Search - Morgan Heritage :: Don't Haffi Dread

GOTTA RESPECT 'EM

home-body | northern california,usa | 12/10/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"MORGAN HERITAGE are the five children of singer, Denroy Morgan. The American-based reggae band released their first disc, "MIRACLE" in 1995. Four years later the band released their fourth album "DON'T HAFFI DREAD." On "DON'T HAFFI DREAD" the band continues their slick production of reggae with sweet pop vocals and reality lyrics. The CD starts out luke warm with the first 3 tunes sounding somewhat contrived on songs such as "REGGAE ROAD BLOCK" and "CAUGHT IN A TRAP." Its not until the CD player's eye sees track 4, the title track, does the album begin to heat up. Both the music and lyrics mix together to create a burning song as PETER MORGAN sings, "Don't haffi dread to be Rasta." His voice is soothing but assertive as he continues, "This is not a dreadlocks thing, Divine creation of the heart." This is simply a great song. I value the sentiment that one does not have to have dreadlocks and all the other superficial Rasta trappings to be a spiritual being."HEART OF A CHILD" is another excellent track. The song is about raising children with love so that as adults they may have a better world in which to live. Although the topic could sound corny in the hands of a less talented band, MORGAN HERITAGE manage to put just the right amount of sentiment into the song without ever sounding pretentious or silly. Instead "HEART OF A CHILD" is a very deep and beautiful song.One of my favorites on the album is the song, "FREEDOM." The song features voice and guitar without any other accompaniment. This acoustic number features the guitar talents of DALTON BROWN who plays both electric slide guitar and acoustic guitar. Brothers ROY and PETER MORGAN trade off singing duties in a very relaxed but emotive manner in this song about racial tranquility and world unity. This simple but effective arrangement makes for a nice change and adds variety to the collection of songs on "DON'T HAFFI DREAD."Taken as a whole, this album sizzles however I have a few complaints. First, the production style is way too slick. Yes, the rhythmus ARE immaculate but this defeats the purpose of the spiritual and anti-Babylon themes. At times, the music sounds sterile, computerized, and bereft of human emotion making the songs sound generic and too much like every other song I hear on Top 40 radio stations. This is not a good thing, because one of the reasons I prefer reggae to other music styles is because it is different. I want to get away from all the crap that's played on the radio. At one point when I was listening to one of the songs on "DON'T HAFFI DREAD", my girlfriend actually asked me if I was listening to the Backstreet Boys. "Gawd, no!" I screamed. Upon closer listening, she realized the lyrics were too complex to be a Backstreet Boys song. My second complaint is the length of the CD. The album clocks in at over 73 minutes. Yes, you heard right, I'm complaining that there's too much music on the disc. Now, usually I don't complain about getting too much music for my reggae dollar. But, I say this because some of the songs are weak and probably could have been excluded from the album. These less then great tunes such as "Troding Jah Road" are filler. I usually listen to a whole album at once. If there are a lot of strong, killer songs on a disc, I am more likely to keep it on my CD changer for an extended period of time. That's why I say they should have left off some of the weaker material. This would have made an excellent 45-50 minute album.These are minor complaints. No matter how polished and commercial they sound, MORGAN HERITAGE is a band that is not afraid to attack sociopolitical or spiritual themes. And, most of the time the craftsmanship and talent displayed in addressing these topics is first-class. And, I've gotta respect 'em for that.Nuff Respect! -Mark "Homebody" Groesbeck"

Meaningful lyrics plus rockin rhythmns equals great music!

Ron J. | Upper Marlboro, MD USA | 11/09/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The vocals and musical arrangements are very stirring. Universal lyrics make this CD easy to listen to, with several of the tracks being hard driving "bob your head", no nonsense Reggae. If you like the traditional "Bob Marley style" of Reggae, then you should really enjoy this CD. It's modern Reggae with traditional roots. This cd contains 18 tracks, out of the 18 tracks I thought 8 were great, 5 were good, 5 were listenable. That's great value for my dollar."

Awesome Lyrics, beautiful music

home-body | 10/14/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you love good lyrics, mellow music, and believe music must have a message--- Hit that add to shopping cart button!!!"