Albert Griffiths On The Right Track CD

Their best 80s effort, with assistance from members of the I-Tones. ~ Ron Wynn

Albert Griffiths & the Gladiators' On the Right Track is a bit of a disappointment, especially considering that the excellent In Store for You had thrilled fans a mere year before. Perhaps part of the problem was due to the splitting of recording between Jamaica and the U.S. with two entirely different bands.

More likely though, the Gladiators, now dwindled down to the duo of Albert Griffiths and Gallimore Sutherland, needed more time to regroup and gestate these songs. There's a tinge of uncertainty to much of the set, a number of the arrangements are ill-considered, with the rhythms marred by over-reliance on repetitive drum programming thumping over the live beats. And something's out of whack when Griffiths is reaching back not just into his own songbook but that of others for help. The album reaches a nadir with a cover of the limpid old Elvis Presley standard "It's Now or Never." The Italianate-flavored arrangement at least is interesting, although not quite clever enough to salvage the song. An overly thrashy remake of "Stick a Bush," retitled "Big or Small," is just unwelcome, not least for the over-the-top rock licks littering the song. Better is "Must Come True," a brass-fired version of "Bongo Red"/"Mix-Up," although it's weakened by Griffiths' far-from-crystalline falsetto. The title track should have been the album's centerpiece, and features the strongest lyrics, but astonishingly Griffiths virtually sleepwalks through the song, musing over his words, instead of delivering them with the power they demand. "Getty Getty," in contrast, is a thoroughly infectious number, but here it's the lyrics that let down the side. "Cool Breeze," however, is a fine blending of old adages, with an arrangement as upbeat as its title, and those that refuse to listen run the risk of a thrashing with Griffiths' "Proverbial Stick," while the brass fire off directions on "Right Turn." These three are the highlights on an otherwise inconsequential set. The Gladiators are capable of much more than this. ~ Jo-Ann Greene