Reviews

...exciting dub versions...

Reviewer: A. Romero, World Music Central, December 13, 2007

Ras Jammie has two recordings on the RoV label. O-Dub Meets Ras Jammie In A Lion's Den presents exciting dub versions of Jammie's music. The other album, Thin Line presents Ras Jammie with his Man Alive Band, showcasing an engaging collection of upbeat reggae songs. (releases: O-Dub Meets Ras Jammie In A Lion's Den and Thin Line)

...Diligent Dubs that help redefine the genre...Slow and steady, like a reptile in the wee hours...

Reviewer: Chuck Foster, The Beat, Vol. 26, No. 4, 2007

O-Dub Meets Ras Jammie In A Lion’s Den (RoV Roots Creations) deconstructs the music of Ras Jammie to great effect on a series of diligent dubs that help to redefine the genre from a desert perspective. Engineered by Lamont Arthur, who plays keys in Ras Jammie’s Man Alive Band, and mixed by Owen “O-Dub” Rose (their drummer), with all songs written by James “Ras Jammie” Rouse, these dubs lay bare the underlying riddims to the previously released cd Hungry Lion. Slow and steady, like a reptile in the wee hours when nothing’s moving but the wind, with vocal passages bursting in like a stranger in town through the saloon’s swinging gates with nothing on his hip but bass, guitar, drums, keyboards and percussion. With a warning tag that repeated exposure may cause irreversible brain damage, an apologetic note from O-Dub to Ras “for all the reverb and echo units I burned up in the making of this cd” and a cover reminiscent of the classic dub releases of the ‘70s, how can you miss? (release: O-Dub Meets Ras Jammie In A Lion's Den)

...Regards from down under

Reviewer: DJ Sista Selecta, 2Bob Radio, 104.7 FM, Taree, New South Wales, Australia

I featured some more of your material [from Hungry Lion and Thin Line] in the last couple of shows. I'm really enjoying the O-Dub album, too. I hope you get plenty of positive feedback...it is very deserving. Regards from down under.

...Uncompromising reggae...makes Peter Tosh sound like Desmond Dekker

Reviewer: Tom Orr, www.reggae-reviews.com May 2007

Ras Jammie has got one low, deep voice. The Tucson, Arizona-based dread comes on like Prince Far I without so much gravel, and the authority he conveys is one reason Thin Line is a disc that casts a considerable spell. Long, dubby riddims is another; though there are only ten songs, the total playing time is 54 minutes and many tracks stretch out to a point of permeation where you'd swear you've just had a lungful of ganja even if there's none within reach. But back to Jammie's voice. Despite the fact that he commands attention by making Peter Tosh sound like Desmond Dekker, Jammie isn't exactly a golden-voiced singer. Even so, he gets by perfectly well by intoning around the low, low register in a measured, mildly dramatic manner that makes the words stick. He utilizes some calypso-like phrasing on "Daddy Won't Mind," infuses "Anxiety Attack" with an appropriately fearful tone, scats with joyful deejay gruffness through "Froggy" and at times surrounds his lead singing with spectral backing vocals that provide eerie, pleasantly murky contrast. Plus it's nice to hear reggae that's so sonically uncompromising; unlike some popish stuff that softens the bottom end, the bass here is often mercilessly heavy, holding the unhurried tempos as firmly as the vocals. An unassuming work full of quirky, compelling singing and a steadfast reggae foundation, Thin Line is thick with pleasure. (release: Thin Line)

...an independent release with a sound all its own.

Reviewer: Chuck Foster, The Beat, Vol. 26 • No. 1, 2007

Ras Jammie returns with Thin Line (RoV), an independent release with a sound all its own. Recording at his own Rouse Your Spirits studio in Tucson, AZ, Ras Jammie draws on his Jamaican roots in creating his own brand of homegrown American reggae. Backed by the Man Alive Band, which combines a fat drum sound with soaring keys, skank guitar chops, crisp synth horn lines and rumbling bass, his lyrics cover a wide range of topics from “Sampson and Delilah” and “Runaway Slave” (on which he deftly blends an early American spiritual style with reggae) to “Froggy,” “Anxiety Attack” and “Sometimey People.” There’s even a little lecture on love (“Daddy Won’t Mind”) thrown in for good measure. Ras Jammie has a deep, resonant voice that seems to gain confidence with each new release, a sure sign of an artist who’s headed in the right direction. (release: Thin Line)

...a vibe straight from Jamaica....the lyrics come from the heart.

Reviewer: Mark E. Waterbury, Music Morsels, January 2007

You may want to call this fresh perspective on roots reggae “desert reggae” since its creator is from Tucson. Wherever he is from, the music has a vibe straight from Jamaica with interesting touches in dub beats and instrumentation. Vocally sounding almost like a mellowed out rastafied Chuck D, the lyrics come from the heart. The music pulses in unique but undeniably catchy ways. (release: Hungry Lion)

Unhurried, unharried, and relaxed tempo...definitely unique.

Reviewer: Chuck Foster, The Beat, Vol. 25, No. 4, 2006

Ras Jammie and The Man Alive Band return with Hungry Lion (RoV). Operating out of the Rouse Your Spirits Recording Studio in Tucson, AZ, Ras Jammie chants self-penned tunes to Man Alive’s chugging riddims which build in intensity as the songs progress. “War Monger,” Hypocrite and Parasite,” Mr. Babylon” and “Bump De Time” are among the serious, at times theatrically delivered, themes. The tempo throughout keeps to a moderate pace – unhurried, unharried and relaxed. Most unusual track is his retelling of the nursery rhyme Little Miss Muffet as “Natty Spider.” Definitely unique. (release: Hungry Lion)

Excellent

Reviewer: Musicishare

Very Nice sounds. Would love to feature your sound on musicishare.com. Link me. -baggabee. (release: O-dub Meets Ras Jammie in a Lion's Den)

sounds good

Reviewer: lars

a must have cd! would recommend it to anyone. (release: O-dub Meets Ras Jammie in a Lion's Den)

smoking till your a choking, dub styleeeeeee

Reviewer: Bod Black

kickin back, bass a bangin , sprinkling, licking and a rolling...........smoking a fatty, lovin this dub!! (release: O-dub Meets Ras Jammie in a Lion's Den)

This cd is wicked.

Reviewer: Underdog

This cd is wicked. It has a crucial sound like I haven't heard long time. Black Day and Sometimey People I keep playing over and over. Deadly, crucial (release: Thin Line)