Coming up on his third decade of making music,
Bob Marley
's eldest son
Ziggy
had already climbed the charts with a series of reggae-pop hits before doing some of that mid-career wandering that artists often do, going off on pleasing larks such as children's albums (2009's
Family Time
) or a return to rootsy reggae (2011's Wild & Free). All the while, he watched his younger brothers
Damian
and
Stephen
launch the 21st century electro-roots revolution, but rather than join their fray, his superior 2014 effort
Fly Rasta
finds him acting as the
Marley
kids' proud elder statesmen. Here, he's able to bundle his past into an album that's a welcome combination of comfortable and vital, kicking off with the very jam band "I Don't Wanna Live on Mars," a playful number that punches and high-kicks before sliding into a funky groove that recalls
's old crew,
the Melody Makers
. Speaking of, the background vocals of
Erica Newell
plus
Sharon
Cedella Marley
mean this album features a
Melody Makers
reunion to warm the heart of longtime fans, while a guest shot from the legendary dancehall DJ
U-Roy
on "Fly Rasta" gives the album both a swinging highlight and an anchor dropped way into the deep end of reggae. "I Get Up" is a horn-driven blast of pop and positive that sounds like "Tomorrow People" with more wisdom in the words, and while "You're My Yoko" sits on the track list like something to talk about, it's really just frivolous fun, tossed off with lyrics like "You're my beauty queen/You're my fashion scene" as if bed peace and breaking up
the Beatles
never happened. Right-sized, organized in a sensible manner, and an alluring balance of cool and calm,
lives up to its title as it sits on
's top shelf. ~ David Jeffries