Fallen Is Babylon
Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers have finally resigned themselves to the fact that genes are greater than inspiration. While most rock brood-- Jakob Dylan, Jeff Buckley, Donovan Leitch--desperately kick to distance themselves from their paternal heritage, with each new album the Marley children of Jamaica move closer toward father Bob Marley's sound and acumen. On their eighth albumFallen Is Babylon, the Melody Makers surreally echo the late '70s, electric reggae work of their senior. Ziggy's voice has matured into a honeyed growl that is virtually indistinguishable from that of his father. The consciousness-rooted songwriting picks up where Bob left off with later tracks like `"Coming in from the Cold" and "Pimper's Paradise." And the whole project was consummated at the historic Tuff Gong Studio, rebuilt and rechristened Marley Music Studio. The problem is that as the Melody Makers evolve into the perfect Bob clone, they relinquish their own often imaginative identity. Stripped of the potent, passionate feel of the band's earlier discs,Fallen Is Babylonsounds like nothing more revelatory than a tribute album.--Aidin Vaziri