Tinga Stewart's 'Ready to Groove' album.

ARTISTE: Tinga Stewart

ALBUM: Ready to Groove

GENRE: Reggae

Tinga Stewart grooves to reggae music in his latest CD but falls a bit short in hitting the right vibe. A past festival winner, Stewart has been a fixture in reggae music for years.

The vocals on the album are good, Tinga's voice is smooth and flowing. The live band feel is present as well. Most of the songs were written by the artiste, with topics varying from love, to world power and the 'poor side of life'.

The love songs achieve a Beres Hammond feel with the lyrical content and tempo, such as the singles Dream of Me and especially You Let Me Down. A very traditional feel of reggae, older audiences may be more appreciative of the album than a younger crowd. For a certain time period, this would have been a good listen - one you could play every Sunday.

With reggae music, for it to really grab a modern audience, there needs to be innovations, experimentation or extremely well written verses. Ready to Groove falls short when it comes to experimenting with beats, rhythms, tempo and even lyrics. The fifteen tracks are barely distinctive, there are no stand out tracks that make you want to hit the repeat button. If you want a tranquil, soothing listen, this is the right choice. If you're looking for something to wow you, look somewhere else.

Track Listing:

1) Thank you Jah

2) Dread out Deh

3) Lovers On The Seen

4) Ready to Groove

5) Natty

6) You Let Me Down

7) Dream Of Me

8) Poor Side Of Town

9) World Power

10) Story Never Ends

11) Under Attack

12) Love Starve

13) Uptown

14) Ghetto Side of Town

15) Richest Continent

- Krista Henry