Inner Circle - Reggae Dancer (1994)

Reggae's hardcore responded to Inner Circle's commercial recordings of the '90s in much the same way that jazz's hardcore responded to Gato Barbieri's commercial pop-jazz -- with anger and contempt. Just as jazz purists longed for the acoustic, straight-ahead Barbieri of the '60s and early '70s, reggae's hardcore would have loved to see Circle abandon pop/reggae and stick to the type of politically charged Rasta roots music it delivered in the '70s. But pop-minded reggae isn't necessarily a bad thing -- Bob Marley certainly proved that on "Waiting in Vain" and "Could You Be Loved." The fact that Reggae Dancer is commercial doesn't automatically render it worthless, although it's true that many of the songs on the CD are too innocuous, too safe and too calculated for their own good. On the whole, Reggae Dancer simply isn't as memorable as some of Circle's other '90s albums. Although it contains a few worthwhile numbers -- including the doo wop-influenced "Broken Glass," the catchy "Rough Boy" and a cover of Joe South's 1968 hit, "Games People Play" -- most of the songs are forgettable. Circle's subsequent album, Speak My Language (also released as Da Bomb), would be an improvement over this generally disappointing release.