Patriots

Personnel: Dean Pond (guitar, keyboards, drums); Ronald Fontenelle, Duggie Bryan (guitar); Jason Farmer, Lenky Marsden, Makonen Blake Hannah, Eno Safford (keyboards); Sticky Thompson (percussion); Sherita Lewis, Althea Hamilton, Roslin Williams, Katrina Hurley, Nicky Burt (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Dean Pond.
Photographers: Stephanie Foxx; Marcus King; Stacey Bethel; Nina S. Bentley; Craig Mutch.
When Third World's redo of "96 Degrees" with the Marley brothers hit reggae radio in 2010, it was a satisfying reminder of their heyday, even if the veteran band had just done the classic-hits-in-a-modern-style thing in 2003 on their 25th Anniversary album. Add their lukewarm 2005 effort Black, Gold, Green, and fans had every right to be skeptical of this star-studded effort, but Patriots is a surprisingly vital recording that's as comfortable as reggae-pop should be, just not to a fault. Past Stephen and Damian's effervescent "96 Degrees," "Front Door" is a crucial highlight with the late, great Gregory Isaacs convincingly playing the broken-hearted Casanova on one of his final recordings. Dedicated to the earthquake-ravaged people of Haiti, "Spirit Lives" is a stately story of triumph, while "By My Side" finds Tessanne Chin and the World's own William "Bunny Rugs" Clark making modern lovers rock worthy of Beres Hammond. The royalty just keeps coming as Capleton, Tarrus Riley, Toots, and Marcia Griffiths all turn in dynamic performances, but deep reggae fanatics might get the most pleasure out of hearing legendary Jamaican saxophonist Dean Fraser in top form during the World original "Always Around." ~ David Jeffries