Alpha Blondy
's 1983 first album, a smash hit featuring an all-local band
the Natty Rebels
, had all the accessibility and directness that made him an international star. Two cuts are agreeable reggae in English; the rest is Afro-reggae and a lot more interesting for that. In some ways
Blondy
's music is typical of the Ivory Coast: light, accomplished, and geared to a regional rather than local audience. Though the notes don't tell you so,
Cocody Rock
is a re-release of
's 1984 second album, recorded in Paris and Kingston with a mix of African and Jamaican musicians (plus
Kassav
's
Jocelyne Beroard
on backup vocals). Pre-superstar
, it has the freshness you'd expect from somebody pretty much just starting out. He sure believes in touching all the bases. Besides its so-so title song,
has something for both Muslims and Christians as well as a hilarious cut claiming Ivory Coast's ultra-conservative president as a Rasta. ~ John Storm Roberts