Tings an' Times
Tings an' Times is an album by the Jamaican dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson, released in 1991. It was Johnson's first album in six years. "Tings an' Times" also served as the title of a book of Johnson's poetry. Production. The album was produced by Johnson and Dennis Bovell. Johnson was again backed by the Dub Band, with the sound fleshed out by the addition of accordion and violin. Critical reception. Robert Christgau wrote that "the riddims skip by on Dennis Bovell's ska-speedy tempos, graced with tricky guitar hooks and colored with fiddle  and accordion that sing Hungary and Algeria and Colombia and the Rio Grande." The "Los Angeles Times" lamented that "Johnson’s delivery is both tentative and buried a bit in the mix, lessening the impact." The "Orlando Sentinel" opined that "Johnson's thoughtful lyrics float over gorgeous elongated reggae tracks flavored with jazz-influenced horns, accordion, piano, violin and flute." AllMusic thought that Johnson's "outlook is intensely African, and his socio-political lyrics (some in English, some in an African language) are a passionate call for democracy in Africa." The "Spin Alternative Record Guide" praised the "increased doses of  joy and irony in LKJ's meditations." "Trouser Press" deemed "Tings an' Times" "an upbeat but stringently critical album that is at once traditional and modern."