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The Very Best of Eek A Mouse (Shanachie, 1990) The minute you hear Eek A Mouse (real name: Ripton Hilton), you never forget him...for better or worse. I can't imagine anyone not being intrigued by his nasal, high-pitched voice and "biddy beng-beng, biddy meng-meng" scatting, though. This vocal style alone would set him apart from the pack of veteran DJs, but what truly elevates him above the rest is the quality of his melodies and music. Though generally considered a DJ, his style is distinctly sing-songy, and so the songs on this collection are as much roots reggae as dancehall. Eek A Mouse's vocals resemble neither a meandering toaster like U Roy or an early dancehall DJ like Yellowman, while his backing music is neither digital dancehall nor a toaster's rhythm usurped from another song. He's utterly unique, which is hard to say of an artist in any genre. Eek A Mouse's stylee is just plain fun to hear, as in the wonderfully playful "Peeni Walli" or the hit "Wa-Do-Dem." The first 7 cuts on this compilation are all very good, but the level of material drops somewhat for the last 5 tracks ("Ganja Smuggling" would've helped) -- and his style begins to wear thin if the songs themselves aren't so hot. Still, this album is a great organic experience that provides quality exposure to a true character. |
| Track Listing 1. Anarexol 2. Star, Daily News & Gleaner 3. Noah's Ark 4. Terrorists in the City 5. Peeni Walli 6. Wild Like a Tiger 7. Wa-Do-Dem 8. Do You Remember 9. Sensee Party 10. Stadium Hot 11. Assassinator 12. Christmas-a-Come |
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Mouse-A-Mania (RAS, 1988)
Mouse-A-Mania could prove quite useful to Eek A Mouse fans (mouseheads?), as it collects tracks from Eek A Mouse’s Assassinator and The King & I albums, released in 1984 and 1985 respectively, both of which are now out of print (of course, Mouse-A-Mania is now also out of print, but is still easier to find than the two separate albums). Whether or not you think his style is gimmicky, it can certainly prove limiting -- particularly when the supporting music doesn’t, well, support him. His simple, repetitive verses and "bidi bidi beng beng" choruses (or was that Tweaky from Buck Rogers?) can start to sound alike after a few mediocre tracks -- which you find here. Based on what we hear here, Assassinator easily proves to be the stronger of the two albums. It is more relaxed and sticks closer to a pure reggae sound than the eclectic, kinetic The King & I, which has more pop (read: corny) inclinations, such as the cheesy electro love songs "De Di Doo" and "Now I Know" (although Eek’s self-voiced backing vocals here make it listenable – something like a mixture of a melodica and the theme song from The Good The Bad and The Ugly) and the God-awful pop/dance disaster "Mi Brethren Roach." The King & I isn’t without its share of niceness, though (but it’s close). The rock guitar-tinged "I Like Them All" actually works, thanks to Mr. Mouse’s performance, while "Juicy Juicy & Weedy Weedy" is as fun as the title implies. Assassinator is noticeably more serious in tone (although how serious can you take Eek A Mouse?), despite the "Lion Sleeps Tonight" homage "Safari." The three best songs on Mouse-A-Mania come courtesy of Assassinator: the catchy "Posse," "Assassinator," and the classic "Penni-Walli," one of the Mouse’s all-time best (the latter two are also included on his Very Best of set). Also solid are "Crime" and "Born Traveller," but for the most part, I’d say Mouse-A-Mania is mostly for the hardcore "mouseheads."
Assassinator:
The King & I: 
Mouse-A-Mania:
| Track Listing 1. Juicy Juicy & Weedy Weedy 2. Assassinator 3. Safari 4. Penni-Walli 5. I Like Them All 6. Posse 7. Triple Love 8. De Di Doo 9. Now I Know 10. Gun Shot a Cry 11. Mi Brethren Roach 12. Crime 13. Macho Man 14. Some a Holler, Some a Bawl 15. Born Traveller |
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Mouse Gone Wild (RAS, 2004)
*GUEST
REVIEW*
For those of you who have yet to buy Mouse Gone Wild, one word of advice: don't. The only reason I purchased it is because I live in Beijing (where reggae
CDs are naturually hard to come by) and happened to stumble across it in a second-hand store. Although
Hilton still demonstrates the ability to ride a riddim, this is obviously an attempted cross-over, which will undoubtedly contain too many hip-hop elements for conventional reggae fans. Most off-putting of all is that the Mouse has decided to include a cheesy and distracting "skit" to kick off the album. Things do not get better. All tracks on the album are
melodically monotonous and demonstrate little creative input. The most obviously "bad" tracks include the gimmicky "Hannibal the
Cannibal," the ultra-slack "Pussy and the Mouse," the gun-talt "Lick
Shot," and the self-glorifying "Eek-a-Mouse." Overall, Mouse gone
Wild conveys a good reggae artist who has tried to go hip-hop...Just without success. The only track worth mention is "American
Girl," which, in spite of its tasteless female vocals and lyrical content, displays the fine voice of the Mouse. I wouldn't go so far as to say that Mr. Hilton should retire, he just needs to get with it and re-discover his roots
(After reading the inside of the album sleeve I must pray that he never reads this).
- Enrique Wedgwood Young
| Track Listing 1. Police Chase [Skit] 2. Lick Shot 3. Jamaicanese 4. Uptown Dread 5. Schizophrenic 6. Wine 7. Pussy and the Mouse 8. American Girl 9. Divas 10. American Dream 11. Hannibal the Cannibal 12. Ghetto 13. Eek A Mouse 14. Jamaicanese [Tricky Remix] 15. Schizophrenic [Tricky Remix] |
Live in San Francisco (2b1, 2006)
Those of you above the age of 13 who've tried to sing along with an Eek A Mouse song know how hard it is to maintain that falsetto, so it should come as no surprise that on this live concert album, the Mouse reserves the caterwauling falsetto for only select moments. Live in San Francisco features most of his biggest hits, and those who have his The Very Best of Eek A Mouse should recognize many of the tunes here. While there's no "Noah's Ark" or "Wild Like a Tiger," the song selection on Live is actually a bit better than on Very Best of, as you get sparklers like "Hitler," "Ganja Smuggling," "Rude Boy Jamaican," and one of the most notable exclusions form Very Best of (and Very Best of Volume 2; WTF?), "Skidip." The Mouse's backing band represents extremely well, creating a dreamy universe full of jazzy instrumentation and echoed, dubby effects, all the while seamlessly moving from song to song. As seems to be common with these live 2b1 releases, there's an added (non-live) hip-hop remix -- in this case "Ganja Smuggling" -- which wisely uses a more laid-back beat to match Eek A Mouse's drowsy style. Overall, while Live in San Francisco may not showcase Eek A Mouse's vocal gymnastics as fully as a studio album, it's still a marvelous overview of a legendary career.
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