Search - Freddie McGregor :: Anything for You

One Of The Best, At His Best. . .

Achis | Kingston, JA/Philipsburg, SxM | 10/06/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"(4.5stars)

Take any given trip to any given local record store and take notice of the truly sublime variety of vibes on the shelves marked `reggae' and you're likely to see a diversity which remains unmatched by any other musical umbrella. Because of the rather region specific nature of our music, simply put: No other one word in music carries as much `weight' literally, as `reggae'. You'll perhaps find on one single shelf an album from Mad Cobra. Next to an album from Bob Marley and somewhere down the line on that same exact shelf, you might even find an album from Mutabaruka. The gap between Cobra and Marley is MAMMOTH; the gap between the snake and Mutabaruka is even larger, and yet they'll be on that same shelf, in the same area marked `reggae'. Similarly, I can't exactly say that off of the islands of Trinidad and Barbados, respectively, that I've seen a section in a music store marked by the name of `soca', all over the world (even here in the Caribbean) you'll also see soca and calypso (and not to even go into mentioning reggaeton) mixed in under reggae as well. As I said, the word just carries so much weight in music. And while the standards to be reached as to what can mean `reggae' can be something as slight as the involvement of someone of Caribbean descent (regardless of how big or small his/her contribution to the project is) or something (which is usually the case) as big as the overall sound of the vibes, there are a couple of universal sounds which many people generally identify as reggae music. On the dancehall side you have had people like Beenie Man and of course most recently Sean Paul who have instituted to the international masses of exactly what it means to be dancehall music, ultimately that is a vibe which is, of course, listed as reggae music. These artists headline reggae shows, they are found on reggae websites, they are, essentially, reggae artists (of course the artist in question here will argue with that, however). On the other hand, there is an ultra laid back, dreadlocked and downright royal looking gentleman of Afrikan descent who sings beautiful songs about peach and love and his woman and His Majesty who, on the strength of Bob Marley, has etched the sound and look of himself into the minds and hearts of reggae fans ALL over the world. Besides Marley, there are a few men who have been charged (by no one other than themselves) with carrying that mantle of exactly what it means to be and to DEFINE what exactly is the world's view of a reggae artist.



Such a man is Freddie McGregor. McGregor, along with men like Junior Reid (especially these days), the great Peter Broggs, Luciano, Mikey General and Everton Blender (the latter three names being newer, yet still to be mentioned in the more recent aspects) personifies what it means to be a modern reggae singer (one would have to mention Beres Hammond as well, although he fits into a class all by himself, one which even further blends the lines of what it means to be reggae). On that list, McGregor, perhaps is the most UNLIKELY of the names to STILL maintain some sort of level which is FAR more than that of simply relevant as he actually remains a thriving artist. McGregor isn't as vocally gifted as Luciano, Reid or the Blender; he lacks the overall showmanship of those three as well (especially Reid); and neither has he shown the seemingly NEVER ending commitment to his craft (in terms of lyrical ability) as either Peter Broggs or the supremely gifted Mikey General, and yet, his legend is as unquestionable as any of those artists having been built, or still building. Also, in my honest opinion, when all of these fine artists' time comes to an end, the one which we'll have the absolute most difficult time finding a figurative `replacement' for will be McGregor, as finding an individual so capable of making something SO great with a little bit less in the way of natural talent (McGregor's biggest musical gift is the same for Mikey General's in my opinion, which is his overall FEEL for the vibes and, while it isn't exactly consistent these days, his almost FATHERLY voice can be divine at times), will truly be a difficult task. Actually I would say that the new artist to come around in the last five years or so who best reminds me (speaking strictly vibes, of course) would probably be Queen Ifrica who so easily drifts between roots and hardcore lover's material just as McGregor does at his absolute finest. One of the strongest qualities of McGregor (and of the stereotypical reggae singer) is DEFINITELY his activity level and overall level of prolificacy during his storied career (which, by my research is a WHOPPING forty-five years deep for the fifty-two year old singer) McGregor has released (or had released on his behalf) somewhere in the neighbourhood of thirty studio albums to date and literally hundreds of singles. While McGregor is oft-critiqued for his overall consistency in his music (particularly earlier in his career), few can reasonably deny that at his finest time, he makes a brand of music which is PINPOINT some of the most quintessential and NECESSARY reggae vibes for the masses, locally and internationally. Such was the case way back in 2002 when Freddie McGregor released in Anything For You, not only what was rather EASILY his best album in quite awhile (and when I say quite awhile, we're talking all the way back to 1994 when he reached with the CLASSIC Zion Chant album, which was a compilation and maybe even all the way back to the eighties when the legendary Big Ship began sailing on the album of the same name), but just as EASILY one of the biggest projects of his entire career, altogether. Anything For You is you a high-powered showcase of an established talent and an establish legend at his the absolute current height of his powers, such an occurrence in reggae and all of music for that matter is EXTREMELY rare, to say the least. The album came through VP as one of several releases McGregor has voiced for the label (he has since voiced another) and had big shoes to fill in that respect as it followed two VERY solid albums in Signature (2000) and Masterpiece (1997). Both were excellent albums. Neither was of the overall class as the sweet sweet Anything For You.



