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Destiny by Glen Washington

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Destiny by Glen Washington

Destiny by Glen Washington

By John Fenwick on Monday, February 23, 2009 - Comment

Vocalist Glen Washington returns with a classic rhythm sound

Sampler

Glen Washington - Destiny Jamaican roots and lovers’ rock vocalist Glen Washington has released many well-received albums since his debut in 1997, and this brand new release on VP records brings us fifteen songs in his distinctive style. As so many of the track titles include the word ‘love’ there is little doubt of Glen’s main interest here. However, tracks such as All My Love and Where Will I Go, which could easily have become anonymous and forgettable sorts of song, are made more interesting by a surprisingly heavy percussive presence in the rhythm. In the end it is the rhythms on the album that remain memorable, with their classic feel and uncomplicated production.

Pour Your Sugar, with its familiar ‘three blind mice’ rhythm, moves along nicely with a rocksteady feel, while the old Motown song, Ain’t Too Proud to Beg - subject to many reggae renditions over the years by artists including Junior Byles and Slim Smith - gets a fine treatment here which does justice to the history and melody of the song.

Got to be Free is a strong track that manages to get a little beyond the love song phrases of many of the songs together with a backing track that moves along decisively throughout. The strong rhythm that carries along Until We Meet Again sounds much like the kinds of rhythms of the Maytals’ era, and this sums up well the album as a whole: it’s a vocalist’s album, notable for its melody and middle of the road love songs, with strong rhythms that will please reggae traditionalists, but which is at its most interesting on tracks where it starts to do something a little different.

Tags: Glen Washington