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A Piece of the Blender: The Singles (Heartbeat, 1996)

The Blender returns with his same -- yet a bit more refined -- sound, inserting evocative conscious lyrics over solid, familiar dancehall beats.  As compared to Lift Up Your Head, everything here is just a tad more consistent: the production, the melodies, and the songs as a whole.  On display are his lyrical potency -- in tracks like "Live Up" and the ostensibly odd-titled "Blow Your Nose," which rings more serious and clever when the chorus bellows, "Blow you nose and not your mind. I know that you are not blind..." -- and his sincere singing style. Other standout cuts here include "Just Wanna Be," "Coming Harder," and yet another version of Bob Marley's "Sun Is Shining," entitled "If You Want To Dance," featuring President Brown's hypnotic chatting. This might be a collection of singles, but they come together to form a cohesive album from a rising star who manages to avoid the sophomore slump.

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Rootsman Credential (Heartbeat, 1999)

Everton Blender's patented formula of tweaking old rhythms and adding cultural lyrics to them wears a bit thin this time around, due largely to inferior songwriting.   Still, although this is the weakest of his first three albums, there are several tracks that are well worth a listen.  The hit "Ghetto People Song," which rides the same great digital blip-laden rhythm as Tony Rebel's "If Jah" (both on Reggae Gold 97) is the best song here, but it only barely overshadows the intoxicating old-fashioned rootsy horns and emotional vocals of "These Hands" and the classic, simple dancehall bass line "We No Fear."  Also nice are his cover of John Holt's "Danger in Your Eyes" (a rare love song for The Blender) and the African drum-driven "Bingi Man a Come."  Little else stands out, however, as it seems like Blender fails to put the effort into the tracks that he did with his first two albums.

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Visionary (Heartbeat, 2001)

Visionary has to be Everton Blender's best, most consistent album so far.  He fulfills his true potential here by spooning out helping after helping of solid reggae music.  In typical Blender fashion, his musical and vocal style is unassuming and unspectacular -- basically unchanged since his first album -- which may cause some listeners to go "ho-hum" initially.  However, after a while, you realize that you're saying "OK, that one's pretty good," "This one's not bad," "That one's nice," to each and every track.  There is little that sounds like filler on Visionary; it's chock-full of quality positive, righteous dancehall with a touch of roots and even a couple of surprisingly sweet lovers rock tracks -- "Loving You" and "Lovers' Holiday" -- which succeed due to Blender's versatile skills.  While there may not be any single tune that I'd call absolutely classic, cuts like "Jah Vibes," "Kanta," the ganja-themed "Brain Food," "If You Want to Make It" (not the same song as on the Lift Up Your Head album, although the choruses are very similar), the roots rockin' "Been Trying," and the vibrant "Golden Pen" all have an enduring appeal that boost this album to amongst the best of 2001.

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King Man (Heartbeat, 2003)

King Man represents somewhat of a departure for Everton Blender, as he largely abandons the dancehall sound (though not completely, as evidenced by the dancehall edge of "Gone a Country" and the title track) in favor of a vintage, live-instrument roots flavor.  Since his songs have always had a conscious, roots sensibility, this is a natural shift that seems effortless -- so much so that you may not even recognize the difference initially -- and roots fans who may have shied away from Blender in the past due to his digital inclinations should definitely check this album out.  It's solid from start to finish, filled with laid-back, old-fashioned, horn-buoyed roots music, which, combined with Blender's vocals, draws favorable comparisons to Gregory Isaacs' classic '70s material.  As such, little is spectacular, but little disappoints, highlights including "Abbajani," "Backra," "True Love," the poignant tale of racial plight "Is It Because I'm Black," and the call for peace "Throw Down Your Arms."  I'm not sure if King Man signals a permanent shift in sound for Everton Blender, but whether he sticks to the roots of this album or the returns to the more dancehall-oriented style of Visionary, if the quality remains at the level of these two sets, fans should enjoy his works for years to come.

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It's My Time (Explorer, 2005)

I'm always a bit cautious when I see a musical artist, regardless of genre, leave a major label (relatively speaking) for an unknown label. Who knows the reason why it happens; maybe something as innocuous as the artist starting his own label, or maybe something as ominous as the artist suddenly losing all ability to create good music (see also: Prince). I don't know the story behind Everton Blender ending his decade-long stay on the Heartbeat label or if he plans on returning, but the budget Photoshop artwork on It's My Time filled me with trepidation. And frankly, were it not for the grounded, veteran presence of Blender, combined with a few catchy hooks, several songs might've made my worst fears come true. "Give Thanks to the Father" is distinctly lightweight but irresistible in its buoyancy (granted, if the entire album was similarly buoyant, the resistibility factor would increase exponentially), while "Baby" is a near-sickly R&B-flavored ballad, but I just couldn't bring myself to hate it. The title track likewise is cutesy, but again Blender pulls it off, although I fully expect to hear it on the inaugural reggae edition of Kidz Bop. Thankfully, harder, more rootsy songs fill out the rest of It's My Time, as Blender extends the sound of King Man by "blending" his dancehall-intoned vocals with roots reggae backing music. "The Philosopher" is an imperial-sounding work of art; "Shanty" could find a place of honor on any ganja-themed collection; and "Time Drawing Near" reworks the melody from The Soul Vendors' classic instrumental "Darker Shade of Black" (or should I say The Beatles' "Norwegian Wood"?). "She Is Leaving," meanwhile, is a lush, vintage lovers track, and the cover of reggae fave Curtis Mayfield's "One Who Loves You" holds its own quite nicely. Other tracks, however, can't be saved by Blender's persona. Tunes like "Blenda Nah Gone No Way," "Make It If You Try," "Tallow Tallow," and "Sing Mi a Go Sing" sound too much like Blender by the numbers. Even "Travel the World" sounds a lot like stuff we've already heard from Blender; it just happens to be enjoyable despite the familiarity. All in all, though, It's My Time's not being on Heartbeat shouldn't dissuade you from checking it out, especially if you're already a Blender fan.