Mossman

Moss Raxlen runs things at the Dublounge, both at Blizzarts in Montreal and on the web. The Mossman has a strong love for Lee Perry - the highly enjoyable Mossman Vs. the World Bank has several tunes that would have done the Upsetter proud in the early '70s. Peter Gibson's keyboards are uncannily reminiscent of the Upsetters' Glen Adams, both in sound and feel - "Funky Manifesto" nails the Upsetters Mark 1 sound perfectly. The mid-'70s Perry influence shines through in the spacy percussion mix of "Yin Tin Tin," and the rhythm box running through "It's Nice." Throughout, the horn sections are tight, with clever arrangements liberally plastered with space echo. The rhythm section, upon which any reggae recording stands or falls, is steady, if never remarkable in its own right. The songs are uniformly strong and the production evokes the time and place Mossman set out to capture without overly imitating the original. His scratches and vocal snippets ensure that this could never have been recorded in the '70s. This is a very solid album that stands up to repeat listening.