Buju Banton - 'Til Shilo: C or D

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Attention rockists: This is one of the few attempts at a cohesive LP in the singles game of Dancehall. But it works by switching up styles like a good Jamaican compilation - tossing in Wayne Wonder and Marcia Griffiths duets, beats running from Steely & Clevie basics to acoustic guitar backing - but keeping lyrics to a theme of loss. Buju is mournful and defeated-sounding and the themes of pining for finding "a virtuous woman" are intertwined with dreams of African repatriation. Both seem unlikely, to Buju and the listener, but his conviction is never in doubt.

The solemn, spiritual "conscious" tone of "Til Shiloh" might be implicit atonement for the hateful homophobic "Boom Bye Bye" hit single, but I know some will never forgive him that. I really don't know if he ever recanted.

Classic or Dud? Does applying an album-centric critical view work for Dancehall? Other great Dancehall LP's?

― fritz, Monday, 18 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I say Classic, if that wasn't clear.

― fritz, Monday, 18 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I think I heard a dancehally track use the music from "If You Had My Love" as a backing track. It was a bit bleh. That's my contribution to the thread. Thank you.

― Daver, Monday, 18 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

It's the only ragga-based non-compilation album I ow - I was going to buy the Elephant Man album but the tracks I downloaded didn't quite work for me. I remember really enjoying it but I've not played it for ages, though I put "Til I'm Laid To Rest" on a couple of tapes and I love it when I hear that.

Is it really dancehall? It's got a very rootsy vibe. "Untold Stories" strikes me as a Marley move almost. I don't know enough about reggae really to know.

― Tom, Monday, 18 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

urk, it's Til Shiloh, not shilo.

"Til I'm Laid To Rest" is unbelievably strong - it casts a shadow over the rest of the album, but a good shadow.

It does have a rootsy feel to it, but that doesn't make it un- dancehall does it? I don't know.

I think the only other non-compilation dancehall LP's I have are Cutty Ranks - The Stopper (which holds up as an album pretty well) and Capleton - Prophecy (which I only listen to for The Wings of The Morning remix).

― fritz, Monday, 18 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

the other great thing about "'Til Shiloh" is the "holiday time is coming, every woman wants a llama" line on the lyric sheet. Can that be right?

― fritz, Monday, 18 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I've got Elephant Man Comin' 4 You, which has its moments, but is a bit on the long side. Replacement Killer is the biz. I've also got Bounty Killer's My Xperience, which has more special guests than a Morecambe and Wise Christmas Special. I could live without the Fugees track, but most of it is pretty good, especially Fed Up. I've also got a Shabba Ranks compilation, which I haven't bothered listening to much. Flag Flown High, the new Bobby Digital compilation, is really good though.

― PM, Monday, 18 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Classic, hell yeah, especially "Untold Stories," which I saw on World Vision or something, a bizarre Afropop/Caribbean video show on late-night Howard University television (Channel 32 for those in the DC area). That was my first exposure to Buju and I was like "Cool, dancehall Tom Waits." A month or two later I bought 'Til Shiloh and was floored. I ralrey listen to the whole thing 'cause the first five songs are so strong on their own. One of very few dancehall albums (as opposed to comps) that I'd recommend to a reggae non-fan.

― adam, Monday, 18 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

yeah, he regrets the Boom Bye Bye record - was recorded when he was 16 or something, not released at the time, and then the producer released it when he was famous. (in JA artists aren't signed to any particular label, and record individual tracks for whoever pays them - as they get more famous they get to pick and choose, can command better rhythms to voice on etc). Buju Banton switched to a conscious direction in about 93(?)

Cutty Ranks - The Stopper is a bit patchy as an album, especially the appalling final track, but the best tracks make it worthwhile. the last two Sizzla albums are excellent conscious dancehall (and work really well as whole albums) - can't recommend them highly enough. Elephant Man is an excellent deejay, but quite deliberately offensive ("log on and step on chi-chi man" - hmmm)

― michael, Monday, 18 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I've been meaning to check out Sizzla for ages - what's a good place to start?

― fritz, Monday, 18 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

ten months pass...

Love reggae and dub, so I bought this.
Only listened to it once so far--cannot tolerate his voice.

― andy, Thursday, 30 January 2003 23:16 (twenty-one years ago) link

Capleton's "More Fire" is a stunning conscious dancehall album I'd recommend to anyone. There's a righteous ire firing his flow that floors me every time I hear it, and a synergy of digital and "live" rhythms that's really dense and overpowering. But there's also loads of really nasty homophobic stuff in the stew - it seems to be what the dancehall crowd wants to hear.

