Latest CD releases reviewed

SIZZLA
Jah Knows Best Ras Records
****

You haven't heard Bob Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues until you've heard reggae hotshot Sizzla give it a dancehall lick of paint. When it comes to fire & brimstone reggae, there's no one else doing the business right now like the prolific Miguel "Sizzla" Collins. His bumping, rushing, space-age Dylan cover is just one of a dozen crackers on the new album where the rhymer joins forces once again with Xterminator's Philip "Fatis" Burrell, the producer responsible for Sizzla's calling card Burning Up. Alongside a cocksure confidence, it's Sizzla's powerful flow and fiery philosophies that make Jah Knows Best bubble with a rarely heard exuberance. Both the title track and Rise Them Nature are whipped into place with a righteous belief, while Got It Going On shows that Sizzla can move the sound along in other ways, too. www.rasrecords.com

Jim Carroll

TOOTS & THE MAYTALS
True Love  V2
**

There's no arguing with Toots Hibbert's status as a reggae innovator and indeed, there is no arguing with the legendary standing of the guests who turn up to skank along with him on this greatest-hits-with-a-twist collection. Yet bright ideas on paper don't always make for bright ideas on disc, as shown by Willie Nelson's jarring presence on Still Is Still Moving to Me, Ryan Adams's questionable contribution to Time Tough and Bonnie Raitt's crass vocal invasion of True Love Is Hard to Find. But when the mix of guests and Toots work, it's a joy to behold - you'd travel far to hear the Roots and Bootsy Collins's reinvention of Funky Kingston, while Terry Hall and U-Roy's Never Grow Old is a thing of great beauty. The performances may be somewhat patchy, but the songs stand tall throughout. www.tootsandthemaytals.net

Jim Carroll