Nothing More to Say

Crafted under the meticulous eye of black-belt reggae mastermind / producer Victor Axelrod (AKA Ticklah), 'Nothing More to Say' is a rocksteady masterpiece the likes of which has not reared it's head since the golden era of Studio One. However, you'll find no imitation here - none of the faux-jamaican cliches of lesser reggae bands. Like all things Daptone, this record is above all soulful and honest. With the exception of two soul covers (both from the Daptone catalog: Bob and Gene's 'Gotta Find a Way' and Saun and Starr's 'Gonna Make Time',) the record is populated by original compositions of the highest order. They are simply great songs, and though their treatment here is masterful, each one of them has the melodic and lyrical substance to hold it's own in any genre. 'Till Then' invokes the coquettish hyper-rhymes of top- form Smokey Robinson, while 'Hey Brother' sounds like it fell off the desk of Gamble and Huff, and 'Purple' defies any comparison at all. From the first cracking snares of 'All My Tears' through the final pulsing echoes of 'Dispute,' the murderous rhythms of Rich Terrana (drums,) and brothers Preet and Chuck Patel (bass and piano, respectively) can be heard chunking mercilessly towards oblivion as Dan Klein pours his endearing poetry over the top like some otherworldy falsetto potion.