Reviewed by Trevor Kirk

Sheldon Blackman is a purveyor of a little-known brand of Caribbean music known as jamoo, which evolved at the end of the 1960s from an indigenous Trinidadian style called soca, which itself developed from calypso. In fact, Sheldon’s late father Garfield, aka Ras Shorty I, is credited as having invented the genre. Jamoo, literally translated from the local patois, God’s music, is, in Sheldon’s own words, about good substance, a positive message and something to glorify God. The music itself is full of cool vibes, covering such topics as social conscience issues, drug abuse, respect, and youth issues, as well as straight praise and worship. The Love Circle beat out some tight sounds, with some excellent harmony vocals thrown in. Although some of the production values are a little on the dodgy side, the passion more than makes up for any glitches, and at over 73 minutes’ running time, value is excellent. If you’re keen to investigate Caribbean music, and want to get into something instead of reggae, this would be worth investigating.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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