10 Ft. Ganja Plants latest album Shake Up The Place is filled with creeping urgency, dread and rhythm, or at least it sounds like that tonight, as the winds of Hurricane Irene batter and shake the foundations of my hometown. Tree branches soar, the rain cascades sideways and lightning bolts spark fire across dark clouds. Thunder shakes the walls, but 10 Ft. Ganja Plant retaliates from a battery powered boom box in the corner of my room.
The albums lead-in track, My Roots, begins in a whirl of smoky echo, as Sylford Walker chants, This is MY roots. Walkers vocals on this track narrate his deep connection to roots and culture through three various stages, each linked to a verse. The concept is separated from music and expanded to include the collective experience of a people. That which we have come to call culture, becomes foundation, becomes legacy, becomes prophecy.
As Walkers heavy-handed musings pass into the instrumental Strength, 10 Ft. Ganja Plant takes control of the soundboards, with ghostly horns echoing against shattered snare hits. Ras Jay Champany then takes the lead on the title track Shake Up The Place. The track begins as a roots-rocker party anthem, celebrating the importance of a dancehall, a place to relieve worries and insecurities. After two verses and two choruses (a simple chant, Shake Up The Place), an extended guitar solo enters, and upon its exit, Ras Jay returns, but this time with a renewed focus. Winds of change, he sings, blowing freedom my way. The songs original theme takes a 180-degree spin, shifting focus from parties and good vibes to revolution, to progress, to freedom. Shake Up The Place is no longer a party anthem; its a call to arms.
The remainder of Shake Up The Place is essentially an album of two faces. Some tracks such as Ringers Rock bounce and shuffle with an almost light-hearted air of musical mischief, while others such as My Roots, Africa, and Pharoahs Army lurch and creep, like phantoms cloaked in reverb and echo. Only one track, album closer Recession, featuring Prince Jazzbo on vocals, seems to properly combine the two aesthetics. The instruments and vocals sound as if they were recorded beneath an ocean but the groove remains light and airy, strutting across the sound waves with ease. Jazzbo approaches the plight of worldwide recession with the playfulness and naivete of a childhood favorite. Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar? he cries, followed by the poignant refrain, RECESSION!
Track Listing:
Side 1
1.My Roots (Feat. Sylford Walker)
2.Strength
3.Shake Up The Place
4.Ringers Rock
5.Africa (Feat. Prince Jazzbo)
Side 2
1.Hardtimes (Feat. Sylford Walker)
2.Pharoahs Army
3.Rush me
4.Strongback
5.Recession (Feat. Prince Jazzbo)
