Search - Lions :: Jungle Struttin

The Lions Conquer

Dee Sharp | Long Beach, CA United States | 03/18/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Like their brethren from the Los Angeles basin The Culver City Dub Collective, the San Fernando Valley's The Lions have crafted an exceptionally enjoyable and listenable old school reggae record that wears its influences on its sleeves. But they are just that - influences, not mimicry. At the core, The Lions have crafted full songs - ten originals and one cover - many in preparation for deconstructing them dubwise (unlike many of their predecessors who didn't complete the song construction, leaving the dubs uninspired and plodding).



In this album's stew are dashes of Bunny Lee and Augustus Pablo production values, King Tubby mixing techniques, and Aggrovators and Black Disciples instrumentation.



"Thin Man Skank" is an instru-dub with a horn melody that sounds like what would have happened if Santo & Johnny's "Sleep Walk" was a Bunny Lee/King Tubby affair. "Hot No Ho" is an infectious meld of Jamaican & Cuban styles. "Fluglin' at Dave's" is, like "Thin Man," an instru-dub with a Flugel Horn lead, not the typical instrumentation that one would hear in proto-roots reggae from the early '70s, and it's captivating because of it. So, too, is "Tuesday Roots"'s screaming Hammond organ lead, a far better road-tested sound than the roller-rink organ sound that was popular back in the day. Elsewhere there are splashes of spring reverb that was common in King Tubby mixes, the drum sound that was popularized by Jamaican drummer Tin Leg Allen, and the 'dread' minor key horn arrangements that would back up Burning Spear.



On a couple of occasions The Lions do lose the plot: the chorus of "Sweet Soul Music" (an original, not a cover of the Arthur Conley tune) is lackluster compared to the body of the tune, and the cover of Lyn Collins' "Think (About It)" is disjointed. The bulk of the original James Brown rhythm remains, but the change from James' on-the-one beat to a Jamaican one-drop rhythm (on the third beat) doesn't jell. It may have been better to take the composition in a thunderous steppers arrangement like Yabby You used to direct. (That said, Noelle Scaggs' lead vocals on the track are magnificent; keep an eye on her.)



Overall, a highly recommended debut from a collective that knows how to deftly interpret the past and bring it into the future."