Midnite Lover in Bloomington, MN

Midnite Lover
, the follow-up to
Shaggy
's career-making
Boombastic
, doesn't have anything as memorable as that album's title track or his
dancehall
reworking of
"Oh Carolina,"
but that hardly makes the album a failure. It's a consistently entertaining collection of
ragga
from one of the leaders of the genre. There is a bit too much sexism for some, but even
"Sexy Body Girls"
has one of the best beats on the record, and the title cut has a supremely funky
hip-hop
rhythm. It's hard to excuse the ridiculous cover of
Janis Joplin
's
"Piece of My Heart,"
but his version of
Bob Marley
"Thank You Lord"
(featuring vocals by
Ky-Mani Marley
) shows that there's more to
than bumping and grinding. ~ Leo Stanley