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Maybe I thought the first Mr. Anonymous record was an anomaly…
a development of a weird side-thing that Jeep MacNichol had
going. I was most obviously incorrect, and it occurs to me now that
Jeep was most probably one hundred percent responsible for everything
that made The Samples anything close to reggae. On his latest
outing, the incredible Mr. Anonymous 2, MacNichol leaves behind
any traces of his wild Boulder roots and falls headlong into the music
that lies deep in the heart of Jamaica and the Caribbean, and then
steps it up with some remix-style grooves and nearly approaches hip-hop
at times.
The album begins with a very nice little jam entitled "Cool
Vibe"; acoustic guitar over beautiful drumming and an easy beat
that simply screams for warm weather and cold beverages. The song
features an appearance by Mega Banton on vocals and makes for
a smooth introduction to the greatness that is to come. Ranking
Jr. takes vocal duties on "One Pretty Woman", quite
possibly my favorite song of the summer, if not one of the best songs
of the decade. Ranking Jr.'s toasting is fast and clean, highlighted
by a bit of perfectly placed auto-tune robotness and a brilliant poppy
groove that captures the spirit of the song, and the beauty of the
summer, in a most perfect fashion; the song has a very cinematic air
about it, carried along the deliberate drumming, light accent instruments,
and heavy effects. Jeep dives into dub on "Pinchers Version"
featuring Pinchers on toasting and the heavy, heavy sounds
of "Be Honest" with Brando taking vocal duties. "Be
Honest" is an edgy dancehall track; vicious toasting along a
growling, throbbing beat. Mega Banton reappears on "Blaze Dub",
a more musical track with heavily-effected acoustic guitars and switch
drumming, carried along by jungle noises, club effects, and epic vocals.
The first teaser from the album was the amazing "Discotheque"
featuring Afrobot; a light but dancey track with heavily synthesized
vocals and absolutely brilliant melodies that feed a rhythm directly
to the base of the soul… the feet move and the heart rejoices
in the beauty of the feel.
Ranking Roger makes a couple of appearances on the record,
the first of which is "Chi Widdley Bup", a very melodic
and keyboard-heavy track with disconnected vocals and some cool Ranking
Roger toasts thrown in. This track nearly abandons the reggae feel
for 4-on-the-floor dance music, but the guitars and vocals keep it
pinned back to the vibe. "Senegal To Jupiter" features Afrobot
and Boubacar Diabate throwing down some African vibe into an
almost light hip-hop track that drops not only magnificent beats,
but a plethora of vocoded bits. Ranking Roger takes the lead on the
more traditional reggae "Breeze And River", sounding a lot
likes his young self from the days of The Beat; the song rolls
along beautifully, preaching the gospel of the beauty of the world
around us and life. Dave Wakeling joins the robotic Boubacar
Diabate for the grooving and epic "Rockin' She Rock". It
is always wonderful to hear Wakeling sing, and this throbbing track
filled with steel drums, guitars, and an easy Caribbean groove are
the perfect backdrop for his contribution. The album wraps up with
a great remix of "Chi Widdley Bup" that takes a more direct
dance track style and twists it around a deep, heavy dub groove that
simply shines.
Jeep has crafted a really fine record with Mr. Anonymous 2, not
only creating some memorable reggae-influenced tracks, but also
branching out and expanding his own sound tremendously. Some folks
from the first Mr. Anonymous record make appearances on this second,
and the addition of Ranking Roger is quite something. If only Jeep
could get Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger on the same track, we'd
all be that much closer to a reunion of the greatest ska/reggae
combination of all time.
-Embo Blake
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