Anything For You by Freddie McGregor was originally released in the summer of 2002 which would have caught me WELL into the swing of ridiculous anticipation waiting for the forthcoming BOOM which was to be Sizzla's Da Real Thing album, but it snuck under my radars as a TOP NOTCH album for the Clarendon native (yes, McGregor falls into that LEGENDARY row of Clarendon born singers which includes names like the legendary Toots Hibbert, Barrington Levy, Cocoa Tea and Glen Washington amongst others). Anything For You, executively produced by McGregor, opens up with one of the real STUNNING tracks and highlights, the BEAUTIFUL Loving Jah over T. Dread's remake of Studio One's sweet Little Green Apples riddim. The tune maybe one of the strongest album openers I have EVER heard as it begins simply enough with McGregor literally waking up in the morning to begin some meditation on a lovely day provided by His Majesty. The song is essentially a praising track (obvious by the title) and a wondrous one in deep meditation backed by the divine one drop. If the album got ANY better than Loving Jah, or even maintained that levels, it would be a winner. Luckily for us, it does just that. Next up is the single from the album and probably the most high profile tune, Uncle Sam over Lloyd Campbell's cut of the swaying Engine 54 riddim. The tune is on a bit more cultural vibes, which is to McGregor's strengths as well, but it still has overtones of a lover's track here and there. The tune is really top notch as well and really caught on with the masses (it was one of VP's more popular tunes at the time and appeared on more than one of their compilations). Completing the opening for Anything For You is another lover's tune and what is, essentially, the album's title track, the very nice For You. This tune kind of took quite awhile to grow on me (at first it sounded a bit too sappy to me) and even now it isn't one of the highlights hear to my ears, but it goes to show you what a truly REFINED and EDUCATED artist can pull off while not even at his best. You give this tune to ANY young artist today and you run the `risk' that it may become a big hit for the youth. Nice way to get things started and really it really shows the direction in which Anything For You ultimately goes.



