Ziggy Marley - Dragonfly

Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers have always been interested in music outside reggae, with the band of siblings moving from syth-pop sheen in the 1980s to a more mature and multi-genre sound in the late ‘90s. Dragonfly, Ziggy Marley’s first solo effort, continues this trajectory. Featuring producers Ross Hogarth (Metallica, Jewel) and Scott Litt (R.E.M.), as well as special guests Flea, John Frusciante, David Lindley, and Incubus’s Chris Kilmore, Dragonfly sounds closer to the adult contemporary music of recent Sting or R.E.M. than the reggae of his father. But even if the apple has fallen away from the music tree, Ziggy’s voice has the same forceful yearning and brittle timbre as his father; also like his father, Marley wears his politics on his sleeve (particularly on "Shalom Salaam" and "In The Name Of God") without being rudimentary. This may not sound like the record reggae enthusiasts pray to Jah for, but Marley succeeds on his own terms, creating a wide-ranging and appealing vision. --Tad Hendrickson