Many Moods of Moses is the eighth studio album by Jamaican dancehall musician Beenie Man. It was released on December 9, 1997 through VP Records. Recording sessions took place at Penthouse Recording Studios, Sonic Sounds, Hard Sound Recording Studios, and Anchor Studios in Kingston and at Wildwood Recording Studios in Nashville. Production was handled by Lenky, Sly and Robbie, Andrew Thomas, Handel Tucker, Bob Patin, Buju Banton, David Cole, Jeremy Harding, Tony "CD" Kelly, Lloyd "Gitsy" Willis and Beenie Man himself, with Patrick Roberts serving as executive producer. It features guest appearances from A.R.P., Bob Patin, Buju Banton, Danny Marshall, Lady Saw, Little Kirk and The Taxi Gang.
| Many Moods of Moses | ||||
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| Released | December 9, 1997 | |||
| Recorded | 1995–1997 | |||
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| Length | 1:04:29 | |||
| Label | VP | |||
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| Singles from Many Moods of Moses | ||||
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The album peaked at number 151 on the Billboard 200, number 35 on the Top R&B Albums, atop Reggae Albums, and number 5 on the Heatseekers Albums in the United States. In the United Kingdom, it made it only to number 21 on the Official Independent Albums Chart. Many Moods of Moses spawned three singles: "Who Am I", "Oysters & Conch" and "Foundation".[1] Its lead single, "Who Am I", reached number 40 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 10 on the UK Singles Chart. The second single off of the album peaked at number 69 on the UK Singles Chart.
In 1999, the album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards.
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| RapReviews | 8/10[3] |
| Robert Christgau |  [4] |
Roni Sarig of City Pages noted that the album "dabbles in various styles", continued "he touches on Zulu chant-sing in "Introlude"; rudimentary drum 'n' bass in "Monster Look"; new-jack swing in his version of Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative"; and Nashville fiddle and pedal steel with "Ain't Gonna Figure It Yet". And with the worldwide hit "Who Am I", where Beenie flaunts hip-hop swagger over Jeremy Harding's sophisticated production".[5] Robert Christgau gave the album a "neither" rating, meaning it "may impress once or twice with consistent craft or an arresting track or two. Then it won't".[4]
In retrospective reviews, AllMusic's Jo-Ann Greene praised the album, saying "Beenie Man along with executive producer Patrick Roberts no longer felt the need to overwhelm audiences with a smorgasbord of sound, and thus Many Moods of Moses is a more coherent set than its predecessor".[2] Steve Juon of RapReviews found "there's not a whole lot of overlap on this particular Beenie Man album other than 'Who Am I?'", giving the album 8 out of 10.[3]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Introlude/Foundation" (featuring the Taxi Gang) |
| 5:24 |
| 2. | "Who Am I (Sim Simma)" |
| 3:16 |
| 3. | "Monster Look" |
| 3:58 |
| 4. | "Ain't Gonna Figure It Yet" (featuring Bob Patin) |
| 3:19 |
| 5. | "Woman a Sample" (featuring Buju Banton) |
| 3:56 |
| 6. | "Heaven on Earth" (featuring A.R.P.) |
| 4:53 |
| 7. | "Oysters & Conch" |
| 3:17 |
| 8. | "So Hot" (featuring Lady Saw) |
| 3:37 |
| 9. | "Have You Ever" (featuring Little Kirk) |
| 4:00 |
| 10. | "Got to Be There" (featuring Danny Marshall) |
| 4:27 |
| 11. | "Bad Man" |
| 3:46 |
| 12. | "Steve Biko" |
| 4:12 |
| 13. | "Long Road" |
| 4:03 |
| 14. | "Sincerely" |
| 4:14 |
| 15. | "Miss You" (featuring A.R.P.) | 4:18 | |
| 16. | "Bad Mind Is Active (My Prerogative)" | 3:49 | |
| Total length: | 1:04:29 | ||
Personnel
edit- Moses "Beenie Man" Davis – primary artist, vocals, producer, arranger
- Lowell Fillmore "Sly" Dunbar – guest artist, producer, arranger
- Robbie Shakespeare – guest artist, producer, arranger
- Dean Fraser – guest artist
- Lloyd "Gitsy" Willis – producer, arranger
- A.R.P. – guest artist, background vocals
- Mark "Buju Banton" Myrie – guest artist, producer, arranger
- "Little Kirk" Davis – guest artist, background vocals
- Marion "Lady Saw" Hall – guest artist, background vocals
- Bob Patin – background vocals, producer, arranger
- 56 Crew – background vocals
- Michael Mendez – background vocals
- Nicola Tucker – background vocals
- J.C. Lodge – background vocals
- Prilly Hamilton – background vocals
- Marie "Twiggi" Gittens – background vocals
- Michelle Jackson – background vocals
- Steven "Lenky" Marsden – producer
- Jeremy Harding – producer, mixing, engineering
- David Cole – producer
- Tony "CD" Kelly – producer, arranger, mixing, engineering
- Andrew Thomas – producer, mixing, engineering
- Handel Tucker – producer, arranger, mixing
- Hugh "Cuban" Palmer – mixing, engineering
- Steven Stanley – mixing
- Collin "Bulby" York – mixing
- Delroy "Fatta" Pottinger – mixing, engineering
- Brendan Harkin – mixing, engineering
- Paul Tyrell – assistant producer
- Ralston McKenzie – assistant producer
- Jason Bloomfield – engineering
- Mark "Stumpy" Brown – engineering
- Marlon Cooke – engineering
- Michael Cooper – engineering
- Raymond Ledgister – engineering
- Garfield McDonald – engineering, mixing
- Dean Mundy – engineering, editing
- The Shocking Vibes Crew – arranger, project coordinator
- Joel Chin – mastering
- Paul Shields – mastering
- Patrick Roberts – executive producer
- David Sanguinetti – project coordinator
- Leroy Champaign – artwork, design, layout design
- Clyde McKenzie – art direction, design
- Jason Frater – illustrations
- Brian Jahn – photography
- Maxine Stowe – liner notes
- James Goring – stylist
Charts
edit| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Independent Albums (OCC)[6] | 21 |
| US Billboard 200[7] | 151 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[8] | 35 |
| US Reggae Albums (Billboard)[9] | 1 |
| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[10] | 5 |
References
edit- ^ Barrow, Steve; Dalton, Peter (1999). Reggae: 100 Essential CDs. Rough Guides. pp. 19–20. ISBN 978-1-85828-567-2.
- ^ a b Greene, Jo-Ann. "Many Moods of Moses [VP/Slammin' Vinyl] - Beenie Man | Album". AllMusic. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
- ^ a b Juon, Steve 'Flash' (November 8, 2022). "Beenie Man :: Many Moods of Moses – RapReviews". www.rapreviews.com. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
- ^ a b Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: Beenie Man". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
- ^ Sarig, Roni (June 17, 1998). "Beenie Man: Many Moods of Moses". City Pages. Retrieved March 11, 2011 – via Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
- ^ "Beenie Man Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
- ^ "Beenie Man Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
- ^ "Beenie Man Chart History (Reggae Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
- ^ "Beenie Man Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
External links
edit- Many Moods Of Moses at Discogs (list of releases)