After he'd been a fixture of the British new wave/punk/underground/alternative scene since the late '70s, 1994's Take Me to God marked Jah Wobble's first major commercial success as a solo artist, reaching number 13 in the U.K. The use of numerous guest musicians (including Can drummer Jaki Leibezeit) gives this a feel of a rotating collective, with Wobble (who plays several instruments here in addition to the one he's most known for, bass) the constant. Quite a few singers contribute, giving this more of a song-oriented feel than some of his other work, some of the more celebrated including Gavin Friday, Dolores O'Riordan of the Cranberries, Senegalese vocalist Baaba Maal, and top world music artist Najma Akhtar. The 66-minute length of these sprawling excursions almost inevitably means the program will drag at times, according to your musical inclinations. Lyrically, too, it's so varied as to make it difficult to connect with a pronounced attitude or viewpoint, the concerns ranging from the almost indecipherably frivolous ("Yoga of the Nightclub") to the numerous references to God that pepper the song titles. But it's an interesting assortment of tracks combining currents flowing through mid-'90s alternative rock, world music, reggae, club beats, dub, and African pop, adding up to an extremely heterogeneous whole.

An amazingly rich cross-section of the reggae world pays homage to the great Bob Marley in this essential triple-CD collection. With a total of 50 tracks featuring an eclectic mix of artists like Ruddy Thomas, the Maroons, Sly & Robbie, Johnny Clarke, Inner Circle, John Holt, Horace Andy, Max Romeo, Byron Lee & the Dragonaires, and Dennis Brown, TROJAN BOB MARLEY COVERS BOX SET is a must for any reggae fan, and a testament to Marley's vast influence and crossover appeal within the reggae community and beyond.