Lucky Dube RETROSPECTIVE

Composer/Lyricist: Lucky Dube.
Personnel: Lucky Dube (vocals).
"Curated" and compiled by KCRW DJ Tom Schnabel, Retrospective is a well-chosen, well-sequenced Lucky Dube collection, released one year after the reggae singer was killed in a car-jacking near his home in Johannesburg, South Africa. All the important political numbers -- "Slave," "Crime and Corruption," and "Prisoner" -- are here, while interesting choices like the live, short cover of Marley's "One Love" or the two opening Zulu jive numbers round out the set. Schnabel's liner notes are excellent but it's the packed-in DVD that seals the deal with its full concert plus bonus videos. Before his untimely death, Dube was set to become the 21st century Peter Tosh with that same combination of social awareness and musical sweetness. Retrospective is a great introduction to this underappreciated artist with enough bonus and rare material to make it just as valuable to the longtime fan. ~ David Jeffries

• Format: CD
• Genre: International