Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers - Spirit of Music

(Warners)

****

Review: Graham Reid

Always much underrated, this man who is truly the Son of Bob has, on previous albums, extended the contract of reggae back to Africa and - with brother Steven handling the rap - shifted into some hip-hop connections.

All this went straight past most people who heard this outfit's debut album and, forgivably, consigned Ziggy to the same category as Julian Lennon.

With Bob having such a high profile right now - a top 10 album with Chant Down Babylon, the No 1 single and another at No 11 - maybe it's time to turn attention back to the family band which instigated Chant Down.

Here's the ideal start then, because this time out - with drummer Jim Keltner, Don Was on bass, trumpeter Mark Isham in Miles-mode and others - Ziggy and the MMs now shift the focus to a kind of blues-roots reggae. Despite some lyrical shortcomings and the odd Rasta cliche, this one has been slipping back into the stereo effortlessly this past week, bumping out most other contenders when the mood is lazy'n'hazy.

Opening with the rural backdoor blues of Keep My Faith (with harmonica and slack-string guitar blues) and the ballad We Are One which recalls Dad at his most world weary, Ziggy signals this is no ordinary reggae album.

By the third track - the chiming, cheery pop ballad Beautiful Day, full of classic Petty-like chords with former Heartbreaker Benmont Tench on organ and a delivery akin to Willie DeVille - you might be forgiven if you wondered where the Marley reggae pulse has gone.

It appears next up with the mesmerising Gone Away ("to the place where there is no night and day") which can be read as Bob's address from beyond. That Ziggy sounds so much like his father makes it slightly chilling.

Thereafter things take a dip - neither Higher Vibration or All I Need is You are of much consequence - but proceedings lift with One Good Spliff, a paean to the herb over a breezy Caribbean melody and with a lazy Quest-like rap, and when Steve takes over vocals for a straight-ahead treatment of Bob's minor but likeable High Tide or Low Tide.

Despite the sense, some thin lyrics are stretched wide. With the seasoned players on hand, some brackets of Ziggy's finest songs of recent years, and supple music which again pushes the boundaries of reggae, this deserves to stand alongside Chant Down Babylon near your stereo this summer.

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