The Congos & Pura Vida - Morning Star (Lost Ark Music/N.E.W.S.)

In the track list, six new songs with The Congos, three new Pura Vida track and one dub ('Dub Love', a version of 'Jah Love'). As an extra guest you can also hear drum legend Leroy 'Horsemouth' Wallace. 'Morning Star' opens with 'Teach Dem', one of the strongest tracks on the album and perhaps even one of the best songs The Congos have recorded in recent years. Each of the Congos also gets the chance to take on the lead vocals in a song: in 'Jahrusalem' it's Watty Burnett's bass voice, in 'In The Ghetto' the falsetto of Cedric Myton, the tenor of Roydel 'Congo Ashanti Roy' Johnson in 'Morning Star' and Kenroy 'Talash' Fyffe's voice in 'Don't Stress It'. But of course The Congos sound at their best when all voices merge together, as is the case in the aforementioned 'Teach Dem' or 'Jah Love'. As far as the songs without Jamaican reinforcements are concerned, 'It's All Over Now', with a somewhat South African-like arrangement that inadvertently reminded us of Paul Simon's 'You Can Call Me All', is undoubtedly the most striking track. The musical joy of that song - in actual fact a breakup tune - contrasts nicely with rather melancholy or gloomy songs like 'Nobody Chose Life' or 'Life Can Be Hard'. The cherry on the cake is for the vinyl lovers among you, as 'Morning Star' is distributed on eye-catching clear blue vinyl. Another small masterpiece from the Lost Ark!