Mystical Truth
Black Uhuru tries to cross over into the Anglo-American pop mainstream withMystical Truth, but the Jamaican reggae trio misses its target by 20 years. Instead of hitting today's hip-hop/world-beat action that has been so good to Shabba Ranks, Black Uhuru lands in the early '70s. Not only doesMystical Truthinclude covers of War's 1972 "Slippin' into Darkness" and Peter Gabriel's 1986 (but '70s-sounding) "Mercy Street," but the whole album is suffused with the laid-back funk, pompous art-rock, and slick Quiet Storm music that made the early-'70s so trying. Even on the original compositions by Black Uhuru's three original singers, Garth Dennis, Duckie Simpson, and Don Carlos, all the rough edges have been sanded down by the creamy keyboards, leisurely tempos, and cluttered arrangements.  Louie Rankin, a Jamaican dancehall DJ now based in New York, adds the guest rap on "One Love."--Geoffrey Himes