Smooth jazz covers of Bob Marley reggae tunes. The review on Amazon.com says it best: "Purists in the reggae community will be up in arms against producer Lee Ritenour for this 13-track star-studded effort, while the smooth-jazz world will rejoice over one of the year's best albums." Sometimes the artists try to keep the reggae feel, other times they abandon it completely in favor of smooth jazz. One of the nice things about this album is that the artists change on each track so that you're not always listening to vocals or trumpet or saxophone or guitar. It's an easy listen. This is actually the second in a three part "Twist" series put together by Ritenour. The other two are A Twist of Jobim (1997) and A Twist Of Motown (2003). This is the only one I have because the Jobim would be superfluous and the Motown unnecessary.
Tracks: These aren't necessarily my favorite Marley tunes, but instead they're the best tracks on this disc: Exodus, Get Up Stand Up, and Jamming. The covers of No Woman No Cry and Redemption Song are weaker than the other tracks.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: When I was going through a reggae phase around the turn of the century and bought this CD, I had just moved into a newly built office at work, so it reminds me of the smell of cinder block and floor tile adhesive. This is the type of music I would listen to when I wasn't teaching and if students (12-year-old musical snobs) would walk in, they would scrunch up their face and ask, "What is THAT?!?"
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