Bushman - Signs (2004)

Throughout his career Bushman has maintained a solid commitment to cultural themes, and although his recorded work has some dancehall elements, he has avoided the slackness often prevalent in the genre, favoring a pop-inflected roots approach. When everything is working, like it does for most of his first album, 1997's Nyah Man Chant, Bushman's sincere Rasta-derived message of hope and change has a strong international appeal, a bit like a Bob Marley or a Peter Tosh for the 21st century. When things don't work, Bushman's music can appear obvious and clichéd. Signs, his fifth album, is somewhat of a mixed affair, with wonderfully poppy songs of great depth ("Creatures of the Night," "Signs," "Talkative") interspersed with dubious tracks, like his cover of Original Caste's "One Tin Soldier" (which was a huge hit for the Coven), a song that ends up in Bushman's hands as neither good reggae nor good pop, and his sincere baritone vocal almost makes it unintentionally laughable. On the other hand, "Down Town," which features harmony vocals from the great Mighty Diamonds, is a delightful chunk of modern pop-reggae, both danceable and infectious. It's hard not to like Bushman for what he tries to do, and a good half of Signs is solid, catchy stuff. The other half, though, seems to try too hard, or in the case of "One Tin Solider," is head-scratchingly bad.~Signs Review by Steve Leggett