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Open Season (http://www.openseason.ch)– Hot and Fire – Megalith Records licensed from Leech Records
http://www.megalithrecords.com/flash/mega022.swf
Open Season’s second studio album, Hot and Fire, establishes their vast musical diversity. Previously, Open Season stuck to rocksteady, ska and jazz in their previous songs but in this entry they’ve brought themselves to another level musically. In this album, they’ve added dancehall and electronics in a few of their songs and it has made the album distinct when compared to other current ska acts.
Both “Keep my fire burning” (the 2005 ska song of the year) and “Time to run” is unique in the ska genre with their dancehall flavor. “Ready for you” is a fantastic soulful, Doreen Shaffer-like, song, by Lucy James (who sounds exactly like pop singer Dido). “Green River”, “Kolibri Escapes” and “Coffee to go “ are excellent rocksteady/jazz songs. “What I have done wrong” is a great upbeat melodic ska song.
Also, the Megalith release has 4 bonus live tracks including crowd favorite “Rudies Unite”.
Clearly, the addition of the dancehall flavor made this album one of the best in the genre for 2005 but it also is keeping the genre fresh and exciting. The genre definitely needs more albums like this.
I am hoping that Open Season adds more dancehall in the future, however, this album is definitely recommended.
Rating:  [5 of 5 Stars!] |
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