CHART WATCH – ITUNES New album breaks top five monotony
THE TOP five of the iTunes Reggae Albums Chart tends to be so monotonous that a change is a relief. For better or for worse, that change in the order is almost always below the top two, where Bob Marley and the Wailers’ Legend (Remastered) and Legend (Deluxe Edition) are first and second with about the regularity of a selector playing Half Pint’s Greetings and Supercat’s Under Pressure at a session.
On the listing up to Thursday afternoon, the Marley quinella was still in place. However, a new entry, Long-shot (Passafire), muscled its way into the place where an Iration, Stick Figure or Rebelution album would routinely be in the third position. Another ‘sort of new’ entry, The Expendables’ Moment EP, which has a release date of May 5, is at number four.
Still, the regulars are not to be denied for long, and so Rebelution’s Falling Into Place closes off the top five. Then it is the accustomed players from six to 10: Stick Figure’s Set in Stone is sixth, Bob Marley and the Wailers’ Gold is seventh, Rebelution’s Courage to Grow is eighth, Damian Marley’s Welcome to Jamrock is ninth, and Iration’s Time Bomb in 10th.
After Burial Ground (Stick Figure) at 11, there is a familiar name again: Bob Marley and the Wailers. So is the album’s name, Exodus, but it is higher than accustomed on the chart. The movement in the set named Best Album of the Century by Time Magazine, may be connected with the publicity around the May 11 anniversary of the Tuff Gong’s death. It is at 12, just ahead of Damian Marley and Nas’s combination set, Distant Relatives.
Dr James Chambers has two albums close together. At 31 is the Ultimate Collection: Jimmy Cliff, three places behind the remastered The Harder They Come soundtrack, the various artistes set credited to Cliff. In all fairness, he does have six of the 12 tracks on the soundtrack to the enduring movie about Jamaica.
Sister Nancy holds the number 44 spot with One Two, and Shaggy clings to the upper half of the ranking with Hot Shot at 50.