Search - Luciano :: Serious Times

Luciano's Simple Brilliance. . .

Achis | Kingston, JA/Philipsburg, SxM | 08/12/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Luciano is probably one of those people that at the end of his career (or his life, he'll probably be singing this wonderful music for the rest of his days), can look back and be happy about every single step he ever made. Every note on every tune, packed into every album, every stage show, every tour, every fans hand that he shaked, every contract that he signed, and every interview that he ever did, he'll be happy with all of it. And Luciano just might be the hardest working man in music (with respect to Sizzla) if he's not on tour, you'll notice that some label somewhere has an album from him on the way.

There isn't much to say about the artist musically, with the exception that he writes and makes good music. Were there to be a guide book of exactly how to make good, simple neo-roots reggae music, at the very least Luciano would be a top consultant if not the artist himself.

Serious Times, the 2004 installment of his on-going relationship with reggae giant VP Records. Different here, from what I've noticed is that absolute genius Dean Fraser is working the boards here. Luciano is rarely in better form than on songs like the opener Give Praise, and possibly the albums best track Alpha & Omega, big big song. I also like on the covers her Feelings, a really really good song and was actually my favorite here until I gave Alpha & Omega a 2nd and 3rd listen. Also love Ras She Want, and The World Is Troubled.

Overall, really really strong album from the Messenjah. Serious times is solid from beginning to ending, and Rasta or not, it just makes you feel good, due to the hard title and serious tunes, and the serious topics, you go in with an expectation for a certain thing, but Luciano's style of writing has never been to totally accentuate the negative, its about accentuating the alternatives and as he says on the title track Serious Times, Serious Measures "Serious Times, require serious measures, lets put away the war and crime, its life we should treasure", this album is seriously crucial."

Luciano's Best Work Since Messenjah

Rastadawg11 | Los Angeles | 12/22/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Don't let the album cover fool you. This CD is filled with happy tunes and uplifting riddims and lyrics (lots of major key happy tunes).



This CD lived in my car CD Player for over 6 weeks when I first bought it in August, 2004. I must say that I am a big Luciano fan; however, some of the recent CDs have been missing something. I was growing skeptical about buying another Luci CD that I felt would probably be below his ability. Then, in August, Luciano played before 17,000 strong at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. At the show (which was magnificent), he performed 4 of the cuts from the Serious Times CD. I was pumped up after the show and decided to buy the CD. I'm telling you. I have all of the Luciano CDs, and this is his best work since the timeless "Messenjah" CD. The lyrical depth is back, fresh themes are presented, the musical depth is back (near genius), and most of all the "happiness" is back as most tunes are in a happy Major Key. Even some of the songs that are in Minor Keys manage to sneak in some Major chords. This CD is loaded with hit after hit. The opening cut "Give Praise" is addictive, the second cut "Come Down Father" is great, the third cut "World is Troubled" is awesome. The fourth cut borrows from the Night Nurse bassline, and is great. The cut with Morgan Heritage, "Love Will Make It," is beautiful. "Free Up the Weed" is a true crowd pleaser. "Ras She Wants" finds a lighter side of Luci sizing up an African Princess -- another great song.



Clearly, I have many favorites, but the cut I can't get out of my head is "Satisfy Yourself." The boom shot is "Alpha and Omega." The CD ends with "Only Love," another upbeat, musically complex, addictive great tune that puts a positive stamp on the CD. Luciano is back.





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