Generation Coming

by Rosalind Cummings-YeatesAfter a re-grouping and three year hiatus, reggae's crossover kings returned with Generation Coming, an album that delivers the kind of accessible if tame, pop-flavored reggae that their fans have come to expect. The title track captures the band at their best, with a bouncy beat and hopeful lyrics. The cover tunes don't fare as well, with Third World offering an embarrassingly weak Police cover, "Da Do Do Do," a bland treatment of Randy Newman's "Baltimore," and a mediocre showing of the O'Jays' "Love Train." The re-mix of "Reggae Party with Shaggy and Bounty Killer, glimpses the kind of fire that the group is capable of.