So Many Things

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Total Tracks: 16   Total Length: 51:52

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Jeff Chang

eMusic Contributor

04.29.08
A defiantly humanist debut that lingers long on the mind.
Label: VP Music Group, Inc / INgrooves

Of all the Bobo dreads, Anthony B's stentorian voice was never as supple as Sizzla's or scorching as Capleton's. Instead, it was something else entirely: defiantly humanist. "Raid the Barn" decries the environmental and economic rape of the Third World in a bone-chilling chorus, "Nobody want to plant the corn/ Everybody wanna raid the barn." "Cold Feet" is a brilliant cover of Tracy Chapman's ode to a homeless child. "Fire Pon Rome" was the shocker, a nyahbinghi anthem in which the young Bobo named the people's enemies in government and business. Even without the island context, Anthony B's 1996 debut lingers long on the mind.

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They Say All Music Guide

Within the realm of ’90s reggae music, Anthony B.’s brilliant debut album, So Many Things, did much to help usher in the age of the conscious DJ. Picking up where the late Garnett Silk left off, Anthony B. unites Rastafarian roots to dancehall rhythms. With “so many things to teach right now,” his messages are thoroughly positive, even when in defiant mode as in “Fire Pon Rome.” Calls for political justice, repatriation, and an end to youth violence are tempered with spiritual rapture as the production of Richard Bell fuels the fires. “Raid the Barn” serves as an excellent example of Anthony B. at his best, with his melodic singing nicely complementing his rhythmic chatting. A duet with Garnett Silk called “World in Trouble” takes the textured concept to its beautiful extreme. Inspiring from start to finish, So Many Things stands as a cultural stalwart in a sea of moral midgets. – Robert Gabriel

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