Raw: Best of
This roundup of 19--count 'em--mega boomshots demonstrates unequivocably  that Lady Saw is not just reggae's most gifted female. She belongs to a genderless, genreless elite whose recording and performing skill and chemistry transcends musical and cultural divides. Picking out highlights is nearly impossible, but to name a few, "If Him Lef," "Good Wuk,"  "It's Raining," and "Eh-Em" present Saw at her most gloriously  bawdy and satirical. Yet her most awesome feat just might be navigating the Scylla and Charybdis of reggae's testosterone-saturated dancehalls and "uptown" Jamaica's  "little old lady in the Cotswolds" prudery to arrive intact at favored status for hardcore and culture reggae fans alike. "Best of" signals loud and clear that this inheritor of twin legacies--the storytelling Caribbean women-warrior and the laser-tongued comic beauty--is poised to take over arenas beyond reggae. --Elena Oumano