In a way, a reggae-themed
Police tribute seems like kind of a strange idea -- many of these songs were either reggae numbers to begin with, or were so close to being reggae that straight-up reggae arrangements run the risk of just sounding like cover versions sung by artists with more convincing Jamaican accents than
Sting's. That said, though, this really is quite an impressive roster of artists: legends like
Junior Reid,
Toots & the Maytals,
Gregory Isaacs, and
Horace Andy all make appearances, as do a few rather dubious characters (
Joan Osborne?
Big Chief Monk Boudreaux?). And for the most part, the collection is plenty of fun.
Toots & the Maytals give "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" an energetically skanking rocksteady interpretation (though
Hibbert might have taken the trouble to learn the words),
Horace Andy delivers a heartfelt and beautifully sung rendition of "Invisible Sun," and
Isaacs makes "So Lonely" (the obvious choice) completely his own. On the less-compelling side are
Pepper's scrappy ska arrangement of "Can't Stand Losing You" (on which the singer tries much too hard to sound like
Sting), and
Osborne's pedestrian version of "Every Breath You Take," a song that really doesn't make much sense as a reggae tune. This is a perfectly fine novelty record, and select cuts from it will liven up any iPod play list. ~ Rick Anderson