★★★★★
Inner Circle - before frontman Jacob Miller died in a car crash in 1980 - were huge in Jamaica with their brand of R'n'B-tinged reggae. Their output since has been epitomized by their 1987 song Bad Boys (theme of the Fox TV show Cops) and their 1993 hit Sweat (A La La La La Long) which I remember was huge right across Africa. The formula hasn't changed much, though the musical guests have. This time round Inner Circle welcome Damian Jr. Gong Marley, Mutabaruka and Junior Reid...
- www.hour.ca
2010-11-02
★★★★★
Bernard Touter Harvey and the Lewis brothers waited six years to re-form Inner Circle, long enough for their own pain to ease and their fans to come to terms with singer Jacob Miller's tragic death. They were not the same band they were; how could they be without Miller? But with the trio fleshed out with newly recruited singer Carlton Coffie and drummer Lancelot Hall, Inner Circle now began stamping their imprint on the current reggae scene...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-28
★★★★★
No reggae act gave itself a more radical makeover than Inner Circle, whose sociopolitical, Rastafarian-minded efforts of the 1970s are quite a contrast to the escapist pop-reggae the Jamaican band favored in the 1990s. More than a few people in reggae's hardcore have denounced Circle as a shameless sellout; nonetheless, its commercial 1990s albums (although definitely not in a class with its 1970s work) aren't without their pleasures...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-28
★★★★★
Having re-established their credentials with the magnificent Black Roses album, Inner Circle now appeared to be resting on their laurels. At first they seem to have spent their entire creative cache, as they coast through the first half of One Way. It's all pleasant enough -- upbeat club lite with just enough roots at the songs' cores to keep their old fans mildly interested. Still, saxophonist Dr...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-28