Unchained Spirit is a studio album by the dancehall/reggae artist Buju Banton, released in 2000.[2][3] It was his first and only album to be released on the ANTI- record label, an imprint of Epitaph Records.

Unchained Spirit
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 22, 2000
Genre
Length1:03:54
Label
Buju Banton chronology
Inna Heights
(1997)
Unchained Spirit
(2000)
Friends for Life
(2003)

The album peaked at No. 128 on the Billboard 200.[4]

Production

edit

The album contains contributions from Stephen Marley, Rancid, and Beres Hammond, among others.[1]

Critical reception

edit
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [5]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music     [6]
The Evening Post     [7]
NME     [8]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide     [9]
Spin7/10[10]

Exclaim! wrote that "the treacle far outstrips anything resembling a tuff rhythm here ... even over the good rhythms, Buju doesn't seem to have the command he once did."[11] The Star Tribune thought that "Buju's grainy voice flows over slowly distilled lattices of rhythms and multi-part South African-style harmonies."[12] M.F. DiBella of AllMusic defined the album as a "a vital and rhythmic mix of homegrown Jamaican philosophy, biblical harmonizing, and just plain eerie dancehall".[5]

Track listing

edit
  1. "Intro" – 0:39
  2. "23rd Psalm" (feat. Gramps of Morgan Heritage) – 5:44
  3. "Voice Of Jah" (feat. LMS) – 5:01
  4. "Sudan" – 4:41
  5. "We'll Be Alright" (feat. Luciano) – 4:24
  6. "Pull It Up" (feat. Beres Hammond) – 4:09
  7. "Life Is A Journey" – 4:07
  8. "Better Must Come" – 4:12
  9. "Mighty Dread" – 5:01
  10. "Poor Old Man" (feat. Stephen Marley) – 4:26
  11. "Law And Order" – 3:51
  12. "Guns And Bombs" – 3:20
  13. "Woman Dem Phat" – 3:16
  14. "No More Misty Days" (feat. Rancid) – 4:01
  15. "Pull It Up" (feat. Beres Hammond) (live) – 2:56
  16. "Reunion" (feat. Wayne Wonder) – 4:06

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Buju Banton, Preacher Mon". The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Buju Banton | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  3. ^ Thompson, Dave (May 25, 2002). "Reggae & Caribbean Music". Hal Leonard Corporation – via Google Books.
  4. ^ "Buju Banton". Billboard.
  5. ^ a b "Unchained Spirit - Buju Banton | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  6. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1. MUZE. p. 409.
  7. ^ Greeks, Polly (31 Aug 2000). "Movies & Music". The Evening Post. Features. p. 17.
  8. ^ "Unchained Spirit". September 12, 2005.
  9. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (May 25, 2004). "The New Rolling Stone Album Guide". Simon and Schuster – via Google Books.
  10. ^ "Jump Cuts". SPIN. SPIN Media LLC. September 25, 2000 – via Google Books.
  11. ^ "Buju Banton Unchained Spirit | Exclaim!". exclaim.ca.
  12. ^ Preston, Rohan (20 Aug 2000). "POP MUSIC". The Star Tribune. p. 7F.