''Unchained Spirit'' is a studio album by the dancehall/reggae artist

Buju Banton Mark Anthony Myrie (born 15 July 1973),Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, known professionally as Buju Banton, is a Jamaican dancehall, ragga, and reggae singer. He is one of the most significant and well-re ...

, released in 2000. It was his first and only album to be released on the

ANTI- Anti- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label to Epitaph Records. Founded by Andy Kaulkin, Anti- first gained attention by releasing Tom Waits's Grammy Award–winning '' Mule Variations'' in 1999. Other veteran recordin ...

record label, an imprint of

Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. A large portion of the record label, known as Hellcat Records, is owned by Tim Armstrong, frontman of the punk rock band Rancid. Several ...

. The album peaked at No. 128 on the ''Billboard'' 200.

Production

The album contains contributions from

Stephen Marley Stephen Robert Nesta Marley (born April 20, 1972) is a Jamaican-American musician. The son of Bob Marley, Marley is an eight-time Grammy Award winner, three times as a solo artist, twice as a producer of his younger paternal half-brother Damian ...

, Rancid, and

Beres Hammond Beres Hammond OJ (born Hugh Beresford Hammond; 28 August 1955, in Annotto Bay, Saint Mary, Jamaica)Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall'', Greenwood Press, , p. ...

, among others.

Critical reception

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'' wrote that "the treacle far outstrips anything resembling a tuff rhythm here ... even over the good rhythms, Buju doesn't seem to have the command he once did." The ''

Star Tribune ''The Minnesota Star Tribune'', formerly the ''Minneapolis Star Tribune'', is an American daily newspaper based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As of 2023, it is Minnesota's largest newspaper and the List of newspapers in the United States, seventh- ...

'' thought that "Buju's grainy voice flows over slowly distilled lattices of rhythms and multi-part South African-style harmonies." M.F. DiBella of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

defined the album as a "a vital and rhythmic mix of homegrown Jamaican philosophy, biblical harmonizing, and just plain eerie dancehall".

Track listing

#"Intro" – 0:39 #"23rd Psalm" (feat. Gramps of

Morgan Heritage Morgan Heritage is a Grammy-winning Jamaican reggae band formed in 1994 by five children of reggae artist Denroy Morgan, namely Peter "Peetah" Morgan, Una Morgan, Roy "Gramps" Morgan, Nakhamyah "Lukes" Morgan, and Memmalatel "Mr. Mojo" Morgan ...

) – 5:44 #"Voice Of Jah" (feat. LMS) – 5:01 #"Sudan" – 4:41 #"We'll Be Alright" (feat.

Luciano Luciano is an Italian, Spanish and Portuguese given name and surname. It is derived from Latin ''Lucianus'', patronymic of '' Lucius'' ("Light"). The French form is '' Lucien'', while the Basque form is '' Luken''. Single name * Luciano (rap ...

) – 4:24 #"Pull It Up" (feat.

) – 4:09 #"Life Is A Journey" – 4:07 #"Better Must Come" – 4:12 #"Mighty Dread" – 5:01 #"Poor Old Man" (feat.

) – 4:26 #"Law And Order" – 3:51 #"Guns And Bombs" – 3:20 #"Woman Dem Phat" – 3:16 #"No More Misty Days" (feat. Rancid) – 4:01 #"Pull It Up" (feat. Beres Hammond) (live) – 2:56 #"Reunion" (feat.

Wayne Wonder Von Wayne Charles (born 26 July 1972), better known by his stage name Wayne Wonder, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist. His most popular single is the 2003 hit " No Letting Go". Biography Early life Wonder was born in Buff Bay, Portla ...

) – 4:06

References

{{Authority control 2000 albums Anti- (record label) albums Buju Banton albums