoy them all on some level.