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 | ||||
| Released | August 22, 2000 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 1:03:54 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Buju Banton chronology | ||||
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The album peaked at No. 128 on the Billboard 200.[4]
Production
editThe album contains contributions from Stephen Marley, Rancid, and Beres Hammond, among others.[1]
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [6] |
| The Evening Post | [7] |
| NME | [8] |
| (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide | [9] |
| Spin | 7/10[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- "Intro" – 0:39
- "23rd Psalm" (feat. Gramps of Morgan Heritage) – 5:44
- "Voice Of Jah" (feat. LMS) – 5:01
- "Sudan" – 4:41
- "We'll Be Alright" (feat. Luciano) – 4:24
- "Pull It Up" (feat. Beres Hammond) – 4:09
- "Life Is A Journey" – 4:07
- "Better Must Come" – 4:12
- "Mighty Dread" – 5:01
- "Poor Old Man" (feat. Stephen Marley) – 4:26
- "Law And Order" – 3:51
- "Guns And Bombs" – 3:20
- "Woman Dem Phat" – 3:16
- "No More Misty Days" (feat. Rancid) – 4:01
- "Pull It Up" (feat. Beres Hammond) (live) – 2:56
- "Reunion" (feat. Wayne Wonder) – 4:06
References
edit- ^ a b "Buju Banton, Preacher Mon". The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
- ^ "Buju Banton | Biography & History". AllMusic.
- ^ Thompson, Dave (May 25, 2002). "Reggae & Caribbean Music". Hal Leonard Corporation – via Google Books.
- ^ "Buju Banton". Billboard.
- ^ a b "Unchained Spirit - Buju Banton | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1. MUZE. p. 409.
- ^ Greeks, Polly (31 Aug 2000). "Movies & Music". The Evening Post. Features. p. 17.
- ^ "Unchained Spirit". September 12, 2005.
- ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (May 25, 2004). "The New Rolling Stone Album Guide". Simon and Schuster – via Google Books.
- ^ "Jump Cuts". SPIN. SPIN Media LLC. September 25, 2000 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Buju Banton Unchained Spirit | Exclaim!". exclaim.ca.
- ^ Preston, Rohan (20 Aug 2000). "POP MUSIC". The Star Tribune. p. 7F.