Reviews (page 5 of 7)
Bit of an oddball album this one. A Scottish fellow singing reggae when as far as I can see apart from his heritage has nothing to do with the Caribbean. I actually thought before today he was a US soul singer such was my knowledge of him. So I’ll put this new found knowledge of him in the memory banks just in case I happen to be at a pub quiz when he comes up. As unlikely as me playing this again. 2/5 31/3/26
People who have problem with Robert Smith's voice shall listen to this gentleman. Reggae is not my cup of tea. It is not 100% reggae so my point is higher than one.
super du reggae ^^^^^^^^^ j'adoreeee ^^ En vrai, ça va.
If this were on in the background I could easily ignore it and not remember a thing about it as if it were never playing at all. Actively listening to it resulted in me skipping to the next song for about half of the album and then totally abandoning it.
I mostly didn't connect with this one. Sounded very dated, particularly when it skewed more in the reggae direction. But the songs that leaned more funk/hip-hip (like "Supreme I Preme" and "Red Rolled and Seen") felt a bit more timeless and I did connect more with them.
Did not get going
musically this had potential but idk it just feels lazy?
This sucks. Beat poetry with no beat or purpose.
2.5 Wasnt as corny as I though it was going to be. Listenable but unremarkable
i know nothing about this artist, or this genre of music. that being said, I don't hate this, but did I really NEED to listen to this? Is it that groundbreaking?
Casse couille
If I don't think too hard about a Scottish man born in Edinburgh affecting a Jamaican accent to make some reggae music, then this is some alright reggae music.
Hold on, he's Scottish? What? Something half decent in here, but not enough to make me keep asking about his Scottishness. Then you read the top review and the associated news articles that it references and it does at least confirm that he is definitely Scottish.
I don’t really like reggae of whatever flavor, and there’s certainly nothing special about this.
Ok in parts but what a relief when it finally came to an end.
Sometimes this experience has me questioning if I actually like music
boring
He does some interesting stuff with the genre, I'll give him that, I just don't know that I need this many reggae albums in my life.
I’ll start with the positive: the music itself was an interesting, a combination of reggae, funk, pop, and rock that had some potential. But the lyrics were often incredibly stupid; my “favorite” line was “I’m a hero like Robert DeNiro.” And vocally it sounds like he’s doing a bad Bob Marley impression through the whole album. I looked it up-the dude is Scottish and has no Jamaican heritage. So the vocals come off weird and borderline offensive.
Even after all is one of my fave songs. This albums though truely doesn't back it up. A few good songs. Way too much filler and it's feels wat longer than 50mins.
This didn’t blow me away, but I could see it being cool for a certain mood. First single Sunday Shining pretty good.
Some songs were okay but I'm not a reggae guy
It felt like I was left “on hold” for 51 minutes. Or on a really long elevator ride.
Pretty boring, yeah
Finley Quaye – Maverick A Strike (1997) On Day 73, Maverick A Strike turned out to be a bit of a letdown. While it has its highs and lows, the overall experience was honestly just boring and sounded somehow dull. It tries to blend reggae rhythms with 90s pop, but the result lacks the triumphant energy or the deep soul needed to make it a standout body of work. There are moments of decent production, and I can see the high-level effort in the arrangements, but it doesn't do enough to pull me in. It’s not buns like the previous day, but it’s far from a masterpiece. A fair 2/5 for an album that just didn't have enough spark to stay interesting.
A perfectly listenable roots reggae album by what is it doing on this list?!
2.5, revisit
4/10
It's ok. Some great moments, some dross.
Felt like a watered down reggae album. Normally reggae feels like being on a beach vacation, and this didn’t have a transportative quality
Based on the description I had low expectations and they were not exceeded. Not offensive but in my opinion pretty dull. I saved “Sunday Shining”.
I’m not exactly the one to determine it, but a Scottish man with Ghanaian roots singing reggae in a fake Jamaican accent feels like some sort of cultural appropriation
Not for me i think
"Paaaaaaas du tout"
Baffling that this is one of only a handful of real Reggae albums on this list. Bit too long and the end didn't really have many noteworthy songs for me. Some songs were pretty decent IMO. There were some groovy instrumentals and I have a soft spot for the very cliché sounding 90's pop songs on here. Not really one I'd come back to though.
Bet this sucks
2,1/5
Musically, 𝘔𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘢 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘦 isn’t a bad album at all — its blend of late-90s pop, reggae, and trip-hop touches is perfectly serviceable. The problem is that there were already plenty of records exploring this exact mix around that time, often with more character. And Finley Quaye’s voice, which should be a distinguishing feature, ends up being more irritating than engaging. I certainly wouldn’t have handed him a Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist in 1998. Pleasant enough in places, but far from essential.
Well, the music itself was mediocre, but after Googling his name, and finding out more about his shenanigans(as well as blatant bigotry), I deducted a point. Favorite Track: "Sunday Shining".
This album doesn't belong on any lists, seriously. Giving it 2 stars only because it isn't actively offensive to my ears.
I remember Maverick A Strike by Finley Quaye being absolutely everywhere when it came out. It felt huge at the time, one of those records you couldn’t avoid. Listening back now, I honestly struggle to see why it blew up quite so much. There are a couple of genuinely lovely songs here Sunday Shining and Your Love Gets Sweeter but beyond those highlights, there isn’t a great deal going on. The album settles into a very safe, chilled, mainstream reggae groove and never really pushes beyond that. It’s pleasant enough, but that’s about it. There’s far stronger, more interesting reggae out there that never made the 1001 Albums list, which makes this inclusion feel a bit generous. It also drags towards the end a tighter tracklist would have helped a lot. Favourite track: Sunday Shining – easily the standout and still a great song. Least favourite tracks: The final stretch (tracks 10–13) adds nothing and could have been cut without loss. Album artwork: Fine, but completely unremarkable.
This didn't do anything for me. I'm not terribly surprised, after reading the Wikipedia entry, as the 1001 has a bunch of head scratching UK selections. These are recordings that are usually pretty boring, and certainly not something that everyone should listen to before they die LOL
I love reggae, I love dub music in particular, but to have a list of 1001 albums you *have* to listen to, and then add this lame shit but nothing including King Tubby is pretty impressive.
