Since September 2010, this blog has recorded the journey of this music junkie as I attempt to listen to all the music in my CD collection. CDs revisited in their entirety from start to finish - no skipping tracks, no shuffle. Compact Discs only - no vinyl, no tapes, no files.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers - Conscious Party (1988)


Ziggy's third album, it was his breakout release for two reasons: 1) the label was smart enough to bring in the husband-wife team of Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth (Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club) to produce this album, and 2) the infectious single, Tomorrow People, which reached #39 on the US charts. (In 2009, Tomorrow People was voted the 85th greatest one-hit wonder of the '80s by VH1. I'm sure that poll was very scientific.) The album won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae album in 1989. Overall, it hits me like most reggae albums: I can easily listen to the whole thing from start to finish and I can't sit still while listening. Preferred movement for reggae? The head bob.


Album chart peaks:
  • US Billboard Top 200: #23 (July 2, 1988)
  • Billboard Pop CD: #10
  • Billboard R&B: #26

Tracks: Tomorrow People is easily the best track on the disc, but it is all in the same vein: slick, polished, pop-reggae. The title track is also good, as are Tumblin' Down, A Who A Say, and the preachy We Propose.


Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Late during the summer of 1988, I danced to this album at a party in Commerce - my first exposure to the music as I wasn't listening to reggae at that point in my life. It seems like that party was held in a hot carport under a bare light bulb. Good times.

I purchased this disc from a used CD bin around 2000 when I was going through a "world music" phase.

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