ALBUM: Going for Broke
MVC Rating: 4.0/$$$$
I thought I had the album with his big hit: ‘Electric Avenue.’
But I don’t.
My album ‘Going For Broke’ is the album AFTER his big one. My album is pretty good, rock inflected reggae, which means it has rock guitar in it. It’s not what I’d call real roots reggae, more of a fusion pop reggae.
On this album, he has a song “Romancing the Stone’ which was commissioned for the hit movie starring Kathleen Turner, however it was not used in the movie (except for a short guitar solo). The song, a so-so piece of reggae pop, never succeeded at the level of ‘Electric Avenue.’
In Barbados, Grant operated a popular recording studio for years. He also wrote ‘Police on my Back’ recorded by the Clash, one of the better tracks on the Clash’s Sandinista album.
I have to say after a few listens, this album is nice. Good playing, happy reggae beat. I’ll play it again and keep my eye open in record stores for ‘Electric Avenue.’