PaddyRasta - Listen To Your Heart [2006] celtic Irish Reggae!

Hello to you on this roaster of a day.
Fuck me it's hot.

Right. I actually bought an album the other week. Yes you read that right said I BOUGHT an album.
I can hardly believe it myself but it's the truth.
Oh come on anyone would think I was always downloading my music illegally for free and never ever contributed to the profit of an artist or record company.
As if...

I sometimes listen to a talk radio station here in the UK called 'TalkSport'. As much as I detest all kinds of sport(apart from the odd world cup or wimbledon), I listen to this because years ago, when it first started it was just called 'Talk Radio'. Somehow it failed and was pretty close to going under until one day some smart arse decided to re-brand it as a sport talk station and, at the same time, saved the day and made it what it is now: The UK's leading(or only..?) talk radio station that covers all sport from here to Tibet and back.
NOTE, I gave you a link to the talksport website above but if you ever want to listen to the stream directly, they obscure the URL for some reason but here it is..
mms://194.46.192.142/talkSPORT
-just paste it into WMP or any other media player to listen. Anytime after 10pm UK greenwhich meantime is non sport talk shows. Some good - some not so good. Try it!
So my point is...
For some reason - and I am so glad by the way- the people in charge decided to keep the night time talk shows that have always ran on the station. So, for those of us with more than two brain cells and more of a passion for the food of life than just watching a few morons find yet another way to use a ball and a scorecard to get their kicks, the night time talk shows have carried on and are still pretty popular, even if they are merely the left overs from a hugely successful sports station.
The other week I was listening at about 3am and they were talking about some kind of 'beat the bands' competition they'd had running for a while..Not that I had noticed but I carried on and had a listen to the supposed 'best bands' so far. As each one came on and a single was played I found myself getting more and more lethargic...What bollocks. I was actually getting angry at the fact that, here I was, 3am and can't sleep and all I have to help my mind is this radio station and what do they spurt out into the airwaves but pure trash. Absolutely horrific attempts at melody. Pissy tunes with amateur riffs, amateur singing and most of all just nothing to grab the attention, even at 3am when anything would do!
Then I heard a song. It's called 'Freedom'.
Have a listen.



If the above movie won't work or play, click here to open and watch it in a new window.

Imagine it is you, in bed at 3am, in pain, can't sleep, getting fucking irritable at the mediocrity of life and then you hear it...
I think you'll agree that being impressed was by far the right reaction.

Let me cut this overly long story short.
I decided right then and there to go online(for a change) and found and bought the album as a download.
To say I was disappointed would be the understatement of the year but don't listen to me...Listen to the album and decide for yourselves.

Ok then here is a quick rundown.

The band, PaddyRasta, are pretty unusual in that they combine reggae with Irish/Celtic music.

The result, as you find in the track played above, can be astounding. Unfortunately for PaddyRasta they seem to lack something which, in my opinion is central to what makes music good/bad or shit. That something is quite intangible and yet in evidence in all good or great music. A certain quality, a spark, a glimmer of genius or just an ability to convey emotion or feeling that sometimes comes out and beyond the music or voice and hits you right in the spinal cord.(sometimes!). Paddyrasta have to be one of if not the most lackluster performers I have ever heard in my life. I have listened to this album over and over but still almost nothing comes out from the speaker and hits my senses. I really love the track 'Freedom' but even then I feel that the lyrics and the vocal could do with some serious 'cleaning up'.
The lyrics are another point: childish; wannabe hippy-ish; pathetic; immature; idealistic damn fucking stupid at times.!
Like I said don't listen to me. ..Think for yourself!
I still have to admit one thing here and that is that they deserve full marks for at least trying to be original. They may not have pulled it off in my eyes but they do have a fanbase and even Shane MacGowan sees fit to have them support him so that says something. I read that they are pure brilliance live. I reserve judgment on that one.
Definitely new and crisp sound but executed poorly. I think that when they get their heads around studio recording...Maybe one or two more albums down the road, they might have something really worth banging on about!
An interesting peice of artwork whilst we are on the subject of Rasta


LINKS:
part 1
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part 2
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I will post mirrors soon
part 1
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part 2
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Have a good day folks. Don't waste the sunshine. get off that PC and get your arse outside!
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