Search - Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Toots & The Maytals, Bolivar :: Natty and Nice: A Reggae Christmas

Hey mon, this is FUN Christmas music!

10/31/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Tired of the same old Christmas carols? One more syrupy rendition of White Christmas going to send you over the edge? This CD will lift your holiday spirits and actually have you looking forward to the dreaded family get-togethers. So, fire up the ganga, and have a Natty Christmas!"

Have Yourself an Irie Little Christmas

William Geibler | 11/28/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Jamaica and its music might not fit in perfectly with the "winter wonderland" notion of Christmas, but this mix of super-catchy reggae and ska holiday tunes is great change-up for your holiday music soundscape. The reggae-ified takes on the classic favorites are hit and miss, but the "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" by Jacob Miller works beautifully with the island rhythm and you barely notice the clever substitution of "irie" for "merry." The real gems are the original tracks, especially Lee "Scratch" Perry's "Happy Christmas, Merry New Year," a holiday plea to an estranged lover to give things another go. Toots & the Maytals' "Happy Christmas" is filled with vintage reggae hooks, and I'm totally feeling the message even if I cannot understand much of what Toots is singing. Kiddus I hits a homerun with an inspirational song about, of all things, the birth and life of Jesus in "Love Child," which takes advantage of reggae's intrinsic ability be religious without being preachy, corny, or sanctimonious. There's a weird part where nearly identical versions of the same song occur back-to-back (an editing mistake?), and it loses steam toward the end, but there are about a half-dozen songs that have become an essential part of my family's Christmas soundtrack."