Njet
Me aburrió
This is fine, and largely fun, but there were a couple of times when I thought to myself, "y'know, I could just listen to Tricky or Bob Marley." That may say more about me than the music, but I think it still says something about the music.
Only listened to 1 underwhelming song
2/5
2.5ish
Laid-back, reggae-tinged grooves built from smooth guitar skanks, relaxed bass lines, soft beats, and understated vocals move this Reaggie album like a hammock strung too low—pleasantly swaying at first, but so slack and uneventful that it quickly slips into plain boredom.
Uninteresting
It ain’t Bob Marley.
This was not Ultra Stimulating.
This did not make an impression on me despite really liking what reggae I have heard. I would rate this a 2 but for the production which is really good both in terms of muscianship and variety.
2.5 - ok, liked the bass tone
I like african music, but this isn t very varied.
Scottish reggae, something new everyday. I Need a Lover is the most stand out only because it at least sounds different than everything else.
I was off with this one. I usually listen to these when im out giving the dog a walk but my day was weird and I listened to this in the car, driving in the snow. So maybe its the new perspective but I didnt get anything out of this. Its not bad but its not good either. Its too in the middle. I like the reggae type vibes at least. Just none of the songs grabbed me. And thats kinda it. Just doesnt have anything for me. And thats it
Funky Scottish Reggae, who knew?
I didn’t know there was such a thing as easy listening reggae
This is ok. I didn’t dislike listening to this record, but it didn’t really do anything for me either.
Even the Jamaican artists on this list are Scottish.
Such a disappointment. Not heard anything by this artist. Started with some promise but didn't go anywhere and you;d be better off with the simple mainstream style.
This album was fine. I could understand its reason for being on the list as I think it was interesting and almost feel like the inspiration for lots of 2000-2010 pop that had some reggae influences. I don’t think I’d listen again though.
I like reggae and this was easy to listen to. But it's a fake reggae from some Scottish dude. I'd rate this as just an okay album, far from great. And I need a dose of hip-hop. I'm going to listen to Ice Cube and Eric B. & Rakim. 2/5 —————————————— Liked songs: — You Love Gets Sweeter
Dull. Not sure why this is here.
A decent tune or two, but really not my vibe
I can tell this is good music, but it's not music I'm really into. So I'm listening and it's chill but not my vibe.
Well that was weird
Is it Maverick or is it Iceman? 4 Marty doesn't like music out of 10 gizzards
I vaguely recalled the name Finley Quaye from my childhood in the 90s, but it was only “Your Love Gets Sweeter” that stirred some sort of recollection of his music. This was a nice, perfectly inoffensive album. Apart from “Your Love Gets Sweeter”, I liked “Sunday Shining” particularly. The rest of the tracks were serviceable, but didn’t stand out to me in any way. It’s probably more deserving of 2.5*, but it’s not quite a 3* for me.
Genuinely very surprised to see this on the list. There was a brief period of time in the UK in the 90s where is was impossible not to hear a Finley Quaye song whenever you listened to the radio (mostly Sunday Shining to be fair, as it was a massive hit). And then he almost completely disappeared from the radio and the charts. I had never listened to this album before. I thought I might like it, as I remember liking all the singles and I am pretty keen on reggae-tinged tracks in general. I actually found it dragged a bit, and I didn't like any album track as much as the singles (particularly Your Love Gets Sweeter). Just fine. 2/5 (because it can't be 2.5)
my "multipliers of 100" albums are really going on a bad streak. it peaked at the 100th which was run-dmc's raising hell and there's never one "multiples of 100" albums that are above a 4 appearing to me again. also as soon as we leave england into the three other countries of great britain, my judgement gets harsher... add in "world music" genres like reggae and my judgement gets far more harsher. we already have bob marley i mean. like, sometime i got really fed up by how a bunch of english boomers come together to compile the list. they need boomers, gen x, gen y and gen z people together to make the new version and also console rate your music, pitchfork, all time 1000 albums, aoty, fantano and famous music critics all over the world using a weighted average to compile the real 1001 best albums you must listen before you die. there's a madlad that is on this list, an essential american, get so fed up of the album that he thinks we must pave a new way and every album that nobody talked about in 25 years should get away from the list... wait a minute he's the same guy who gave kanye a bunch of 1s just because of his goddamn so fucking awful politics and instead unnessesarily glazes jewish artists using the space where people should rave about how runaway is the best kanye song of all time because he wasnt insane in the past and the song is good. ok social justice warrior. did you said that tmbg is too nerdy for you? i have no word to say to you. goodspeed, you person with no whimsy and finds no joy in life. The only thing I would agree with you is that this album is boring. 2/5
Didn’t care for this
Not for me
Reggae frå 90-talet
Welcome to another rendition of "you can definitely die without listening to this one".
Not bad, but not special.
ehhhh. i liked the reggae vibe on this. there was some attempt at infusing it with somethign new but tbh i dont think it worked. and all of the songs sounded the same? idk man!
just not very good i fear
First off: Scottish Reggae with a fake Jamaican accent? What was Robert Dimery thinking? Second: It's a bad mixture of music genres. Reggae, Trip-hop, Funk, and Rap: those styles can go together ... just not on this album. I noticed that by the time we get to "I Need a Lover" Finley's fake Jamaican accent had faded, only to return on the final track. (This is a nice way of saying he's a rip-off artist.) Third: As a result of the above, I had trouble taking this seriously.
Album 985 of 1089 Maverick A Strike - Finley Quaye (1997) Rating : 2.5 / 5 This one lands squarely in the category of “perfectly fine while it’s on, but gone from memory the moment it stops.” The tracks are listenable enough - nothing grating, nothing offensive, nothing that made me want to reach for the skip button. But at the same time, nothing about Quaye’s voice, style, or songwriting really grabbed me or made me curious to dig deeper. It’s one of those albums that keeps everything at a steady mid-level without ever pushing into something memorable. A respectable effort, sure, but it didn’t leave any lasting impression. Just a straight-up “meh” listen for me today.
Nope.
This wasn’t too bad, didn’t feel like it was anything special though.
Weak tea. Also I was distracted by the title because Raul Malo died today and I just wanted to listen to the Mavericks.
