Strictly the Best, Vol. 47

Editors: Paul Shields; Chris Scott .
Illustrator: Clovis Brown.
Switching it up a bit from previous years, the Strictly the Best volumes from 2012 -- Vols. 46 and 47 -- landed as two-disc sets instead of one-disc collections. That blunts their impact a bit, but the second disc should be looked at as a bonus, one filled with "old-school hits" according to the label, coming from ancient history years like 2008 and 2010. Maybe that's a comment on the rapidly changing world of dancehall, but shifting the focus to the new material, Vol. 47 brings the party with fun club numbers like Popcaan's light and breezy "Summer Wave (When We Party)" and RDX's soca workout "Jump." Danielle's "Rebel" is the kind of majestic new roots music that Etana championed, and that "reggae all sounds the same" cliché is debunked just by comparing Sean Paul's smooth love call "How Deep Is Your Love" to Bounty Killer's furious rebel song "No Long Talking." That's a fine set by itself, and the second disc is filled with worthy hits with Ini Kamoze ("Hot Stepper"), Tony Curtis (a joyful cover of George Michael's "Faith"), and Ding Dong ("Badman Forward") at the top of the pile, but it hangs off the set like a scattershot collection of excellent extras, so keep that "bonus" mindset handy. ~ David Jeffries