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Carousel (Marcia Griffiths album)

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Carousel
Studio album by
Marcia Griffiths
Released1990
LabelMango[1]
ProducerThe Jerks (Rafael Vigil, Lawrence Dermer, Joe Galdo)
Marcia Griffiths chronology
Marcia
(1988) 		Carousel
(1990) 		Indomitable
(1993)

Carousel is an album by the Jamaican musician Marcia Griffiths, released in 1990.[2][3] It was her first solo album for Mango Records.[4]

The album peaked at No. 26 on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart.[5] "Electric Boogie", which was originally a hit in 1982, peaked at No. 51 on the Billboard Hot 100.[6][5] Griffiths promoted the album by touring with the Reggae Sunsplash festival.[7][8] "Electric Boogie" is credited with popularizing the Electric Slide.[9]

Production

[edit]

Recorded in Florida, the album was produced by Rafael Vigil, Lawrence Dermer, and Joe Galdo.[6] Many sources claim that a version of "Electric Boogie" was written by Bunny Wailer in 1976 or 1980, a statement Griffiths has sought to refute;[10][11] the album contains a house-influenced dub remix of the track.[12][13][14][9][15] According to Griffiths, the first version of "Electric Boogie" was written exclusively for her by Wailer in late 1982, reaching the top spot on the charts in Jamaica in 1983.[16][17][18][19][20]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[21]
Calgary HeraldC−[22]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[23]
MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide[24]

The Boston Globe wrote that Griffiths "drops reggae in favor of a high-tech disco/R&B sound."[25] The Washington Post praised the "radical electro-calypso reworking" of the album's cover songs.[15] The Calgary Herald concluded that "people with happy feet may like this, but reggae fans need not apply."[22] The Advocate stated that, "despite the lavish production, the tracks don't sound repetitive... Approaching Carousel with the knowledge that its not a real reggae record, it turns out to be a winner."[26]

The Austin American-Statesman noted that "it all carries a sort of progressive, Jamaican, middle-of-the-road pop sound guaranteed to offend hard-core reggae fans... But it may well serve as a crossover point, if admittedly a diluted and somewhat dubious one, for a new audience."[27] The Gazette determined that the "production is all too slick and awash with processed horns and synthesizers... Yet the collection is also exuberant."[9] The Dallas Morning News thought that Griffiths's "innate sense of rhythm serves her well in the various contexts she sets up."[28]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleLength
1."Electric Boogie" 
2."Do Unto Others" 
3."Groovin'" 
4."All Over the World" 
5."Carousel" 
6."Sugar Shack" 
7."The One Who Really Loves You" 
8."Money in the Bank" 
9."Electric Boogie (Dub Mix)" 

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Norment, Lynn (May 1990). "Sounding Off". Ebony. Vol. 45, no. 7. p. 26.
  2. ^ "Marcia Griffiths Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ^ Matthews, Carl (10 Feb 1990). "Marcia Griffiths: 'Carousel'". Afro-American Red Star. p. B6.
  4. ^ Vice, Jeff (June 4, 1990). "Reggae Sunsplash to Make Stop in S.L. Saturday". Deseret News. p. C5.
  5. ^ a b "Marcia Griffiths". Billboard.
  6. ^ a b Harrison, Tom (18 May 1990). "Reggae Makes a Splash". The Province. p. 25.
  7. ^ Gettelman, Parry (15 June 1990). "It's Reggae by the Bay at St. Pete's Sunsplash 1990". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 3.
  8. ^ Hoekstra, Dave (June 16, 1989). "Sunsplash Stop". Weekend Plus. Chicago Sun-Times. p. 7.
  9. ^ a b c Feist, Daniel (5 Apr 1990). "Carousel: Marcia Griffiths". The Gazette. p. D12.
  10. ^ Gardner, Claudia (2021-02-26). "Marcia Griffiths Sets Record Straight About Original Version of "Electric Boogie" Hit". DancehallMag. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
  11. ^ "PressReader.com - Digital Newspaper & Magazine Subscriptions". www.pressreader.com. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
  12. ^ Warren, Emma (2023). Dance Your Way Home: A Journey Through the Dancefloor. Faber & Faber. ISBN 978-0-571-36605-7.
  13. ^ Green, Micha (19 June 2021). "A little slide before we go". Afro-American Red Star. p. A9.
  14. ^ Monty, Carlos (2023). La Isla del Tesoro: Historia de la música jamaicana del siglo XX [Treasure Island: History of 20th Century Jamaican Music] (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Caligrama Ediciones. p. 206. ISBN 978-84-19906-53-3.
  15. ^ a b Brown, Joe (23 Mar 1990). "New Chanteuses Get Down Tonight". The Washington Post. p. N24.
  16. ^ "Interview: Marcia Griffiths in Kingston (Part 2) | United Reggae". unitedreggae.com. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  17. ^ Braiker, Brian (2023-07-10). "A conversation with reggae legend Marcia Griffiths". Brooklyn Magazine. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  18. ^ "Marcia Griffiths enjoys 50 of the best". jamaica-gleaner.com. 2014-01-26. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  19. ^ Staff, TheBlast (2018-06-28). "Queen of Reggae Pulls the Plug on 'Electric Slide' Rumors: 'I Don't Sing About Vibrators!'". The Blast. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  20. ^ "The Music Diaries | Bunny Wailer honoured, great works acknowledged". jamaica-gleaner.com. 2018-02-18. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  21. ^ "Carousel". AllMusic.
  22. ^ a b "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald. 5 Apr 1990. p. H3.
  23. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 4. MUZE. p. 14.
  24. ^ MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 2000. p. 304.
  25. ^ Morse, Steve (22 Feb 1990). "Marcia Griffiths Carousel". Calendar. The Boston Globe. p. 6.
  26. ^ Gilbert, Calvin (February 9, 1990). "Marcia Griffiths Carousel". Fun. The Advocate. p. 4.
  27. ^ Point, Michael (22 Feb 1990). "Carousel Marcia Griffiths". Austin American-Statesman. p. D2.
  28. ^ Samuels, Lennox (February 25, 1990). "Marcia Griffiths, Carousel". The Dallas Morning News. p. 2C.
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