Decent for a Scot, haven’t heard of him before
Something felt off about this and then I found out the singer is pretending to be Jamaican. Which is weird. Some of the actual music is fine. But the performance is off putting. 2/5
I liked 5 of the tracks. But mostly because I was trying to be generous. This album is pretty canned, reggae-by-the-numbers. I'd never heard of this guy before today. And he'll probably just as quickly disappear even if I went out and purchased 5 of the tracks here (2, 3, 4, 6, 10). Not gonna break the bank. 2 stars (being generous).
I’d never heard of Finley Quaye, and that would’ve been ok, I guess. This album is nowhere near essential. Most of the album is soulless, without emotion. When he sings “I Need a Lover,” you don’t believe it. (And you’d feel sorry for any would-be lover.) Also, it’s great to love reggae, but you don’t need to adopt a faux-Jamaican accent to sing it. “Sunday Shining” is nice. I can pass on everything else.
2.5
this too falls victim to my bad mood today
Vind trip hop en reggae elementen altijd wel echt prettig samenwerken, en dus was ik in eerste instantie best een tevreden luisteraar. Maar halverwege was de sjeu er wel echt vanaf, en voelde het vooral aan als 'plastic reggae' zonder al te veel ziel. Maar geen verkeerde muziek voor tijdens werkzaamheden. 6/10 Highlights: Your Love Gets Sweeter
Tja, dit is gewoon een saai album. Niet slecht maar hier haal ik helemaal niks uit. 4/10
Maybe just not for me. Grooved a little but the composition of much of the album seemed… overly complex for the sake of being complex I guess
We’ll start positively, I quite liked Sunday Shining. On the downside the rest of this album was painfully dull. I actually accidentally set the album on repeat and didn’t notice until Sunday Shining came on again. It was all just very samey. Sweet And Loving Man in particular I couldn’t stand as every time he sang the title of the song there was a buzzing sound exactly like in the intro of Cocomelon. Kids used to love it and I have an everlasting hatred of it. Top Track - Sunday Shining
There are some songs on this that are fine, but I just can’t get past the put on accents and the fact that he spent the vast majority of his time after this record getting into scrapes all over the shop.
125 Pucha, se me ocurrió leer los reviews. Igual me gusta el reggae diluido 90ero de escocia, en el sentido de que no todas las canciones eran mega iguales, pero al final pensé que el disco había terminado como 3 veces.
Y'know, it's not even like this album starts off too badly. The first couple of tracks? Yeah, I was kinda digging them. Sure, it's not reggae on the level of, say, to name an obvious name, Bob Marley — but what could? Even the one song with a Bob Marley writing credit couldn't hope to. Besides, it's not like I have high expectations for reggae, anyway. I'm the kind of person who enjoys "Rude" by MAGIC! and "Informer" by Snow; my standards can't be any lower. As long as it has that kind of reggae groove, I'm more than happy — and this album has it. In its first four tracks, anyway. Once we get past them, trouble starts to set in. There starts to be some deviation, and other influences incorporated — and that's not bad! A little variety and experimentation can't hurt, as long as it's done well! And this stuff ... hoo boy. I mean — I don't know. I wanna tell you more about how the album played from this point on, but if I'm completely honest, I was too busy tryna keep it from making my ass fall asleep to really concentrate on the actual music itself. Seriously, at a point (and it's a **sudden** point) this album gets **really boring**. The sleepy kind of boring, at that. I honestly could have used to nod off for the night: that's how uninteresting it suddenly gets. Jus', whatever it was doing in the first stretch that managed to engage me so much, this album completely drops. It loses me and it's never able to grab on to me again. And, y'know, other such ways of saying that I found it **completely dull**. Y'know what this is, to me, honestly? Imitation brand reggae. Oh, sure, it looks like reggae — and maybe if you're desperate for the real stuff this might do in a pinch. But when you know what the **real** stuff tastes like, this bland-ass shit, with its bland instrumentals and way-too-present voice, could never compare. Seriously: cod reggae is realer reggae than the shit this guy made. And how in the world do you lose a "reggae realness" competition to a bunch of Canadians? If "Informer" of all things clears you... And, yeah, that's really all I hafta say about that. This album is just hopelessly dull. There is so much better reggae out there (including acts like Toot & The Maytalls, who, last I heard, weren't even **on** this list), and this can't even begin to compare. I can't begin to imagine why this got a spot here, if I'm being completely honest. It's not even like it's that bad; it has its spots early on, certainly. It's jus', like ... I'unno. I ain't got nuthin' else. I jus' needa go listen to 'Exodus' again or something else before I **completely** nod off.
I’m at a 2. It’s just boring. That’s the TL;DR: it’s really, really fucking boring. Instrumentally, it’s not bad, and there’s generally a decent energy that comes through on a number of the tracks that keeps this thing at least generously listenable. The attempts at blending in some extra genres onto a reggae base are alright at best & sort of an overproduced flop at worst. There are some egregiously boring tracks here though; a lot of the back half of the album suffers from incessantly plain instrumentals with no sense of progression whatsoever, or an utterly plain lead melody that’s not memorable in the slightest. The back half is the worst half, but at least the front half of the album is trying to do something fun, and generally, it works well to the ears, even if it slightly falls apart under any kind of real analysis. Finley Quaye, in addition to singing here, produced this album himself, and I’ll give him some credit for keeping it together. This is a Scottish man, whose dad was born in London, and his great-grandfather was born in Ghana. This is… Jamaican reggae music. I’m not saying there’s not any overlap here between musical styles, because there almost certainly is, but the link in terms of familial influence feels more like a tribute act for the hell of it than one with any kind of deeper roots. His vocals are fine; slightly melodic at best, often passably “too present” in ways that take attention away / overshadow some of the instrumentals, and downright incomprehensibly babbly at worst. His presence is sort of felt, but ultimately, I found it to be distracting more than anything, and that’s because of this album’s real biggest sin. I have absolutely no idea what the fuck he’s saying. Lyrically, Finley Quaye is no Bob Marley, and as such, the vast majority of lines here feel unfinished, they feel yappy, and as a whole, none of these tracks come across as feeling complete. The only shining grace here is the lovely “Your Love Gets Sweeter”, which has such a positive & bright vibe in its actually structured lyrics, that I can sort of look past the mediocre instrumental to give it some praise as the track I enjoyed the most. Beyond that, though… boy, some of these make not a goddamn lick of sense. I can’t even really go back and tell you which ones, because I found myself baffled half the time to even wager a guess. It’s very easy to hear though. Going off of Spotify plays, I guess people like “Even After All”, and that track seems like… I dunno, apologizing for soldiers being murderers and loving them regardless, or something? I couldn’t parse it, and I somehow parsed most of “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway”. Maybe it’s a UK thing. I don’t think it’s a terrible album, just one that’s so utterly mediocre that it comes across as deeply boring – I do think there are bad tracks, but nothing that brings outright rage because it totally sucks or anything, just purely underwhelming energy, or a lack of care that makes me not want to care. I think it has maybe the most boring track we’ve gotten throughout the 1001 so far, which is the 4-minute drum loop that is “Red Rolled and Seen”, a track that truly, truly goes nowhere for its entire runtime. Even “Haute de gamme” at least bothered to put a lead melody on its dogshit tracks. Ultimately, the early instrumental energy, the enjoyable “Your Love Gets Sweeter”, and the earnest effort put into a lot of this album to at least present itself as a passable attempt to refresh reggae music for the late ‘90s, all get this the saving grace of a 2. I truly don’t think it actually gets as low as a 1 (save for “Red Rolled and Seen”), and maybe the ceiling here is a 3 if some of these tracks ever click a little better in the future, though I don’t see myself coming back to this album anytime soon. For now though, it’s 51 minutes (too long) that leaves me unimpressed, but at least in a way where I can tell they tried. It’s a 2. No more “Quaye”s on the list, thankfully. Between this & “Maxinquaye”, I can’t say they’ve been lucky.
Aside from a couple fun moments I was pretty bored throughout this listen, but I don’t reckon I’m a qualified judge of Scottish reggae
I consider myself a reggae guy. But this didn’t do much for me
Fine. Not my thing. Felt long
Electronica and Reggae are an interesting combination. That said, that's about the only thing I found interesting or enticing about this album. It just faded into the background, never once really grabbing me.
This style just ain’t for me. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it (maybe? Idk). I just didn’t like it.
Got bored
2.5. Boring and lame but not awful.
# Playlist Track - Sunday Shining # Notes - Album starts alright! I dared to be optimistic about what was coming. Reggae is not my cup of tea, but maybe I'd get a few nice tracks out of it. - I was wrong. After the third track, it all gets super repetitive and uninspiring, with the tail end of the album being *bad*, including the title track.
i kinda liked the last track but the rest sucked
Whyyyy?
It's like Reggae light. I'm not sure what this guy was going for but, whatever it is, it's not for me.
Bordering on a 1
I guess that was “innovating” reggae but I don’t like its innovations. Way too squawky and boring.
The 90s had the worst music
Feel like I’ve had a few of these lately but feels fairly middle of the road, no strong feelings either way. A sort of odd mix of songs with a reggae ish vibe at times but not quite so. Do I have to listen to this before I die? Not sure on that one.
ok gets boring fast
Why is he in a microwave?
Meh, it's fine. There's nothing groundbreaking about this besides the fact that it's a pastiche of rock, soul, reggae, etc. It's middle of the road like roadkill--flat and unmoving.
On seeing this pop up, I was thinking, from memory, that music wasn't in a particularly exciting place in 1997, but then I googled Best Albums of 1997 and in fact, there were some pretty good ones - OK Computer, The Fat of the Land, Dig Your Own Hole, The Boatman's Call, The Colour and the Shape, Homework, etc etc - not all personally to my taste, but all interesting and still notable. I remembered the name Finley Quaye, but didn't remember any of his songs. On listening, I'm underwhelmed, I'm afraid. Sunday Shining had a really nice feel to it, but it wasn't a compelling album overall. I didn't hate the chilled sort of dub bass or overall vibe, but I did read one review pointing out that he wasn't Jamaican and it lacked authenticity, which bothered me, and on side two, more tracks were boring than not. I guess I'm left thinking it was an okay-sounding album overall, but I can't think I'll have a reason to seek it out again.
2/5 Not a great album, waters down a lot of what is going on at the time into palatable hits, boring. At times I get glimpses of something, but it just makes me want to listen to an Asian dub foundation album. I will give this one another listen at some point, but only because it sold much better than it should, and clearly tapped into something. Will revisit once I’ve listened to some more of the contemporaries, but for now this is a no go for me.
I don’t see what this album offers which qualifies it to be on the list.
Du reggae ? Non.
Reggae gonna reggae. 2.5/5
Unfortunately I despise reggae music :(
“Pass me the headphones, I’m dying and I forgot to listen to Maverick A Strike, by that Finley Quaye chap,” said no one ever! This came out at the time there was a mad passion for reggae influenced music. I thought this was pretty soulless soul and clichéd reggae in 1997, and I haven't changed my mind in the intervening years. His voice is like 2 day old bath water and his music is what porridge would produce if it could. It’s bland, it’s passionless and it’s not even worth hating.
Another of those albums which aren’t bad, per se, but I didn’t enjoy. While some of the instrumentals are pretty good, on the whole, it was too repetitive and boring. I also found the fake Jamaican accent offputting. 2.5
Album
This album did not deserve to be on the list
Sometimes music that is different really strike your fancy and catch your attention. Sometimes it just blends into the background. For me, forgettable, despite sounding so unique.
I’d heard the name Finley Quaye but didn’t know anything about him or his music before listening to this album. I’m pretty sure I’ve never heard any of his tracks before, but was vaguely hopeful as Spotify also had him appear on some chill out Ibiza playlists… but I can only guess that was a trancey remix or something. Now I don’t know much reggae, obviously Saint Bob who is a favourite summer chilled listen. When I worked at Camden Market back in the 80’s a lot of reggae was played, which I enjoyed, but apart from aforementioned Saint Bob I’ve never brought any reggae music myself. I guess Finley Quaye is pretty good to have made it onto the top 1001 list, but he’s not really my thing. Doubt I’ll ever listen to this again.
The singles are the obvious highlights here, but the rest is drab. Overall this album just sounds shallow and unauthentic. Nobody needs to hear this album before they die.
Es un Dub bastante planchado que acelera poco y mucho tiene que envidiarle al reggea jamaiquino. Que se dediquen a otra cosa los yankees.
It's fun, but it doesn't make me more fond of reggae.
A few decent songs, but overall not particularly enjoyable
The most listenable song was probably Sunday Shining and that wasn’t even a song I’d put back on.
I typically listen to these on YouTube. Someone posted this full album over a year ago. It had only 400 views, and I can see why nobody else has been foolish enough to seek this thing out. Some songs were alright I guess (I dug the horns), but something about that Jamaican-ish accent was giving me Mr. Nice Guy vibes.
Pretty forgettable, not the worst thing I've heard but not that far off.
3.5/10 Wasn't quite prepared for how bad this was. Low 2, just because at least it was varied.
Wasnt as bad as the last few
I like the sound and the production. I don’t like the songs. With the exception of Sunday Shining and Supreme I Preme, which were rather nice
Guess it's a reggae album...
It was interesting to hear a British reggae artist, but I didn’t connect with the songs or grasp the concept—it just wasn’t for me.
Reggaeraggaragga!! Från Skottland! Känslan är att det är meningen att det ska bli lite sköna, avslappnade vibes. Men, det är så pass avslappnat att det blir långtråkigt. Händer väldigt lite. Många låtar låter som att käre Finley halvhjärtat svängt ihop något på en kafferast. Inget inspirerande. 'Even After All' är literally hissmusik. På något sätt är den låten hans mest spelade på Spotify. Troligtvis just för att den spelats på repeat i hissar. Allt är dock inte skit. 'Ride On and Turn the People On' och 'Supreme I Preme' är rätt coola. 'The Way of the Explosive' har en tung basslinga. 'Your Love Gets Sweeter' är söt. Bästa låt: Your Love Gets Sweeter.
Some interesting moments but mostly weak faux-reggae.
This felt like something was off the whole time. I usually listen to these things blind. No reviews, no wiki, no google. Something was just not right here, and it turns out, he's Scottish, not Jamaican. Not even from Jamaica, but Ghana. Idk about you, but I know that's a whole ocean apart. Now, there's nothing wrong with being a Scotsman from Ghana and making reggae, but it felt like he was trying really hard to not be himself. The album as a whole is totally fine. Nothing jumps out of the speakers, but nothing was like nails on a chalkboard. I Need a Lover was cool, though.
Je ne connaissais pas cette album ni l’artiste alors c’est parti pour une découverte. Déjà c’est un peu style reggae. Je suis pas une grande fan mais écoutons. Le style est vraiment particulier, je n’aime pas trop personnellement à part Sunday Shining et deux autres mais pas du tout mon genre personnellement.. Comme je me suis ennuyé à l’écoute mais que quelque musique sont pas mal, je met 2/5.
Reggae from a dude from Scotland........ Better than expected but the album got progressively shittier as it went on.
Oh my god why is his mouth so big? Seriously, it's the stuff of nightmares... Sorry Mr. Quaye, you don't need a lover, you need therapy.
Pretty boring pop reggae.
2.5
2.5
Back in high school my friends and I used to kind of romanticize British popular music as better than the US. The more I delve into Robert Dimery's book, the more I'm finding that's a load of bollocks. And this is a prime example. I can see why this was not double platinum in the US, I cannot see why it went that far in the UK. Nothing groundbreaking and safe as milk. This album at its best is cliche 90s pop reggae. At its worst it is no better than run of the mill adult contemporary of the time. The only song on this album that I even remotely liked was "Your Love Gets Sweeter, which in itself sounds like it could be used in an ad for a Caribbean vacation, but at least it was catching enjoyable. Honestly, the rest of this album I can completely do without. I definitely don't consider this a must listen. (4.6) ★★
Several lacking in hooks, and overall mostly boring. 2.5 stars
Three strikes.
should have been struck from the record
From that album cover, not at all what I was expecting
I liked the reggae vibe but not so much his voice
I didn't hate it, pretty non-offensive but also kinda boring reggae/reggaeton faire.
I once saw Finley Quaye perform at V Festival in 1999. Outside of the hits, I was only reasonably familiar with Maverick A Strike, but I recall his set seemed much more rootsy and stripped back than the recordings, and he ultimately cut his set short because he "wanted to go and catch James Brown" who was headlining on the main stage. What I remember most about the performance though, is how effortlessly he could sing. I don't think I've seen anyone else, before or since, be able hold a microphone so far away from their mouth so consistently and still have such volume and clarity in their voice. Really impressive stuff if you were there, even if the set itself seemed a bit rough around the edges and a bit half-arsed - which seemed fairly cool back in 1999. Sadly, it would seem, he took his half-arsed approach to gigging to the extreme in more recent years, which is a shame, because for a while he was certainly a promising artist as Maverick A Strike remains testament to, without necessarily setting the world on fire.
Know nothing about this artist. Sick dub on the first song but the voice is not hitting me. The lyrics are not great. Nothing really sticking out to me
The acquired Jamaican accent is annoying. The singles are okay.
Finley sets out a set of nice, chill, dubby, reggae grooves. So chilled in fact that he doesn’t feel the need to write any hooks into his songs, which float around cheerfully for the best part of an hour. Music for patient, kind hearted souls.
3/10
Can’t stand reggae, couldn’t get through is
Not a huge fan
Kind of liked it, kind of annoying at the same time
I'm not really a fan of him faking a Jamaican accent, nor of his real world violent tendencies. I would have preferred to hear him with his native Scottish accent, and I'm not sure he deserves much attention after over 22 convictions. Without that out of the way, I do love the jazzy and reggae influenced backing tracks. Lots of fun in a bunch of different genres. His backing band is a fantastic group of performers. But I cannot in good conscience give it more than a 2.
Meh
Definitely wasn't up my street, was some sort of laid back reggae house. Went by quickly enough, preferred it when it was more reggae than house, but definitely wouldn't go back.
Pretty good.
So incredibly boring it’s crazy. A few decent tracks, but nothing that makes me want to come back for more.
Voice is annoying af. Music is alright.
Bueno…
chill raggae
Utterly forgettable.
