Alborosie - Nine Mile (Greensleeves)

Alborosie explains: “‘Nine Mile’ represents a journey within the magic of Jamaica, the culture, the traditions, the sound. It’s also Bob’s birthplace, which gives it a mystical energy. The message is to search for that Nine Mile place within yourself, the secret hideaway, the safe zone where you can be who you truly are!”

Traces of the legendary Wailer aren’t hard to find: the lyrics of ‘Trench Town Legend’ form a collage of snippets from Bob Marley songs; not groundbreaking, but well executed. Closing track and title song, the acoustic ‘9 Mile’, is dedicated to Bob’s grandson, Jo Mersa Marley, who passed away in 2022.

The track list also features two, perhaps less obvious, covers. ‘Club Paradise’ revisits Jimmy Cliff’s song of the same name, originally featured on the soundtrack of film comedy ‘Club Paradise’ starring the late Robin Williams; a movie in which Alborosie says he saw a bit of himself in the protagonist, ‘Island’ Jack Moniker. Even more obscure is ‘No Tan Distintos’, a track recorded in 1987 by Argentine punk-reggae band Sumo.

The Latin American connection doesn’t end there: the Spanish-language ‘Ganas De Verte’ clearly targets Albo’s Latin American fanbase, and the bossa nova vibes of ‘Ipanema’, complete with a nod to Astrud Gilberto, who immortalized the iconic ‘Garota De Ipanema’ or ‘The Girl From Ipanema’, take the listener to Brazil.

In the infectious ‘Digital Love’, for which Frenchie sampled Johnny Osbourne’s ‘Curly Locks Girl’, Pupa Albo rails against the emptiness of virtual (dis-) connection, and in ‘When’ you might even recognize the guitar riff from Wyclef Jean’s ‘911’.

Our personal favorite on ‘Nine Mile’, however, is the love tune ‘Come My Way’, where Alborosie recycles the riddim from the iconic ‘King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown’.

Versatile album with plenty of enjoyable highlights!