Stephen Marley "Mind Control"

Release Date: March 20
When reggae star Bob Marley died, the genre more or less died with him as far as America was concerned. Though Marley had many children- most of whom continue making music- none have come close to holding a candle to their celebrated father.

Such is the case with son Stephen Marley's solo debut "Mind Control." While Stephen looks and sounds like a carbon copy of his father, most of the tunes on the uneven "Mind Control" sound like bad B-sides or blatant homages to the elder Marley's work.

Marley, who began his musical career as a member of the Marley Family, has produced and recorded with his siblings and a host of rappers and R&B singers. While Stephen combines much of the political veracity and musicality of his father, none of "Mind Control" matches the intensity or melody of Bob or even Ziggy Marley.

The album's title track mixes wah-wah guitar with trumpet accents and a political message to set the tone of much of the record. Marley drags out classic reggae grooves on "Lonely Avenue," "Chase Dem" and the flute-inflected "Fed Up," but it's on non-traditional hybrids of reggae, hip hop and pop that Marley is most effective.

The funky "Let Her Dance," the beat-heavy You're Gonna Leave" and the rapping, scat-vocals of "The Traffic Jam" are all musically arresting, lyrically intriguing exaples of the genre's evolution. Likewise, "Iron Bars" does a decent job of approximating Bob Marley's feel and attitude while "Hey Baby"- the album's best track- features guest vocals from Mos Def. Marley also collaborates with Ben Harper on "Inna Di Red," but the duet never reaches the intensity of Stephen's work with Mos Def.

Musical legacies often bear bitter fruit, but Stephen Marley is the rare exception in that his music, while not great, is relatively palatable. Marley's strengths still reside in his skill as a producer, but "Mind Control" further cements his ability as a singer and songwriter. With the right collaborators by his side, Marley might be able to expand on the traditional reggae sound his father pioneered decades ago.