I honestly have no clue how this album ended up on a top albums list, but here we are. It’s not bad, but the lyrics feel very run of the mill and borderline stereotypical. I mean, we already know there’s “no room for fighting because the sun is shining.” Bob Marley taught that decades ago, and said it better. The production leans into that typical 90s dub and trip-hop blend with some pop rock flourishes. Like I said, the music isn’t terrible, but it’s not all that enjoyable either. Everything about this album feels so typical and predictable that it starts to feel like we’re just beating a dead horse.
The insane over-representation of Gen X British music strikes again!
Felt very same-y, there's some decent tracks but mostly ehhhh.
One good song, and boring otherwise
Another very middle of the road album, nothing special to write home about. Some of the tracks have a solid and interesting bass lines, but they get a little too repetitive after a while. I would consider giving it a 3 with it being so up the middle, but it's also highly forgettable, so I gotta give it a 2
Nothing to write home about here. Some mediocre reggae from a scottish artist. Makes you appriciate how great Bob Marley was. 4/10 for the vibes
This is a watered down version of someone cosplaying as a genre I don't really like. Not great.
Look, I'm not going to go in on the guy for being Scottish and making reggae. I used to enjoy Matisyahu (been a while) who is in a similar boat. But I do feel like if you're in that kind of situation you have to make your music stand out. You can't just do your own version of the blandest, most accessible angles of the music. The Matisyahu album I used to listen to had some ripping guitar moments, very heartfelt delivery, etc. This album just sounds bland and annoying. I'm with everyone else who is befuddled this made it on the list.
He is by far the worst part of this album, I thought the instrumentation was clever and unique and some of the hooks on this album were great. I cannot stand his voice one bit.
Reagge und trotzdem nicht meines
I liked a few of these. Not something I would purchase but somewhat enjoyable.
Not available on Spotify
This was kind of boring.
It's kind of boring reggae-inspired pop. Doesn't do much for me. 4/10
Ultra Stimulation is too repetitive. Bass-driven reggae with an occasional nice guitar fill. It's Great When We're Together is better, with more of a soul vibe. Sunday Shining is great; much more rock-driven and nice guitar parts as well as upbeat. Ride On and Turn the People On isn't special and has the sound of rap/praise choir. Your Love Gets Sweeter is a good chill song. One thing this album does have is a good bit of variation. Some songs dragged on, some were a bit interesting. All in all a single great song doesn't make an album.
Hmm this wasn't really my thing. Parts of it were ok. I've literally never heard of this guy but just read his Wikipedia and feel quite sad. I recognised a couple of the songs. Sunday Shining was nice. Also idk if I'm going insane but I Need A Lover sounds like it samples parts of Waterfall/Don't Stop by the Stone Roses?? is it just me?? I can find no proof or confirmation of this anywhere so maybe it is just me. Anyway yeah, gonna give this 2 stars. It feels like a very specific part of the 90s that I never paid attention to while I was living through the 90s, but now I realise it was always there. Like I would have been in the car with my parents playing Magic FM and some of these songs would've come on but I was paying attention to something else.
2.0/5.0: Disappointing
1.7/bro this is insufferable to listen to. a few "decent" songs in the entire album
This wasn't too bad to start with. Not my sort of thing but it wasn't offensive to my ears But by the end of it I was mega bored and getting fed up of it. So I've dropped a star 2 ⭐️
I really don’t know what to make of this album. It sounds like a disingenuous attempt at reggae, almost like the artist was making fun of the genre. I’m generally not a reggae fan but this didn’t help. This certainly didn’t need to be on this list
Scottish 90s reggae. Interesting synth elements. Did not grab me at all.
Interesting album, almost has Jamaican vibes throughout. While it wasn’t a bad listen , didn’t find myself being caught by any of the songs / not much repeat value.
Not for me
Not the best reggae I’ve heard
Album art:1 so 90s
Ah, Scottish reggae - the genre absolutely no one asked for. Sure, the singles were fun radio fodder back in the day, and it was fine for someone to throw on at a bbq (Jack Johnson wasn't around to dominate that particular area yet), but that doesn't make it essential listening. I'd have preferred more roots reggae to be included over this.
Why did I have to curse myself by listening to part of this? ha. Once I hear a fake Jamaican accent I'm out y'all.
Not my thing
Your love makes me sweeter is the only highlight for an album of poor Bob Marley impressions
makes me feel tired, especially when i check to see how much of it is left for some reason this album was co-produced by a man named kevin bacon isnt that a marvel
There needs to be some sociological study on the late-90s / early aughts reggae / surfy musicians and what came of them. Anyway, this has it's moments but really you've heard better in other places.
Interesting, kind of a pop-reggae. Decent listen, probably not a repeat listen but I didn’t dislike it. 2.5/5
Some of this: sure it’s fine. I can appreciate the progressive spin on reggae, but this sucker was simply way too long. And its inclusion in this list is puzzling. There are way better overlooked reggae artists that (so far) have not been seen here.
Interesting but not great. Fell a lil flat for me at times. 2.5
I enjoyed parts of this but as a whole it fell flat to me... a lot of it felt like fluff. No need for >50 minute runtime here! I enjoyed the reggae-influenced song but most of the other pop-sounding tracks were meh. 2.75/5
Sounds like they took the first guy off the streets.
Kind of like reggae but very very boring and unmemorable. Another one that I listened to a month ago, didn't get around to reviewing at the time, and had to return to.
It starts a lot worse than it finishes. Some stylistic darting around and clichés give way to some genuinely interesting producing and soulful delivery.
Funky chill reggae that is exactly what you would hear at a really trendy coffee shop. Did I like it? Nah, not really, but I'd use it as mood music.
Eh
80s and 90s r&b sound with reggae vocals.
Good vibes and very listenable, some wonky bass line type stuff that is cool. But it's also scottish reggae and isn't anything monumental. Generally would rather listen to real reggae, but this was interesting
Reinterprets only in reggae style
Sunday shining I remember from when this album came out. Best track on the album by far. The rest was nothing special.
This album is all over the place. No idea what it is trying to be.
Oef
Den fangede mig vist i godt humør for jeg var sikker på det var en 1’er. Uinteressant men ok easy listening, havde måske sneget sig op på 3 hvis den var nærmere 30 min end en time og det havde været sommer. Ret godt for fake reggae fra en fyr med en fake accent
theres just nothing here
All I know is my first thought was “British Eagle Eye Cherry” and I cannot explain further. Also, hey it’s that one song that I don’t know how I know!
