Awake

Personnel: Julian Marley (vocals, various instruments, guitar, clarinet, keyboards, percussion, drum programming); Aston Barrett (guitar, bass instrument); Luke Andrews, Jason Bryant, Stephen "Asher" Noel (guitar); Dean Fraser (saxophone); Dwight Richards (trumpet); Stephen Marley (keyboards, percussion); Conrad Scarlett, Llamar "Riff Raff" Brown, Paul Fakhourie, Noel Davey (keyboards); Owen "Dready" Reid (bass instrument); Craig "Niteman" Taylor (drums, percussion); Harry T, Uziah "Sticky" Thompson (percussion); Marcia Griffiths (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: James "Bonzai" Caruso.
Recording information: Lion's Den Studios, Miami, FL; Pinnacle Attic Studios, London, England; Tuff Gong Studios, Kingston, Jamaica.
After six years off, Julian Marley, scion of reggae's first family, returned in 2009 with AWAKE. The record opens on the wistful, organic groove of the title track, an organ-laced and plainly pretty song which injects a refreshing angle on the oft-travelled topic of consciousness. There's a psychedelic undercurrent to the classic Rastafarian reggae on AWAKE, as a keen love for tradition mixes with an ear for a modern jam. However, the best moment may come on the pure old-school Jamaican love-lost song "A Little Too Late."