Claim the Joy

Album Review

Lehbanchuleh (born Norberth Clarke) has been a fixture on the Jamaican reggae scene since winning a talent contest in 1976; he worked solo and in tandem with fellow singer Sugar Black throughout the 1980s and 1990s, recording for the Black Scorpio and Soljie labels and eventually joining the Flames Production Company. Given his long tenure as a recording artist, it's a bit surprising that this is actually his solo debut. Less surprising is the fact that Claim the Joy is a confident and mature effort, if not a flawless one. The Fire House Crew gives Lehbanchuleh all the rock-solid grooves he could ask for, and on standout tracks like "Stress in the Ghetto" (featuring both Sugar Black and the excellent DJ Anthony B.) and "Hold on, Be Strong" the combination of Lehbanchuleh's rich voice and the Fire House Crew's impeccable accompaniment are powerfully effective. But some other songs feel like they're gearing up to go someplace that they never do — note, in particular, the dreary and static "Welcome to Life." And on a few (such as the excruciating "Open Your Eyes"), the vocals are inexcusably off-key. This is a respectable debut, but with a little more care in the studio it could have been much more than that.