It's quite an achievement getting Sizzla's colossal body of work down to a mere thirty-track double CD. The man has made fourteen albums and he's still only twenty-five, barely out of nappies in album terms.
Judging by what he's churning out nowadays though - ugly and indistinct tracks fraught with hypocrisy and anger, hollered rather than sung -, compiling a Sizzla 'best of' might not be as tricky as you'd think. Most of it is taken from his three best albums, the early work from 1997-1998 that mustered yelps from the likes of Ian Brown about reggae's second coming, Bob Marley's equaliser.
And it's true: 'Black Woman and Child', 'Praise Ye Jah' and the traditional Jet Star compilation, 'Reggae Max', probably do contain the most significant work in international roots reggae since Marley was alive.
This was when Sizzla was far more focussed lyrically, his message clearer and his delivery militant yet sweet. Monumental songs like 'Black Woman and Child', 'Good Ways', 'Babylon A Listen' and 'Jah Blessing' encapsulated the beauty of traditional roots music from the seventies alongside the anarchy and rebellion of dancehall.
There are some gems included from his later work, such as, 'To The Point', his biggest hit since that period, and 'Taking Over'. And as with most compilations there's a few outrageous omissions ('Guide Over Us', 'Rastafari Teach I Everything'). But for anyone who thinks roots died with Bob, or finds Sizzla's exhaustingly prolific release schedule daunting, this is the best CD you're likely to hear.
