Bitty McLean - TAXI SESSIONS - new album

[lankou]

Come on! How long has it since there was a new ground-breaking singer in reggae? A genre that stopped being ground-breaking a long time ago, besides.
Besides, seems like there are some double standards at work here. BML can't sing pop reggae because that makes him lose his street cred. What about John Holt, then ? He must have recorded some of the lamest pop reggae (or reggae schmaltz or whatever) there ever was.
No one said the british singer was the ultimate wonder of reggae but, pretty obviously, he follows in the tradition set by some of the greats you mention - and does it well. Not many current artists manage (or want) to do so.

[Ranking Glasses]

I agree that he does have pleasant voice and high standards in keeping with many of the greats. We discussed in another thread how some artists have hits in the pop charts and manage to retain their credibility (John Holt, Errol Dunkley, Prince Buster, Dennis Brown, Janet Kay, Black Slate, Sugar Minott, Maxi Priest, etc.) while others don't (Pato Banton, Aswad to some degree, Inner Circle, etc.) I'm not sure what camp Bitty McLean falls into but he has certainly moved away from the pop scene.

There have always been ground-breaking artists in reggae and I'm just waiting for the next one to come along!

[lankou]

Maybe they break a well-trodden ground, then! Nice to see someone showing optimism when it comes to reggae's developments.
I don't believe there has been much for a long time, maybe some crossovers with the last 10-minute trends.
Always glad to discover a current act i enjoy but i'd be hard-pressed to find 99.99 % of them ground-breaking. Traditional music is what reggae is nowadays.

[guillaumebougard]

No you're right he's right up there with Sugar Minott and Johnny Osbourne. In fact when I think of all the great reggae artists I've listened to over the past 45 years, he's right up there with Bob Marley, Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, Slim Smith and John Holt. In fact, he's so good that he transcends reggae and would give Stevie Wonder, Sam Cook and Elvis Presley a run for their money.

Everyone is going to rush out and buy his new album trampling over old people and cats to get to the record shop. It will beat all previous sales records knocking "Thriller" into second place.

I don't think that I'm the one who needs to get real. He's a pleasant singer with obvious high standards but hardly ground-breaking or earth shattering.

Your sarcasm is uncalled for.

I for one never said he is ground breaking. I just happen to think he has consistently been ranking way up there in vocal and musician ability over the last 10-15 years, and so do Robbie and Sly.

Comparing a contemporary artist with ones that had their glory days more than 30 years ago is a pointless exercise anyway.

In any case I have learned not to be bothered by comments like yours. Go and produce stuff yourself, and you'll come back to me with some different ideas and observations, maybe.

[mark b]

Bitty is one of the most sought after artist for exclusive specials for clash sounds and the "big man" dance sounds like downbeat.
Covers quite a few bases
A very consistent artist over the years cutting Quality music,Excellent Live.
Dont see why his association with ub40 should hold him back.
Hes traveling on his own path,good luck to him.

[Ranking Glasses]

Guillaume, I have a right to my opinion and you are obviously bovvered.
Bitty McLean is an inoffensive singer and I hope his album sells a few thousand copies but that's all anyone can hope for.
No one can tell me what to think about reggae music because I have been listening to it from birth and it's part of my culture and part of me. Can you say that ? As far as me producing artists, I can probably do a whole lot better than the constant drivel that's coming out of JA nowadays and the fake arse plastic roots being produced in Europe.

As Ranking Dread once said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zceiA35_seY

[guillaumebougard]

As far as me producing artists, I can probably do a whole lot better than the constant drivel that's coming out of JA nowadays and the fake arse plastic roots being produced in Europe.

Please DO go ahead. This way you'll graduate from armchair critic.

[lankou]

" the fake arse plastic roots being produced in Europe".
That expression of yours unfortunately means nothing at all, apart from the fact that it reeks of prejudice. In case you didn't know, there are a whole lot of different sounds being produced in the whole of europe. A number of them even feature some of the best current efforts recorded by JA artists. Not going too much for current sounds myself,i can understand your appreciation to a certain extent, but you don't seem to have much of a clue, really. There are a lot of young dedicated musicians inspired by the most influential years of JA music. Many of them get praises from JA veterans they record with or play with - one can imagine they know one thing or two about all things reggae. You don't seem to realise that we are in 2013: the tables started to turn over 20 years ago. That self-centered connection between the UK and JA is over and done, regardless of its past merits. Reggae is international now as the seeds that were sown in previous decades have now born fruit. Some just taste better than others and come in many different flavours.

[Ranking Glasses]

It's fine if your opinion differs to mine but I was equally critical of some of the new music coming out of JA so I'm not prejudiced!
Of course there are some great new tunes being produced but a lot of it isn't imo. In fact some of it is so far from reggae that I don't know what it is! I know one of the main distributors of new roots in the UK and many of these tunes only sell a handful of copies.

You need me to be the Simon Cowell of this board. I'll bring you back to reality and proper reggae music! (That was tongue in cheek in case anyone gets irate).

[lankou]

" I know one of the main distributors of new roots in the UK and many of these tunes only sell a handful of copies".
Well, who sells that many copies, anyway? As if it were a amjor indication in today's music biz.
As for knowing a distributor of "new roots" in the UK, well, it just shows how limited your perspectives are. Most UK distributors don't bother much with what is recorded elsewhere, the same as many european labels/artists don't care much about not being distributed in the UK - it is really no big deal. Whn it comes to current music, anyone curious enough can get their music on various websites - and most of the main ones aren't even UK-based nowadays. Times have changed.

[underated]

Times have changed

Yes & i must say that it is wonderful times that we are living in.
As regards to recording , nowadays it's an even field, reputations & names don't count for much.

The kid in his bedroom can produce wonderful music on his computer & send it out to get voiced.
The big shot producers / artists / promoters don't control the music & never will again.

The little guy has been having his say & will continue to do so in the future.

To get back to the topic, whatever peoples opinions of the Bitty track are, few could argue that it is not well produced.
It's not my cup of tea, it is a top notch production though , that much is clear.

Producers & artists do need thick skins & never to take things personal because some people will like what you do & some won't ,
It's water off a ducks back so they say.

[jb welda]

>This way you'll graduate from armchair critic.

I have to say this is typical fall back position for anyone faced with a little well thought out and honest criticism. I think its referred to as a ad hominen attack (excuse my spelling) and is basically what is resorted to when one cannot fault the actual criticism or comment. very poor form in my book.

the fact that I rate bitty mclean notwithstanding, I do pretty much think he is too slick for his own good and has begun to sound like he is singing for UB40. which he was and well might be in the future. but it bodes well for pop chart success, that's true.

one love
jb

[finbar]

The kid in his bedroom can produce wonderful music on his computer & send it out to get voiced. The big shot producers / artists / promoters don't control the music & never will again.

That's a wonderfully romantic and noble notion, but just who are these kids with bedroom computers that produce good music? It's a bit perverse to suggest that Jamaican artists, who are for the most part making "sufferahs" music and living a very day-to-day life, have up until now been oppressing these European kids who sit in their bedroom with ProTools and MAC Airbooks.

With a few exceptions, I find that most of this "nu roots" music is to authentically inspired reggae what Johnny Hallyday is to rock and roll: a pretty fair forgery at best, and a travesty at worst.

[underated]

That's a wonderfully romantic and noble notion, but just who are these kids with bedroom computers that produce good music? It's a bit perverse to suggest that Jamaican artists, who are for the most part making "sufferahs" music and living a very day-to-day life, have up until now been oppressing these European kids who sit in their bedroom with ProTools and MAC Airbooks.

With a few exceptions, I find that most of this "nu roots" music is to authentically inspired reggae what Johnny Hallyday is to rock and roll: a pretty fair forgery at best, and a travesty at worst.

I don't even know what romantic & noble notions mean, i like to think i know a little bit about music though. Not sure about the oppressing Euro kids thing, must be a misunderstanding somewhere.

I don't even know what nu roots is ?
Must say i don't keep up with JA , not checked out that scene for many years, it's not of much interest to me.

I have been listening to Euro & U.S reggae for the past decade, much material does not even see a release.
That is the type of Reggae that i like to listen to, way back it was JA , that was a long time ago.

I tend not to use words like forgery / authentic to describe sound & i'm not one to name names,
So in your books only people in the original country of origin can make authentic music ?

I tell you something,
Was listening to some rap artists from North Philly on Youtube, heard some nice raps & beats, checked out the UK & you know what ?
i heard some nice raps & beats from there also.

Your from Canada ? what do you think of Dubmatix ?
I think he is one of the best producers in North America........nice studio

[Dubba]

As a famous man once said "you can't please all of the people all of the time". Guillaume I personally love your work with Bitty and would encourage you to pay little mind to obvious wind up merchants that sit behind keyboards and focus your energies on making more excellent music.