Mr. Vegas ADD

Review

Album Review: Lion D - Heartical Soul

03/24/2015

by Gardy Stein

"I chose Jamaica to discover my roots through music." says David Andrew Ferri aka Lion D. While his physical roots stretch from Nigeria to Italy, he traces his spiritual ones to the great masters of Reggae: Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Dennis Brown, for instance, who introduced him to the musical world that was to become his home, as he revealed in an interview with Angus Taylor two years ago. His decision to take a lengthy trip to Jamaica to work on his music was thus a consequent (and, as you will hear, consequential) move. After three albums and an EP, the ambitious singer now drops his new release: Heartical Soul. Recorded and produced by fratello italiano Alborosie in his Shengen Studios, we are blessed with 11 brand new tracks plus Intro plus Remix.

It is a typical Reggae Album in that it has a Ganja tune (Blaze Up), speaks about Rasta (Inna The Red) and Babylon (The Rules Of Babylon or Ruff Inna Town) - no surprises here. And of course, Lion D delivers the quality output we are by now quite accustomed to, as in Be Strong and especially the catchy tune War Inna The Dance (return of the Raggamuffin!).

Where the real magic starts to unfold, however, are the combinations. All of them (with the exception of Rudebwoy Thing, maybe) are a special something, both musically and lyric-wise. As in Heartical Luv, a sweet collabo with the man Alborosie himself. It was the album's first single outtake (released in May 2014) and has since rippled not only the sonic channels, but Youtube as well with an accompanying video released last June. Definitely a must-see!
Another combination, another love song, another masterpiece: Talk About Love. Here, the mature voice of singer Sandy Smith combines with Lion D's to advice us on the importance of being serious and real before you say the three big words to someone… "Love is not a joke thing!". This tune definitely has the potential to be the soundtrack of thousands of sprouting romances over the coming months!

With Jamrock Nice, Lion D & Mr. Vegas probably created this year's island hymn. And yes, I did check the availability of last-minute-flights while listening - no denying! The way the two singers pronounce the names Mobay, Kingston, St. Ann, Portland, Westmoreland and Nine Mile just sound too full of promise.

The comfortable trod of the release is picking up a few paces in Slow Down, my personal favourite. Rocksteady again! Ken Boothe's smooth style of singing is a perfect match to the rough & tough vocals that Lion chose for this one. Right on!

With a nice dub-remix to round it all off (Ruff Inna Dub), the lion leaves us to roam either the concrete urban jungle or the rural scrubs with his uplifting tracks to keep us company. If going on a journey of self-discovery results in an album such as Heartical Soul, this trip is strongly recommended to any artist. All we share is love!

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