Maxi Priest Man With The Fun CD

MAN WITH THE FUN was nominated for a 1997 Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album.

In the grand tradition of modern pop music, MAN WITH THE FUN is something of a mongrel child of pop, rock, R&B, dancehall and roots reggae that isn't quite any of the above. The infectious opening cut, "That Girl, catapults a sample from the Booker T & The MG's' classic "Green Onions" into a new context (one that allows for some toasting by dancehall sensation Shaggy). In an act of cultural ping-pong, Priest covers the Police chestnut "Message in a Bottle." The Police took reggae and Anglicized it; Priest takes the Police and reggaefies them.

Priest displays a strong R&B influence on "Golden Teardrops," neatly contextualizing the American soul sensibility that colors much of MAN WITH THE FUN. In the midst of all this genre-hopping, the unifying elements of the album are Priest's smooth, assured vocal style and the bright, upbeat feeling that is ubiquitous enough to be considered thematic. In short, this album's title turns out to be quite an accurate moniker.

Showcasing Maxi Priest's talent for shaping reggae, dancehall, and soul into a distinctly pop-oriented and commercial amalgam, Man with the Fun happens to be one of Priest's better efforts, simply because the quality of the production and songwriting is uniformly first-rate throughout the record. Of course, there are quite a few mediocre tracks, but the smooth sounds of Priest's voice and the seam

1996 release includes the single ' That Girl' , a duet with Shaggy .15 tracks

Engineers: Sting Int'l (track 1); Sting Int'l, Robert Livingston (track 2); Andy Marvel, Peter Ankelein (track 3); sly Dunbar, ...