Many Moods of Moses is the eighth studio album by Jamaican dancehall musician Beenie Man. It was released on December 9, 1997 through VP Records. Recording sessions took place at Penthouse Recording Studios, Sonic Sounds, Hard Sound Recording Studios, and Anchor Studios in Kingston and at Wildwood Recording Studios in Nashville. Production was handled by Lenky, Sly and Robbie, Andrew Thomas, Handel Tucker, Bob Patin, Buju Banton, David Cole, Jeremy Harding, Tony "CD" Kelly, Lloyd "Gitsy" Willis and Beenie Man himself, with Patrick Roberts serving as executive producer. It features guest appearances from A.R.P., Bob Patin, Buju Banton, Danny Marshall, Lady Saw, Little Kirk and The Taxi Gang.
The album peaked at number 151 on the Billboard 200, number 35 on the Top R&B Albums, atop Reggae Albums, and number 5 on the Heatseekers Albums in the United States. In the United Kingdom, it made it only to number 21 on the Official Independent Albums Chart. Many Moods of Moses spawned three singles: "Who Am I", "Oysters & Conch" and "Foundation". Its lead single, "Who Am I", reached number 40 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 10 on the UK Singles Chart. The second single off of the album peaked at number 69 on the UK Singles Chart.
In 1999, the album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards.
Critical reception
Roni Sarig of City Pages noted that the album "dabbles in various styles", continued "he touches on Zulu chant-sing in "Introlude"; rudimentary drum 'n' bass in "Monster Look"; new-jack swing in his version of Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative"; and Nashville fiddle and pedal steel with "Ain't Gonna Figure It Yet". And with the worldwide hit "Who Am I", where Beenie flaunts hip-hop swagger over Jeremy Harding's sophisticated production". Robert Christgau gave the album a "neither" rating, meaning it "may impress once or twice with consistent craft or an arresting track or two. Then it won't".
In retrospective reviews, AllMusic's Jo-Ann Greene praised the album, saying "Beenie Man along with executive producer Patrick Roberts no longer felt the need to overwhelm audiences with a smorgasbord of sound, and thus Many Moods of Moses is a more coherent set than its predecessor". Steve Juon of RapReviews found "there's not a whole lot of overlap on this particular Beenie Man album other than 'Who Am I?'", giving the album 8 out of 10.
Track listing
Personnel
Moses "Beenie Man" Davis – primary artist, vocals, producer, arranger Lowell Fillmore "Sly" Dunbar – guest artist, producer, arranger Robbie Shakespeare – guest artist, producer, arranger Dean Fraser – guest artist Lloyd "Gitsy" Willis – producer, arranger A.R.P. – guest artist, background vocals Mark "Buju Banton" Myrie – guest artist, producer, arranger "Little Kirk" Davis – guest artist, background vocals Marion "Lady Saw" Hall – guest artist, background vocals Bob Patin – background vocals, producer, arranger 56 Crew – background vocals Michael Mendez – background vocals Nicola Tucker – background vocals J.C. Lodge – background vocals Prilly Hamilton – background vocals Marie "Twiggi" Gittens – background vocals Michelle Jackson – background vocals Steven "Lenky" Marsden – producer Jeremy Harding – producer, mixing, engineering David Cole – producer Tony "CD" Kelly – producer, arranger, mixing, engineering Andrew Thomas – producer, mixing, engineering Handel Tucker – producer, arranger, mixing Hugh "Cuban" Palmer – mixing, engineering Steven Stanley – mixing Collin "Bulby" York – mixing Delroy "Fatta" Pottinger – mixing, engineering Brendan Harkin – mixing, engineering Paul Tyrell – assistant producer Ralston McKenzie – assistant producer Jason Bloomfield – engineering Mark "Stumpy" Brown – engineering Marlon Cooke – engineering Michael Cooper – engineering Raymond Ledgister – engineering Garfield McDonald – engineering, mixing Dean Mundy – engineering, editing The Shocking Vibes Crew – arranger, project coordinator Joel Chin – mastering Paul Shields – mastering Patrick Roberts – executive producer David Sanguinetti – project coordinator Leroy Champaign – artwork, design, layout design Clyde McKenzie – art direction, design Jason Frater – illustrations Brian Jahn – photography Maxine Stowe – liner notes James Goring – stylist
Charts Chart (1998) Peak position
References
External links