The century's first
Congos album of all new material, 2005's
Give Them the Rights, comes a full six years after the spotty
Revival, and leader Cedric Myton has used the time off to construct a much stronger set of tunes than that album could manage. More importantly, Myton has assembled nearly all of the old crew:
Sly & Robbie produce, and the musician credits are like reading the starting lineup of someone's fantasy roots reggae team, from guitarist
Earl "Chinna" Smith on down. The result is an impressive simulacrum of classic '70s roots reggae, and yet while it studiously ignores commercial trends and misbegotten attempts to "update" the familiar
Congos sound, nor does it sound like a boring period piece. Instead, there's "Praise H.I.M.," pure devotional roots reggae set to a gently swaying beat over which Myton trills a call-and-response lead vocal in his inimitable falsetto; the cutting character study "Mr. Shark"; and the thrilling anthemic opener, "It Can't Work."
Give Them the Rights is no
Heart of the Congos -- you only get an album like that once in a career -- but it's far better than naysayers might expect. ~ Stewart Mason