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Ernest Ranglin - Ranglin & Friends
Ernest Ranglin - Ranglin & Friends
Many styles from a guitar master.
Sampler
Famed Studio One guitar legend Ernest Ranglin has released an album on the Dubtonic label entitled “Ranglin and Friends”. The friends called upon here are not some of the big time names from the past, but rather a selection of new friends like the Dubtonic Kru, and fellow guitarists Dylan Murray and C-Sharp’s Lamont ‘Monty’ Savory. The album showcases Ranglin’s many styles as we travel through jazz, funk, soul, R&B, folk plus of course a bit of reggae.
The majority of the tracks are instrumental but by far the strongest tracks are the vocal cuts. My favorite of these has to be ‘Not Gonna Be Alone’, which features Dubtonic and appears on their album as well. It’s a rocksteady, skank affair with Ranglin supplying a Spanish sounding guitar under the sweet lament of the vocal. The other vocal cuts are the pop, R&B, soul of ‘Mr. Music Man’ featuring L&S and ‘Love the Way’ with Dylan Murray, an acoustic track with a folksy pop sound, with both songs having a very commercial appeal.
The instrumentals show off the poised and polished way in which Ranglin plays his guitar and makes it all sound oh so simple. Opener ‘Senegal’ and ‘Smooth’ see him on a jazz, funk trip, while ‘Hipster’, still in jazz funk territory, has a more 60’s keyboard feel to it and to me the melody bares a passing resemblance to an old Levi add tune, “Woman In Blue” by Pepe Deluxe, as it simmers and pops away. For the reggae fan here ‘Monty’s Revenge’ and the brilliance of closing track ‘Real Cassette’ with its familiar sounding lolling bass line are as good as it gets.
If its all out classic reggae you were expecting from the man then you’ll be disappointed, but if you’re an all round fan of music then this album shows a man who, although a couple short of his 80th year, is still more than capable of working his way nimbly round his instrument to great effect.
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Read comments (4)
| Posted by Sixtysuns on 01.11.2010 | |
| Crucial! "Never Gonna Be Alone" is spanking fresh and clean!!! | |
| Posted by LadyJacquelyne on 01.11.2010 | |
| The honor of being at the release of Ernie Ranglin @ Friends. Dubtonic and John Mckinley what a collaboration of sounds This Cd is a replay over and over. Looking forward to the next release, Feat Dylan Murray, Dubtonic Kru these are only a few of the friends featured on Ranglin and Friends, Thank you. Music is the food of Life. Blessings and Light. LadyJacquelyne - Jamaica. |
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| Posted by Judah Dangmaa on 01.12.2010 | |
| Praise be unto his holy name SALASIE RASTA. Man me lov your music to the max. Keep the flame cos babylon a say e a kill the prophet bot more a yet to be born. Rasta take over. | |
| Posted by steven gascoigne on 09.18.2014 | |
| More superb music from the King of SKA Guitar...Respect Ernest.steve,Mullaloo | |
Comments actually desactivated due to too much spams
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