Under the Magic Sun

Jamaican reggae band Third World has produced a new album titled, "Under The Magic Sun" that features 14 tracks on the CD. Included on these 14 tracks are some songs that are Third World's take on classic songs by other bands. A few of the songs are "I Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore" by REO Speedwagon, "Have you Ever Seen the Rain" by Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Everything I Own" by Bread, as well as a few other songs. Along with the cover songs, Third World have put a new take on a few of their own songs like " Now That We Found Love", "96 Degrees", and Try Jah Love". Under the Magic Sun is the 21st studio album for Third World where they take a mixture of Jamaican reggae, pop, rock, and R&B to create a unique style of music.
Even though this is the first time for me listening to Third World I was able to learn that they are one of the longest running Jamaican reggae band playing right now. This band has been around since the early 70's, they have a lot of albums, case in point, "Under the Magic Sun" being the 21st album, and it's very clear as to why this band has been around for this long. Their music is not what I was expecting it to be but instead turns out to be a fun and different take on Jamaican reggae that I'm used to. Instead of playing the typical reggae style, with the drums and vocals that have the clear thick Jamaican accent, Third World gives a mixture of different styles while keeping with the reggae beat. What they have produced on this album are songs that are interesting, unique, and different while having the key elements of what makes reggae the fun and emotional songs they can be.
What I like the most about this album is that they do venture into different takes on songs while also keeping pretty true to the original feeling of the songs. Most of the time I don't like a band doing a cover song if their style is such a different genre then the original. Like taking a classic rock song and making it a reggae song, these are two very different styles of music that can change the way the song feels and how I would like it but Third World didn't do that, not entirely. They do make the songs into a reggae song but the cover songs still have some underscore of the original sound, which had me enjoying this different take on it. They also have a mixture of songs that keep the album refreshing and different as it's being played. One aspect that I wasn't expecting on this album was the heavy emotional content of some of the tracks. Once I did look up the band I realized that one band member, Bunny Rugs, had died so the band has a tribute to him and is the only original song on the album, "Livication To Bunny Rugs" is a very good, emotional, yet short song. This turned out to be something I wasn't expecting with good beats, unique and very catchy rhythms, and vocals that bring the reggae fun.