Personally, I prefer Skindred
Well, this is certainly a change from my usual playlist; very reggae and Caribbean in feel. I can remember a little Spearhead from back in the day, with the "Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy". Unlike the previous albums, "All Rebel Rockers" seems to lack the political punch that some of the other albums have. "Rude boys back in town" opens with a very slow and relaxing beat, moving into an up tempo duet with "A little bit of Riddim".
It's certainly slap bang in the Reggae style. There's a lack of the rock and, yes even the industrial edge that I seem to remember from way back when. "Hey World" can only be described as verging on RnB but there is a distorted guitar in the background somewhere, so it's not all drums and synth. Plenty of repetitions of the album name mark this as the signature track. At this point, there's a small amount of the political and ethical message coming through.
Michael Franti's vocals are still pretty strong. There's a slight lack of range and variance but they are still fairly solid. All through the album, the sound is generally happy even though some of the lyrics and topics are somewhat serious and occasionally macabre. "All I Want Is You" is the more token love song, with smooth, electric guitar and smokey vocals. It's not a bad addition and change of pace, before the funky, vocal collaboration that is "Say Hey".
"Soundsystem" is even closer to RnB than any other on the album. I think we are crossing the line almost, though the Reggae beat is still kept thankfully. "Hey World" throws a bit of a curve-ball with an acoustic, finger picked guitar line and soft vocals. "The Future" brings back the more rocky edge and the politics but it's certainly nothing anywhere near Rage Against the Machine or similar. It reminds me a little of "The Fun Loving Criminals" with it's summertime happy edge. Not enough anger to fuel it really.
And I think that's the thing. I suspect this album is almost not appropriate for RoomThirteen listeners but nonetheless, it's not all that bad. It's ultimate summertime, funky party music really but, as well performed as it is, it is really reggae and not particularly one for the rocker in us.