Shopping > Music > Half Pint > Half Pint

Half Pint - Half Pint (CD)

Half Pint
$12.86 - $14.56
Not Yet Rated 0 Ratings (0 Reviews)

Album Details: Half Pint

Release Date:08/28/1997
Label:Vp Records
UPC:054645149624

Other Available Formats: Half Pint

Pro Reviews: Half Pint

  • All Music Guide

    This best-of compilation was selected by Half Pint himself and draws on the handful of releases he put out on reggae-specialist and Jamaican labels. That's fine, but it also makes you wonder why this excellent singer who delivered two absolute classics right out of the career gate is still something of a reggae enigma. Hell, "Greetings" only launched and named the raggamuffin bass line/ragga sound that had a huge global impact in the late '80s and early '90s -- okay, maybe not quite the formative impact that Chic's "Good Times" (with that Bernard Edwards bass line) had on hip-hop, but we're still talking serious foundation archetype here. "Level the Vibes" was also an unforgettable slice of mid-'80s roots dancehall era (i.e., pre-tape loops and drum machine beats) with another deadly nonstop bass line. So it's puzzling why his profile in reggae circles has remained so low. Not that he should have gone in for the Dennis Brown/Gregory Issacs/Frankie Paul syndrome and recorded with everyo...ne under the sun, but he's only put out a handful of albums and rarely did the deejay/singer combo records with contemporaries who seem like a natural fit. It's more troubling that, once you've heard the opening salvo of "Greetings"/"Level the Vibes," you've basically heard Half Pint, because he seems unwilling or unable to stray far away from his formula. The Spartan arrangements will be bass and drums with skank keyboard or guitar and not much else behind his plaintive, emotional singing about girls and little else, since he seems to have used up his metaphor quotient with the two big hits. So small differences become big deals here, like a modified bogle beat with syndrum bloops on "Crazy Girl," the horns marking "Mr. Landlord," and a livelier drum push distinguishing "Too Late." "Sally" has an arresting variation on the raggamuffin bass line and some dub flair, and the pure lovers rock of "Substitute Lover" stretches with double-tracked chorus vocals and very soulful singing. Half Pint's strong singing is a constant, but you've also already heard the melodies to "One Big Family" and "Victory" by the time they roll along. Half Pint ultimately wears down due to the similarity in the unadorned arrangements and vocal melodies. The fact that it's still not a bad compilation is a testament to the singer's skill. "Greetings" and "Level the Vibes" are essential '80s reggae tracks for any collection, but you can't shake the feeling that Half Pint should have reached greater heights by now. - Don Snowden, All Music Guide Read more Less

Compare Prices: Half Pint

Store Store Rating Price Notes/Coupons

Tower.com

23 Ratings

(17 Reviews)

Write a review

$12.86Total Price N/A New Item free us shipping for items over $25!!! Go to Store

Alibris

17 Ratings

(10 Reviews)

Write a review

$14.56Total Price N/A New Item

3 Coupons & Deals

Go to Store

DeepDiscount.com

27 Ratings

(23 Reviews)

Write a review

$12.97Total Price N/A New Item free shipping Go to Store

Rate & Write a Review: Half Pint

All fields marked with * are required
0 out of 5.0 stars
0 out of 5.0 stars
0 out of 5.0 stars
Maximum of 4,000 characters
Cancel

Rate & Write a Review: Half Pint

Thank You. Your review has been posted.
View your postClose

Biography

Half Pint

Important roots rocker whose 1985 release "Cost of Living" ("there are more sellers than buyers") was a career-making single. Mick Jagger has covered him, and Sunsplashes have starred him. Impassioned delivery, great voice, conscious poetry mark him as a long-termer. - Roger Steffens, All Music Guide Read more