The real show on Anything For You (as on might expect from the title) is the abundance of WONDERFUL lover's tunes. Such a tune is the DIVINE Gatepass To Your Heart which has to be considered amongst the class of the album and may be the best tune here (although something else caught my ears more). The tune flows over Willie Lindo's cut of the Rougher Yet Riddim (aka the Love Bump, which you know as having backed Sanchez` MAMMOTH Missing You), the Tun It Up riddim (also released on VP's Riddim Driven series, as was the Engine 54). The tune flows so nice and definitely stands as one of the tunes here which will make you get up and grab hold of your special someone. The only tune here to catch my attentions more than Gatepass To Your Heart was DEFINITELY the beautiful There's a Reward For Me. The tune is a MASSIVE cover of the legendary Joe Higgs' original and, unfortunately, the great Higgs had already left us by the time McGregor's version reached, but I'm sure he would have loved the tune. The song really just says that despite the terrible circumstances that we may face in this world, there remains a `reward' for our hardships providing that we live righteously. Truly a wonderful message expressed an equally WONDERFUL song. You cannot very well place a tune by the name of Sweet African Princess on any album, much less a McGregor piece, and NOT have it be a real winner, at least in effort. The tune is another in a long list of standouts as it gives a sweet sweet praise to the Black woman, which we certainly need more of in this time (and MORE from MORE skilled artists). I also have to mention (My wife's favourite tune here) the R&B styled Oh Ah La La for Dalton Browne. The tune is a wonderful lover's piece which, like Uncle Sam, has a different group of vibes as well. I liked the changeup, and it doesn't shift too much at all, but Oh Ah La La is one for the crossovers, if you like R&B, you'll love the tune definitely. Also check the similarly vibed sweet Prayer For Two (also produced by Browne), very much along the same lines as Oh Ah La La, but more traditionally reggae (and stronger in my opinion actually). The second half of Anything For You really maintains the levels definitely as well. You HAVE TO check Hold Me which was a big time release over Lloyd Campbell's cut of the Cables' big Baby Why riddim (also released on album, that same year by VP). Hold Me easily rivals the class lover's tunes of Anything For You and I don't think it received the push it deserved (I STILL think it could do some damage, like right now). I'll Do Anything is another strong tune (could have been the title tune actually). The tune is, arguably, stronger than For You and has a very nice sing-a-long quality to it (check the chorus and the opening verse), which is always a nice touch for singers (from Stingray). If You Want Me is another sweet tune, one which kind of flows under the radar but honestly its one of the tunes here which I've probably sparked more than most of the others. Its SIMPLY brilliant. We'll ignore and overlook the album's one real misstep, a remake of In the Ghetto (Get It On isn't that great) either. Anything For You ends with another of its big time tracks, A Prayer, over Lloyd Campbell's cut of the I'll Be Lonely riddim (aka the They Gonna Talk riddim (in a slightly different version), which you know from Beres Hammond's tune of the same title as well as Half Pints MASSIVE shot Just Be Good (To Me), also produced by Hammond). The tune places a rather nice 'bow' on the big album in a praising vibes. And if you stick around, there's a bonus track in the form of a remix of the album's finest track (in my opinion) There's a Reward, which isn't at the level of the original (it actually has an unaccredited rapper joining McGregor), but is still a nice touch to end things.



Overall, when you have a bonafide reggae master, obtrusively attempting nothing in way of the crossover appeal or anything at all, at close to (or actually AT) they're absolute strongest, ESPECIALLY when thought to be at a point past their prime, you really have a SIGNIFICANT occurrence. And that's exactly what you have in Freddie McGregor's Anything For You. Since the release of this album, McGregor has arguably taken and even GREATER presence in reggae music altogether as it has been his under the umbrella of his label, Big Ship that his ULTRA talented children have thrived. Stephen `Di Genius' McGregor (his youngest) has become arguably the most well known dancehall producer in the business (big respect to Don Corleone) and the light has been shined even more on Chino (a (average in my opinion) dancehall DJ (others seem to like him though) and the `First Lady of The Ship, Shema (who sings backgrounds throughout Anything For You). Freddie McGregor has also had more studio releases with the big one being the follow-up to Anything For You, Comin' In Tough, also for VP in 2005 (on which Stephen played utility man and did EVERYTHING). He has also voiced wicked combinations with the likes of the young Assassin for his debut album, Bunji Garlin and just this year a big combination with Maxi Priest (the WICKED Make It Happen) . He has also had (again, through VP) a BIG four disc boxset which includes Anything For You in full, Freddie McGregor: Reggae Legends. And, (as if that weren't enough) he also (and it was) should probably have a brand new album forthcoming either in 2008 or 2009. Nearing a truly ridiculous FIFTY YEARS in the game, and still on top of his game. If the new album reaches ANYWHERE near the levels set by Anything For You, you can start thinking about SIXTY years, very, very soon."