SINGJAY Buju Banton's new album, Rasta Got Soul, is getting mixed reviews in the United States where it will be released this month. The hip VIBE magazine gave it a lukewarm response while the outaroad.com website hailed it as his strongest work in some time.

Rasta Got Soul was released by Banton's Gargamel company and is his first full-length studio effort since splitting with longtime producer Donovan Germain's Penthouse Records.

VIBE, owned by impressario Quincy Jones, had this to say:

"Roots revivalists and dancehall bashers alike may stand up and cheer the retro gesture of Rasta Got Soul, but Buju's diehard dancehall fans - the ones who loved his 2006 hit Driver from the Too Bad album - may be left wanting more.

Worthy of praise

While individual cuts like I Rise and Magic City are worthy of praise, a bit more variety would be welcome. As nice as the ska rave-up Little Bit of Sorry may be, one wishes for a few raw dancehall cuts, Cowboys, perhaps, or Any Weh Gal Deh. The touching, Wyclef-produced duet Bedtime Stories may be the sleeper hit here. "Daddy won't be coming home tonight," Buju sings, and the sad story rings true - whether you're a hustler or a soldier or a reggae singer."

Outaroad.com differed:

"His most musically audacious work to date, Rasta Got Soul unites Buju Banton's characteristic vocals and consistently positive messages, grounded in the tenets of Rastafari, with organic reggae rhythms carefully crafted by a select aggregation of the island's finest musicians."

Driver, driven by Sly and Robbie's legendary Unmetered Taxi beat, was Banton's last big hit. He has not impressed album buyers in the US since 1995's outstanding Til Shiloh which is hailed as one of reggae's great statements.

Banton stayed the roots course on subsequent albums like Inna Heights and Unchained Spirit, but returned to his hardcore dancehall roots on the Grammy-nominated Friends For Life and Too Bad.