Horace Andy Mek It Bun (Dik Musiques/Sony) Rating: N
Rating: N
Although Horace Andy has been a chart-topper in Jamaica for more than 30 years, it’s through his vocal cameos on the dubwise dabblings of UK triphop crew Massive Attack that the reggae great’s unmistakable high tenor is best known here. Regrettably, Mek It Bun isn’t the roots return that many of Andy’s fans anticipated, and, as it turns out, the cover of America’s Horse With No Name is just one of the album’s many bad ideas. Producer Guillaume “Stepper” Briard (who also co-writes and plays keyboards) comes up with an unbroken string of cheesy arrangements for the corny songs – dropping bass lines lifted from Gregory Isaacs and Mighty Diamonds tunes – and then programs the soul right out of the music.
