Search - Turbulence :: Do Good (Dig)

Brighter Skies?. . .

Achis | Kingston, JA/Philipsburg, SxM | 01/23/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"2005 was a huge year for the young Sheldon Campbell (bka Turbulence). In a year where he finally delivered the massive hit both fans and critics alike were saying was a necessity before he could truly step into the upper echelon of roots reggae artists, with the song, Notorious. And #1's didn't stop for the artist either as combinations with then-girlfriend Sasha also climbed the local and international charts as well. Combine this with Turbulence being almost unanimously voted artist of the year for `05 as well as stepping out of the shadow of mentor, Sizzla Kalonji to begin headlining his own shows, and Turbulence had a remarkable year (album-wise as well, doing a couple of fine pieces that year).



2006, on the other hand, was a different story. While still maintaining a high profile, and exercising a strong deal of quality control on most of his recordings, 2006 was mired in controversies and an unfulfilled capitalization on the strength of the previous year for the artist. He spent as much time in the tabloids as he did on the charts with the rather public breakup with now ex-girlfriend, Sasha, which even extended to the studio as both fired (VERY) personal shots at each other over the bubbling Sika riddim (and Sasha landed the better shots). Also, things wined down musically as well, with the long awaited Notorious album finally touching the streets and receiving rather mediocre reviews, this coming after March's solid Nah Sell Out release and prior to August's even worse X Girlfriend (which is probably his worse album to date, but still actually quite decent).



The solution? Seeking to kick off the new year in solid fashion, Turbulence turns back the clock and reunites with German roots producer, Brotherman. The pair formerly hooked up on 2003's well solid (and quite successful) Different Thing album, which is still, to date, one of Turbulence's (and Brotherman's for that matter) most powerful releases. So it was no surprise that the first artist to get a second chance on the young but strong Minor 5 Flat 7 label, and although not as strong as Different Thing overall, Do Good is a more than a welcome addition to Turbulence's catalogue (Do Good, by my count, becomes Turbulence's 15th album to date, in a little less than 7 years of making albums, still a looooooooong way to go to catch his mentor hahaha!).



Several of Turbulence's more recent releases had began to have a mechanical feel to them. This includes the X Girlfriend album and even back to 2005's Triumphantly and especially the Songs of Solomon album, and while Do Good does at times suffer from the stock and trade feel (some of that is due to Brotherman of course), it rises above falling into that category with its timing. Obviously Turbulence either focused more in recording it or (and more likely) Do Good was recorded during the same sessions which produced the wicked wicked Different Thing album.



The best tune here is probably the big lovely Nambo horn backed Pursue. The song, lyrically, is something you've heard a thousand times (but it actually sticks out on Do Good with not much of these type of songs present here), but over the lovely one drop combined with Turbulence's seemingly trying to keep a calmer vibes, make Pursue a well powerful meditation! It almost sounds like a big band track meets roots reggae and a very interesting style of song building from Brotherman and co.



Thinking of nice one-drops, another tune definitely worth spinning several times is the beautiful (and obligatory) Mama tune, fittingly titled, Mothers. I also really enjoyed the well powerful We Deserve which is just a hair harsher than what you've come to expect from Brotherman's production, but is probably the strongest `hard' reggae song he has ever produced. All the while, Turbulence, again limits himself and the vibes flow better than if he were to just COMPLETELY lose his calm in an effort to make a harder record. I would have loved to hear Jumbo Ras, Prince Javed and co. joining Turbulence on Move On on any other riddim besides the downright odd Classic as well, but Give Thanks more than makes up for it over the nice Grow riddim.



A problem that occurs with Do Good, however is through the riddims. If you, like myself, have been keeping up with M5F7 releases then there's an EXCELLENT chance that you've heard many of these riddims already. And while you've yet to hear Turbulence over them, songs like the wicked wicked title track almost seem to lose some power, due to the fact that I've been playing the Friedenland riddim which backs it for nearly 2 years straight now (Josie Mel has a big big record, Consecrate Yourself, on the Friedenland). It almost seems as if they waited a little too long to release, as some of these riddims have already established a signature tune in my head, such as the Campo, which backs Lutan Fyah's nice Clearance and is tapped here for Turbulence on Facts. Also included is Freedom Train with Luciano, which also appears on his M5F7 release, 2003's Tell it From the Heart; and a throwaway is basically what the final track amounts to, just a remix that really should never have happened.



Overall, Do Good is an album strictly for fans. Newer fans just getting accustomed to the artist, this one definitely isn't for you (what you're looking for is the ultra hard to find Rising or Join Us albums). It is typically Brotherman's style to go heavy on the roots and although WELL appreciated by us who support the genre, `outsiders' probably wouldn't feel Do Good too nicely (although, if you happen to be a fan who missed Josie Mel`s Rasta Still Deh Bout, Taffari`s Addicted to Music, Lutan Fyah`s Dem No Know Demself, Anthony B's My Hope and Al Pancho's Righteous Men albums (shame on you!) then you might appreciate Do Good even that much more. Do Good probably ranks right in the middle of Turbulence's albums in terms of quality (thinking about albums like The Truth, I Believe and Upright), but still that's better than most's top flight material, despite the controversy, Turbulence is still top notch."