Review of Ky-mani Marley's MANY MORE ROADS

One of Bob Marley's many sons, Ky-mani Marley's debut album Journey was a decent enough entry into the industry and showed great potential, but also fell short of its mark. However, when I caught Ky-mani at a reggae festival in Virginia last summer, I was blown away by his outsanding, energetic performance. His life redention of his debut album's best cut ("Dear Dad") was spine-tingling and it became clear to me that Robert Nesta's lesser-known son inherited much of his father's talent and spirituality.

Ky-mani's upcoming release on Artists Only! picks up where Journey left off and sees him taking more significant steps to fulfilling his potential. Produced by "Jah Mike" Coburn and Lincoln Ward, Many More Roads should please quite a few ears.

The album's starts with a solid opener, "Who We Are." It's a well-constructed piece to kick off the album that isn't too heavy. It reminds me a lot of Luciano's recent work. It's followed by "Many More Roads," one of the album's best, providing strong lyrics ("There'll be many more roads to trod, / Many more mountains to cross...") and some pretty unique basslines. Other wicked tunes include the powerful "Heart of a Lion," "Valley of Decision" (which is reminiscent of something Half Pint's work in the 80s), and "Hailie I" (why the misspelling, I'm not sure).

While a lot of Journey came out sounding overproduced yet unrefined, Many More Roads is a really excellent effort from this young singer. It's well worth picking up, and count me as one that hopes he tours to support the album.

Many More Roads will be available on May 29, 2001. See Artists Only! for more information.

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