Its a mighty difficult decision I go through every year deciding whether or not to buy the Reggae Gold album. On one hand, they'll usually give you only a track or 2 that you probably can't get anywhere else on a (LEGITIMATE) cd, just one or two songs, but these songs will be HUGE. And on the other hand, the other 15 or so tracks will be so familiar that by time the album drops, you'll already be tired of them.

This year is no different, and as you can see, I gave in to my temptation. What happened? Well there are a few good tunes here. . . Just like I said. However, some of the songs are just flat out over-spun and annoying to me by this point.

What's good here is that whoever put together 2006's edition of RG was keen on putting one of the better artist's on that album back on this one. So, I'm declaring that the best tune altogether on Reggae Gold 2006 is without a doubt "Baby Tonight," by Bitty Mclean. The song might just be the oldest on this record altogether as it was present on his last album which was released in 2004 I believe. But who cares, Mclean strikes GOLD on "Baby Tonight," just as he did a year ago with the magnificent "Walk Away From Love."

What else is good? Tanya Stephens tips her hand on her forthcoming album with the excellent "These Streets" which rides an acoustic variation of Marley's No Woman, No Cry riddim. There's other good material here as well. Shockingly to me, I'm not that all disgusted by R. Kelly with Sean Paul and Akon on "Slow Wine (Remix)," the tune isn't bad as I thought it would be and with the exception of Mclean's tune has probably gotten more rotations by me than any other tune here.

Also, of the other songs that I've heard tons of, "Anywhere We Go" by Assassin rides the soon to be immortal 85 riddim and I've not yet tired of hearing that one. Neither have I tired of hearing Wayne Wonder over the Seasons riddim on the wonderful "I Still Believe" nor Gyptian over the Triumphant riddim on "Mama."

But the buck stops there. If you've been paying a deep attention to dancehall for the last year (and most likely you haven't), then tracks 1-9 on this one might be completely useless to you (with the possible exception of #8 Voicemail's Dance, but all their songs sound EXACTLY alike dont they?). Not a horrible song amongst them at all, and I still like Elephant Man's MASSIVE "Gangsta Rock" and Capleton over the Sweat riddim on "Toppa Tings."

That's just a personal preference however, and like I said, if you dont necessarily seek out every single new song comihng out of Jamaica or spend your weekends in some club somewhere, then you might well like each and every tune there (with one exception). And all of this may be new to you.

The real problem with Reggae Gold 2006 is just one song, and I dont care how old it is or how many times you've heard it. You put "Ring Ding Ding" on an album and its a problem, if you're over 8 you'll hate that song!

But the rest of the album is fine. As always, I recommend this one for new fans of reggae music or fans who haven't been keeping as keen an eye on the music for the last year or so. There is some very good material here for the reggae saturated fan as well, but you out there probably go through the same tough decision I do when buying this one every year (and I have only missed one in the pass 6 years). This year includes a useful DVD of highlights, clips and girls and yada yada yada, but I like it. As usual Reggae Gold gives an entertaining mix of whats going on in dancehall right now and check it out if you'd like to catch up on things.

Bramoi for Trini Jungle Juice

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Reggae Gold 2006- Various Artists (VP Records)
Release Date: Jun 20th 2006

Track Listings
01. Temperature - Sean Paul
02. Step Out - Busy Signal
03. Toppa Ting - Capleton
04. Bun Him - Black-er & Macka Diamond
05. Gangster Rock - Elephant Man
06. Badman Forward Badman Pull Up - Ding Dong
07. Ring Ding Ding - L.O.C.
08. Dance - Voice Mail
09. Dutty Wine - Tony Matterhorn
10. Slow Wine (Remix) - R. Kelly featuring Sean Paul & Akon
11. Hotta - T.O.K.
12. Anywhere We Go - Assassin
13. Youths Dem Cold - Richie Spice
14. These Streets - Tanya Stephens
15. Baby Tonight - Bitty Mclean
16. I Still Believe - Wayne Wonder
17. Can't Get Over You - Da'Ville
18. Ma Ma - Gyptian