All I have to say it this was a different album, very unique, very experimental, it worked sometimes but I don’t think it was very engaging, it wasn’t “unlistenable” per say. But it wasn’t easy to listen to, there is some cool stuff on here but it was mostly a dud to me sadly. Rating: Bad (Strong ☆☆) Favorite Tracks: Ride On And Turn The People On, Your Love Gets Sweeter, and Supreme I Preme.
It's one of those albums that is perfectly fine as far as it goes but feels like it's been a bit over-promoted by being on this list. I don't feel it has moved music on enough to be in that category nor is it stand out enough to survive on its own.
A couple of nice songs
Once again another UK artist that should not be on this list. A Scottish Rasta man, no thanks. Give me Marley for this style of music.
What a pitiful attempt at “Jamaican” music by a SCOTTISH band. Idiots for thinking that it would work out well
Okay reggae isn’t really my think to begin with and this didn’t change my mind. Normally reggae gets a 3 from me but this dude is buns. There’s a reason he made one album and then dropped off the face of the earth. This was not pleasant. The music was incredibly repetitive. Just the same phrase over and over and over again. So incredibly boring. Also he’s not even Jamaican so what’s up with the accent there bud?
a reasonably "meh" reggae album. why is it on the list?
Before I did this project, I never realized that I actively dislike reggae.
I never owned a copy of this but it was pretty unescapable at uni so I've definitely heard the whole thing a bunch of times. Pretty sure I saw him live at one or more festivals, where he was pretty unexceptional, from what I recall. Ugh, learning that he's putting that accent on rather curdles things, too. Some of the songs that were iffy now become actively irritating. 😠 Fave tracks - "Sunday Shining" and "Even After All" have a certain summertime nostalgia bump, I guess.
it's not the worst album i've ever heard but it's also not very good. here we've managed to turn a very vibrant genre with a lot of feel into the most nothing album i've ever heard. there's nothing here unlistenable, but it's not very good. this album is the progenitor of jason mraz. i must listen to this before i die?? surely there's a more authentic reggae album out there that deserves to be on this list more.
1. If this amelodic style of singing continues throughout the rest of this album, I won't be listening to much of it 2. Better, but not great 3. Alright, here comes The Question: why is this album on the list? 4. Not seeing what's special here 5. Nope 6. I like this traditional reggae style better than anything else so far. Still skipped halfway through 7. Made it all the way through this one! 8. Made it all the way through this one, but still pretty meh 9. Best track so far. Still not seeing a reason to listen again 10. Lol. Ok, now my favorite is the instrumental song 11. Skipped 12. Also skipped 13. Meh Another album on this list here without justification by the Wikipedia article or other sources explaining why it's significant or special. In fact, the artist's Wikipedia article states "Three albums were made between 2019 and 2023 but also removed from distribution and outlets because of lack of recognition, interest or support in the United kingdom in terms of live agents, labels and publishers." I think that says a lot more than I could.
Can't make me like reggae, no matter how many times you make me listen to it.
Interessant war es auf jeden Fall, seltsam auch, war an einigen Stellen ganz gut aber auf Dauer ziemlich nervig.
¿De verdad que uno de los álbumes que debo escuchar antes de morirme es reggae noventero escocés mediocre? Lol. Un álbum aburrido y poco inspirado, se podrían haber escogido muchos otros álbumes de reggae antes que este. De nuevo, el sesgo británico del editor es más que evidente. 1.5, lo redondeo a 2 porque, como música de fondo para trabajar, me ha venido bien.
Zzzzzz Favorite track(s): Sunday Shining Will I revisit?: low priority Current rating: 4.5/10
Eh, wasn't my thing, it was pretty corny. Wouldn't relisten
Rating:2.0
Hmm yeah I just couldn’t get into this one. The music seemed like a dull, almost generic attempt at melding blues, reggae and R&B and Finley’s voice just wasn’t hitting me. Lots of late 90’s stock preset keyboard sounds. There were a couple of moments that I really enjoyed such as the brass laden chorus on “Sunday Shining” but over all not my thing.
Mellow album. Nothing really inspiring or special about it. Supreme | Preme was my favorite. 2.
Hmm. I'm not super knowledgeable about reggae and other types of music but there is a good bit of it that I like. More than anything, listening to this album makes me wonder if some of these other artists I'm thinking of are going to be represented on this list, and made me realize that we haven't been given a lot from this genre so far. I've never heard of this guy before, so I had no context going into the listen. I think some of the tracks were definitely better than others. On the low end of the albums scale, the songs seem sort of plodding or meandering, like he went into the studio and was just jamming or riffing. Yet I know sometimes that comes with reggae. But I also felt like lyrically and vocally I've heard better--the lyrics here were often shallow and repetitive, and just not super engaging. The obvious benchmark for reggae is Bob Marley, and Bob brings such emotional expressiveness and warmth, and the lyrics are often profound in their simplicity. I know not all reggae could be or should be similar to Bob Marley, but using that as an obvious point of comparison, I couldn't help but find this album a bit lacking. 2.5
The music was enjoyable, but I couldn't get past the fake accent.
While listening to it different thoughts came to my mind such as Quit listening this album, quit this album generator listening party event, maybe do some breathing exercises. Decided to do nothing and give this album 2
Reggae? Yes. Pop Reggae? Meh. 90s Pop Reggae? No.
2.4 2x
Gear: Hifiman Arya Artwork: 👄🌞👾 Production: 😐🤔🤷 Music: 🥠🌈🌍 Rating: 🌞(🌞)/5
Well, there goes my great album streak. Why is this here? Did I really need to listen to some scottish reggae album from 1997 before my inevitable death? No. I don't think I did. Would I say that I'm upset that I listened to this album though? Not really. I'm just kind of confused. I guess if I had to compare this to any other album I've listened to for this project, it would be that Billy Bragg album I listened to back in December 2023, which feels like a lifetime ago. I'm mainly saying this because of three things. The instrumental style is fine, the writing has some nice things to say at times, and I don't like this guy's voice. Finley's voice is kind of annoying, but that's just me. The instrumentation isn't bad, but it also isn't my thing. The writing has good points sometimes, but other times just doesn't work for me. The album's pretty long too. I definitely wouldn't call this album's existence a mistake, but I would say that including it on a list like this is a mistake. It exists and does nothing more than that for me. 2/5.
