''Language Barrier'' is a

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by Jamaican musical duo

Sly and Robbie Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separa ...

, released in 1985 by

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

. The album features guest musicians

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

Afrika Bambaataa Lance Taylor (born on April 17, 1957), also known as Afrika Bambaataa (), is an American DJ, rapper, and producer from the South Bronx, New York. He is notable for releasing a series of genre-defining electro tracks in the 1980s that influenc ...

, and Manu DiBango.

Release and reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

awarded the album with three stars and its review by Scott Bultman states: "Sly & Robbie team with producer

Bill Laswell William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, w ...

for an edgy dub set".Bultmann, Scott Allmusic Review: ''Sly & Robbie - Language Barrier''

, accessed 6 October 2018 ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...

'' critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

called it a " world-music mishmash". The single "Make 'Em Move" reached No. 83 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in November 1985. The album brought the duo international recognition and led on to their subsequent hit album ''

Rhythm Killers ''Rhythm Killers'' is an album by Jamaican musical duo Sly and Robbie, released in May 1987 by Island Records. By the time of the album's recording, Sly and Robbie had transitioned away from their prolific work in the reggae genre. They spent the ...

'' in 1987.

Track listing

# "Make 'Em Move" ( S. Dunbar, R. Shakespeare, B. Aasim, B. Laswell, B. Worrell) — 7:58 # "No Name On The Bullet" (S. Dunbar, R. Shakespeare) — 6:03 # "Miles (

Black Satin ''Black Satin'' is a 1956 studio album by the George Shearing Quintet, arranged by Billy May. The initial ''Billboard'' magazine review from November 3, 1958 chose the album as one of its "Spotlight Winners of the Week" and commented that "Shea ...

)" (

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

, S. Dunbar, R. Shakespeare, B. Laswell) — 7:20 # "Bass And Trouble" (B. Laswell, S. Dunbar, R. Shakespeare, Manu Dibango) — 7:58 # "Language Barrier" (

Wally Badarou Waliou Jacques Daniel Isheola "Wally" Badarou (born 22 March 1955) is a French musician. Born in France with ancestry from Benin, West Africa, Badarou is known for his close association with the English group Level 42, and for his prolific work ...

, S. Dunbar, R. Shakespeare, M. Chung, B. Reynolds) — 6:51 # "Get To This, Get To That" (S. Dunbar, R. Shakespeare, B. Fowler, B. Worrell) — 5:17

Personnel

;Musicians *

Sly Dunbar Lowell Fillmore "Sly" Dunbar (born 10 May 1952, Kingston, Jamaica) is a drummer, best known as one half of the prolific Jamaican rhythm section and reggae production duo Sly and Robbie. Biography Dunbar began playing at 15 in a band called ...

– drums, percussion *

Robbie Shakespeare Robert Warren Dale Shakespeare (27 September 1953 – 8 December 2021) was a Jamaican bass guitarist and record producer, best known as half of the reggae rhythm section and production duo Sly and Robbie, with drummer Sly Dunbar. Regarded as ...

– bass *

– keyboards *

Bernie Worrell George Bernard Worrell, Jr. (April 19, 1944 – June 24, 2016) was an American keyboardist and record producer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll ...

– keyboards *

Robbie Lyn Robert "Robbie" Bernard Lyn is a Jamaican session musician who plays piano, keyboard and synthesiser. Biography Robbie Lyn is a popular Jamaican session musician, who has played with various session/backing bands including Now Generation, Sound ...

– keyboards * Manu Dibango –saxophone *

– harmonica *

Africa Bambaataa Lance Taylor (born on April 17, 1957), also known as Afrika Bambaataa (), is an American DJ, rapper, and producer from the South Bronx, New York. He is notable for releasing a series of genre-defining electro (music), electro tracks in the 1980s ...

– vocals *

Bernard Fowler Bernard Fowler (born January 2, 1960) is an American musician. He is known for a long association with The Rolling Stones, providing backing vocals since 1989 and on their studio recordings and live tours. Fowler has been a featured guest vocal ...

– vocals *

Doug E Fresh Doug E. Fresh (born September 17, 1966) is a Barbados-born American rapper, record producer, and beatboxing, beatboxer, also known as the "Human Beat Box". The pioneer of 20th-century American beatboxing, Fresh is able to accurately imitate drum ...

– human beatbox * Eddie Martinez – guitar *

Pat Thrall Patrick Thrall is an American rock guitarist. Thrall began his recording career in 1972. He played guitar, vocals, and percussion with the group Cookin' Mama, which had his brother, Preston Thrall, on percussion. They released the album ''New Day ...

– guitar * Mike Hampton – guitar *

Mikey Chung Michael Chung (1950 – 28 December 2021) also known as Mao Chung, was a Jamaican musician who played keyboards, guitar and percussion instruments. He was also an arranger and record producer of Jamaican music, and worked with a wide array of m ...

– guitar *

Barry Reynolds Barry Reynolds (born 27 October 1949, in Bolton, Lancashire) is a British guitar player, songwriter, composer and producer, best known for his long-lasting collaboration with Marianne Faithfull. Reynolds first emerged with the band Pacific Drift ...

– guitar *

Daniel Ponce Daniel Ponce (July 21, 1953 – March 14, 2013) was a Cuban-American jazz percussionist. He was born in Havana, Cuba, and Ponce played locally in Havana from age 11, and played percussion in a group called Watusi. He was exiled from Cuba in 19 ...

– percussion ;Technical personnel * Clive Smith –

Fairlight CMI The Fairlight CMI (short for Computer Musical Instrument) is a digital synthesizer, sampler, and digital audio workstation introduced in 1979 by Fairlight. — with links to some Fairlight history and photos It was based on a commercial lic ...

programming * Robert Musso, Steven Stanley, Solgie – engineers * Howie Weinberg – mastering * Tony Wright – art direction * Chris Garnham – photography *

Issey Miyake was a Japanese fashion designer. He was known for his technology-driven clothing designs, exhibitions and fragrances, such as '' L'eau d'Issey'', which became his best-known product. Life and career Miyake was born on 22 April 1938 in Hirosh ...

– glasses

References

{{Authority control 1985 albums Albums produced by Bill Laswell Island Records albums Sly and Robbie albums