****THE MEDITATIONS - GHETTO KNOWLEDGE****

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****THE MEDITATIONS - GHETTO KNOWLEDGE****

TRACKLIST


1. African Connection
2. Ghetto Is A College
3. Great Tribulation
4. Blackman Redemption
5. Excited
6. Living On The Edge
7. Do Be Down
8. Educated Fools
9. One Of Us
10. Never Desert You
11. Moses
12. Only Jah Love
13. Enemies Away
14. Jah Music
15. The Police
16. Rudeboy Corner
17. The More I Try




LABEL Easy StarOrig Year 1999


Personnel Carlton "Carlie" Barrett - drums
Jerry Johnson
Winston Watson - vocals, percussion
Ron Butler - guitar
Ansel Cridland


Also: Sly Dunbar, Victor Axelrod, Kevin Batchelor, Maurice Gregory, Sky Juice, Style Scott, Junior Jazz, Andy Bassford, Danny Browne, Val Douglas, Antoinette Hall, Asax Howard Messam, Donovan McKitty, Errol Campbell, Franklin Waul, Frantz Hilaire, George Kouakou, Gerry Johnson, Jeff Karger, Joseph Sansaverino, Mafie, Michael G., Noel Alphonso, Ras Barnibas, Sidney Mills, Theophilus Beckford, Trammy, Trevor McKenzie, Danny Clarke, Derrick Barnett, Lincoln Thompson, Milton Henry, Reggie, Ronnie Butler, Anastus Hackett, Aston "Familyman" Barrett

GHETTO KNOWLEDGE transports traditional reggae into the new millennium. As has been the case for the many years that they've been recording, Danny Clarke, Ansel Cridland and Winston Watson continue to wrap their gorgeous harmonies around songs that praise Jah and speak of overcoming everyday injustices. The Meditations draw on their legacy by reprising Bob Marley's "Blackman Redemption," a song on which they originally sang back-up vocals. They also update their sound with songs such as "African Connection," which suggests the Internet as a means of unifying black culture. Elsewhere, the dub-like "Living On The Edge" and the more harmonically rich "Ghetto Is A College" address some of the hardships of street life.


Despite the serious subject matter in some of these songs, all is not totally somber in the world of the Meditations. The pure joy reflected in the trio's melodic sensibilities constantly comes to the fore of songs like "Rudeboy Corner." This exhilaration is reflected whether it's Ansel Cridland making like a Jamaican Eddie Kendricks on "Excited" or the rock spin given to Curtis Mayfield's "Do Be Down."