Rockamovya (Young Tree, 2008)

Rockamovya is a "super group" teaming three members of Groundation (Ryan Newman, Marcus Urani, and lead singer Harrison Stafford) with legendary reggae drummer Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace and Grammy-nominated jazz guitarist Will Bernard. Of course, Groundation's music already incorporates copious jazz influences, so the prospect of reggae-jazz fusion is no big shock. Rockamovya is actually not much more jazzy than the average Groundation album; the one sound that it adds that Groundation's previous efforts have lacked is, oddly enough, rock steady. Instrumentals "Take the Night" and "Brown Stew Fish" take you straight back to the 1960s with their uptempo, old-timey grooves. There's also an unexpected bit of a dancehall twist on "Horse Dance," which features (brief) lead vocals by Wallace. Let's face it, though; Groundation fans want to hear Stafford's charistmatic wail, and he delivers just that on seven of the 10 tracks, all of which are the sort of jazz-tinged roots reggae we're used to hearing from Groundation. While the overall sound is there, the songs themselves aren't the outright classics we've come to expect from the group (Color us spoiled.), but Rockamovya is more of an "album album" in which the songs serve to make up the whole. Even if the tracks don't scream "classics," the album feels more about the love of music, something that shines through in the expansive, drawn-out tracks (five to eight minutes each) that feature extended instrumental stretches resulting from the super group's improvisational sessions together. This isn't everyone's cup of tea, though. There is little here that sounds single-worthy (maybe "Ya Better Rally" or "Coolin' I"), leaving litle concrete to grasp a hold of. Harrison's melodies, like the music, are loose and meander around the grooves -- although again, this isn't unexpected from him -- and while the sound is warm and welcoming, it sometimes sounds like an album to admire more than one to truly enjoy.