Buju might regret "Boom Bye Bye", but if you thought his conversion to Rastafarianism meant he'd renounced homophobia you'd be way off the mark. He was on a BBC Reggae documentary (which was basically Lloyd Bradley's "Bass Culture" in TV form) last year saying homosexuality is unnatural and evil because god says so blahblahblah. These are great records, but you can't conveniently separate the bigotry from the spirituality, or the reactionary moral stance from the fight for a better way of life for the sufferahs, that come with "consciousness" just because you like them. (Not that anyone here did, I just didn't want to write "one can't")

The spiritual awakening in conscious/rootsy dancehall means replacing the old slackness and gun talk with a social conscience, but the focus is often on overcoming "wickedness" in all its forms. Lots of it's fire and brimstone, judgement day stuff about fighting decadence with righteousness - the decadent being corrupt politicians, scantily-clad women, drug dealers who accelerate social decay, and the (apparently ubiquitous) chi chi man/batty boy/funny man etc. That's what "More Fire"'s about - burning the wicked so the righteous can prevail.

I really like these records, but I'm about ready to burn the first middle class white person who comes through with a defence which boils down to "they can't help being homophobic, they're oppressed" (as someone, probably a non-regular, did on a thread here not so long ago). That's so twisted and so fucking offensive to Jamaican people, gay people and humanity itself that it makes my blood boil.

― Leo Lonergan (Leo), Friday, 31 January 2003 15:31 (twenty-one years ago) link

three years pass...

"Til I'm Laid to Rest" alone carries this to C status. Revive cause I just rediscovered this record.

― RoxyMuzak© (roxymuzak), Saturday, 7 October 2006 18:20 (seventeen years ago) link

should i go see him live?

― am0n (am0n), Saturday, 7 October 2006 18:31 (seventeen years ago) link

Why not?

― RoxyMuzak© (roxymuzak), Saturday, 7 October 2006 18:35 (seventeen years ago) link

will he do "boom bye bye" if i request it

― am0n (am0n), Saturday, 7 October 2006 18:36 (seventeen years ago) link

not that i would ;'(

― am0n (am0n), Saturday, 7 October 2006 18:36 (seventeen years ago) link

where is he playing? sonar? i might go to that

― shabba ranks (dubplatestyle), Saturday, 7 October 2006 20:06 (seventeen years ago) link

this album is classic btw. i'd go buy a new copy right now if it wasnt raining

― shabba ranks (dubplatestyle), Saturday, 7 October 2006 20:07 (seventeen years ago) link

He got picketed here the other night apparently because of a song of his about killing gay people.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Saturday, 7 October 2006 22:51 (seventeen years ago) link

I haven't listened to this in years. I'm gonna put in on when I get back from the bar. Great record.

― adam (adam), Sunday, 8 October 2006 00:59 (seventeen years ago) link

i'll have to check out "til shiloh". listening to this now:

http://www.musicobsession.com/Pictures/b/u/bujubanton355724.jpg

if he's at sonar i ain't going. last time i was there i almost got my ass kicked/killed

― am0n (am0n), Sunday, 8 October 2006 19:19 (seventeen years ago) link

Donovan Germain was just killing it around 1995.

You almost can't go wrong with anything on Penthouse from around then.

― Confounded (Confounded), Sunday, 8 October 2006 20:08 (seventeen years ago) link

S'true.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Sunday, 8 October 2006 22:59 (seventeen years ago) link

twelve years pass...

He's being released from prison tomorrow: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/dec/07/buju-banton-return-jamaica-long-walk-to-freedom-tour

― rob, Friday, 7 December 2018 16:36 (five years ago) link

this was the album that made me realize post'84ish Jamaican stuff just didn't appeal to me :(

― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Friday, 7 December 2018 18:06 (five years ago) link

not an uncommon predicament! Though I hope you didn't go straight from Junjo to this one--that would be jarring as hell

― rob, Friday, 7 December 2018 18:51 (five years ago) link

I prob did! Til Shiloh was touted as the one "newer" album that would appeal to lovers of "classic" reggae. Because something something "conscious" lyrics I guess?

― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Friday, 7 December 2018 19:56 (five years ago) link

Ah, I can see how someone might frame it that way, but if my own experience with crossing into Sleng Teng country is a guide, I would definitely start in 1985 (maybe with the Tubby's Firehouse Revolution comp, if you ever feel like giving it another try).

― rob, Friday, 7 December 2018 20:22 (five years ago) link

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