Eclectic mix of a number of different genres

Larry McDonald
Drumquestra
Album
MCPR Music

IT is funny to think that ’Drumquestra’ is Larry McDonald’s debut solo album yet he has been a prominent figure in the music industry for forty years! And this release is something of a celebration of his career, heralding back to his early days and putting his own percussionary skills over a backdrop of pure hardcore reggae music.

His own Jamaican-accented vocals give the entire album a sense of African culture whilst the range of different drums that are played give off a mystical aurora. McDonald does not just single out your traditional reggae fan, however, as he looks to bring the genre to a new generation by teaming up with a host of rap artists and modern personalities as well as the reggae greats like Toots Hibbert who riffs vigorously on ‘What About Children'.

The album is continental in approach with each track being infinitely different than the last. Opener ‘Head Over Heels’ serves as a high energy reggae pop song, whereas ‘Brother Man’ incorporates a mix of reggae, rap and hip hop and ‘Crime Or Music’ is more your traditional Jamaican reggae number.

Whilst ‘Drumquestra’ remains potently a reggae album, there is an eclectic mix of a number of different genres that creep themselves into each song in a way that is discreet yet if they were not apparent, the album would have a lot less appeal. It is when Larry takes control of the song though, when it really harks back to his early Jamaican roots. Tracks such as ‘Got Jazz?’ and ‘Jamaican Jazz Roll Call’ retain a unique, tribal edge whereas his raw vocals and African drums mix the African culture with our own exuberant beats.

It is an unenviable task to try and convert a modern day music fan to the raw tradition of foreign Reggae music particularly as it is a genre that has been left to go stale, emerging largely from the underground scene since its hey-day in the early seventies. McDonald though, is half way to reinventing the genre. Released: June 1 2009

For Fans of: Bob Marley, Derrcik Morgan, Larry Marshall