Not for me. I could see a scenario where this goes on as background music in certain situations but it’s not something I would listen to again on its own. It felt very dated in some way which I feel a lot of these albums I’ve listened to so far have been.
Not too bad, it was a good background listen but nothing too exciting.
From the 90s onwards it seems like the book relies a lot more on sales figures in either the US or UK ( or both) to determine its picks. This album was middle of the road enough to reach double platinum in its day but it isn't exactly earth shattering. I had to take a star off because it played on a loop in a pub I worked in on moribund weekday shifts.
I had this on at the gym which I don't think was its intended environment but it was pleasant enough
It's reggae! Kill it with fire! Even if it's more intresting compared to others within genre I still cannot go higher than 2.
This one takes me back to the late 1990s! This album was big in the UK. The mixture of trip-hop, reggae, and soulful pop is generally well done. However, it's a lightweight sound overall. It feels like reggae diluted down into a palatable, indistinct soup. I think there's a reason we all forgot about this before the millennium dome was even renamed... 2*
I love reggae. But not this.
Not awful, just boring.
This was pretty forgettable. I'm not sure why it's on the list. It's not awful but if there is something worth your attention here I couldn't find it.
Sound is kind of like a bad Nina Simone impersonator singing an AI written Bob Marley album. I agree this doesn't need to be on the list. It doesn't do anything and it's from 1997. There are just better versions of this to be found.
This album was a lot of things. Reggae, hip hop, rock, etc. Didn’t care for it, but parts of the record made me not hate it. It showed some creativity that was engaging. Still, not for me. Standouts: Even After All, Your Love Gets Sweeter, and Maverick a Strike.
It sucks that this album is so long and drags so much on it's second half because the moments where this album mixes reggae/dub and downtempo it's probably where its at its best and it sounds so good I wish it was just those songs because they are awesome, but the moment it goes for the slower, pure reagge/dub this album slows to a crawl. Those songs are relaxing but they have nothing much else to them for me to be interested, sadly
Not the worst but this was mediocre reggae. Bob Marley he is not.
As somebody who is not a fan of reggae. This album is not helping the case.
Weird sound, style and album. Definitely it's not the most interesting record on the list. Boring.
Wow this is not very interesting. I liked two songs here, the rest was not cool at all. And don’t forget to google the crazy dude!
It's kind of reggae but kind of not. The actual music is quite enjoyable I would say. Don't know what's going on with the vocals though. Apparently Finley Quaye is Scottish so it sounds like a slightly bad imitation of a Jamaican accent. Pretty decent overall. It's a perfectly pleasant album, but ultimately quite unremarkable.
There were a couple of good grooves in here (Sunday Shining e.g.) but several clunkers. The intro song made me think of those old "shreds" videos on YouTube it was so clunky. I could pick the good out for some summer playlists but I wouldn't listen to this full album again.
Decent
This guy's singing brought down this entire album. I kept thinking that the music was good but those terrible vocals kept messing it up. To describe the vocals, it sounds like your drunk uncle singing off pace with the song.
Supreme I Preme // 1.5/5
Quite fun but ultimately quite forgettable in places, and just a weird album to exist - Scottish reggae, of all things
Окэй как бэкграунд. Регги перестал будоражить после прослушивания хитов (не) Боба Марли. Лучшая песня - Sunday Shining.
Scottish man sings reggae over nice sounding music
it’s kind of reggae but not really. i listened to the whole album and i still don’t know if i even liked it or not.
Noises
A perfectly pleasant, unremarkable and instantly forgettable listen.
This was dreadfully boring, but not bad. I think I’m just not the target audience for this music. That being said, there are much worse things on this list. Not sure if this needs to be here, though.
I don't like this
Not terrible, not good.
This more electronic kind of reggae is a nice change from the recent albums. Never heared of him before but I don´t think I´ll come back. Nothing that really hooks me.🤷♂️ favourite: "Sunday Shining", "Your Love Gets Sweeter"
Its alright. I can get into the grooves on this one but theres a decent amount of fluff on this one that goes in one ear and out the other.
A few ok songs, however most of them are boring and/or repetitive.
This wasn’t really bad, but I didn’t care for it
The singles on this album got a lot of rotation on the radio. It wasn't my sort of thing at the time and it still isn't. I'm not sure what it is supposed to be, is it Reggae or Pop? However it's OK in places and its not uniformly dreadful for a 1 star so it gets a 2
British reggae.... Okie dokie.
Dave Chappelle really made this album as a joke right??
Not for me. I’m sure it’s for others. Just not me.
Mixed. It started off fairly mediocre, but the more trip-hoppy bits later on were enjoyable.
This is... not good. The "reggae" itself is fine and inoffensive but the fake Jamaican accent from a Scotsman is not. I had never heard of Finley Quaye before this and perhaps that was for the best.
Kan tycka reggae är ganska okej men den här plattan var bra trist.
Hands down the weirdest Scottish accent I have ever heard. And what is the point of including something like 'Red Rolled And Seen'?
When there’s barely any info to be found on either artist or album on this list, it’s usually either a good sign or a massive red flag. This is most definitely the latter. Quaye’s father (who he grew up without) was of African heritage but born in London. Yet Quaye still chooses to deliver the entire album in a fake Jamaican patois - it’s not exactly the greatest of choices.
Kiva että vaihdeltiin täyden reggaen ja funkin välillä sopivasti. Se piti levyn kulun kepeänä mutta kiinnostavana. Mutta ei tämä vain ole mun genreä, en osaa sen paremmin eritellä, oliko hyvä vai ei, enkä taida palata tähän enää.
Artisti on niin viehättynyt dubistaan, että jää herkästi jaarittelemaan itsekseen. Hänellä on kuitenkin ideoita, ja editori hoitaisi tästä helpon kolmosen. 2,5
I'm not really a reggae person, but the beats on here were pretty chill and fun. But the vocals got very grating very quickly.
listenable
It’s not bad, it just didn’t really do anything for me.
This seemed really mediocre. I love reggae but didn’t care for this
This is okay. Nothing struck me as especially distinctive or unique. Electronica-flavored reggae that very much dates itself.
Sunday Shining is really good. The rest is cheeks.