Anniversary

Artist	Sly & Robbie and the Taxi Gang
Format	CD
Genre	Reggae
Label Name	Taxi
Release Date	2007 09 25
Song List	1: Rent a Car (4:06) 2: The Sound of Music (3:28) 3: Unmetered Taxi (3:14) 4: Bread Man Shuffle (Live It Up) (3:47) 5: Fire in the Oven (4:25) 6: Viva Tirado (4:13) 7: Good Love (3:26) 8: Lean with It (3:51) 9: The Real Thing (3:57) 10: Ain't Who You Know (3:56) 11: Spanish Town Blues (3:54) 12: Crazy Bald Head (3:58) 13: Skin Tight (4:16) 14: Ticket to Ride (4:07) 15: Rasta Fiesta (4:08) 16: Hot You Hot (4:01) 17: House Is Not Home (3:49) 18: Maxi Taxi (4:11)
Style.Categories	Contemporary Reggae, Roots Reggae, Dub, Dancehall

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Although it was released two years after Sly & Robbie celebrated their Taxi label's 25th anniversary with a worldwide tour, the 2007 release Anniversary must have originally been planned to cash in on the festivities, since it's hard to find another reason for this baffling collection. First of all, tracks come from the late '80s and onward, but there are no dates or sources given in the liner notes, something that would have been helpful seeing how some of these cuts come from the fringe of Sly & Robbie's discography. Second, there are some misleading titles and a couple of doubtful credits. For instance, "Bread Man Shuffle" is better known as "Live It Up," and usually comes with the aka "Beardman Shuffle" (see 1997's Mambo Taxi album). Even stranger is that "Viva Tirado" is credited to its composer, jazz legend Gerald Wilson, when it was originally credited to the Taxi Gang, and Wilson sure doesn't seem to be playing on the cut. As far as the music itself, there's the classic instrumental "Unmetered Taxi," which provided the riddim for Buju Banton's massive hit "Driver A." Then there's the seductive "Good Love" from sweet siren and sometimes actress Cherine Anderson. Both "Fire in the Oven" and "Ticket to Ride" with post-disco diva Gwen Guthrie do a good job of representing Sly & Robbie's love of crossover dancefloor material. "Crazy Bald Head" combines Beenie Man, Luciano, and a Bob Marley sample for a crucial tune, and "Rasta Fiesta" is a punched-up version of Jacob Miller's "Baby I Love You So" with plenty of echo and the kind of fat, solid foundation that has made this rhythm section a reggae favorite. There's great music here, no doubt about it, but don't expect any context to be provided by this scattershot collection. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide