Review: Jonny Greenwood Is The Controller

A few weeks ago, we hinted that Jonny Greenwood, Radiohead extraordinaire, would be releasing a compilation of his favorite reggae tunes. This is his second venture into solo experimentation. A few years back, he released the brilliant instrumental soundtrack to Bodysong. Well, 'the reggae album' will be out in approximately a month (3/6) but we got a first taste this week and let us be the first to say, good job Jonny!

One paragraph in Jonny's CD sleeve description of the album declares 'Jamaican reggae is the style of music I always reach for when ranting to friends about there being so many great recordings in the world, and how you could listen to one style of music exclusively for the rest of your life, and it all be great, and varied, and worth hearing'.

The album's 17 tracks are almost exclusively from the '70s, as well. Now, if there is a genre I know very little about, this would be it. Perhaps this makes me a poor judge of the collection, but I can say this, each song flows wonderfully into its following track and the compilation truly runs the emotional gamut from happy to heartbroken to angry to jubilant. Whatever mood you happen to be in at the time of listening to this record, you will surely feel a little peppier after the album's completion. The extraordinary instrumentation and melodies produced from each and every artist included on the mix, is very apparent and wildly impressive.

A very pleasant surprise and a great introductory piece, indeed. Pre-order the album HERE for under 10 bucks!