''Look at Love'' is an album by the Jamaican musician

Judy Mowatt Judith Veronica Mowatt, (born 1952) is a Jamaican reggae artist. As well as being a solo artist, from 1974 she was also a member of the I Threes, the trio of backing vocalists for Bob Marley & The Wailers. Early life Mowatt was born in Go ...

, released in 1991. Mowatt supported the album with a North American tour.

Production

The album was produced by

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 ...

and Michael Bennett. After realizing that she could tour successfully without new music to promote, Mowatt took her time thinking about the album and selecting its songs. Many of the songs touch on themes of female equality and empowerment. "Watchdogs" is a cover of the

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae and pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the ...

song.

Groovin' "Groovin" is a single released in 1967 by American rock band the Young Rascals that became a number-one hit and one of the group's signature songs. It has been covered by many artists, including the Young Rascals themselves in other languages. ...

is a cover of

the Young Rascals ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

song. "Jah Love" is a cover of the

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

song; "Jah Love" is the song that Marley asked the I-Threes to sing at their audition for him.

Critical reception

The Gazette The Gazette (stylized as the GazettE), formerly known as , is a Japanese visual kei Rock music, rock band, formed in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa in early 2002.''Shoxx'' Vol 106 June 2007 pg 40-45 The band is currently signed to Sony Music Recor ...

'' determined that "there's little to recommend ''Look at Love'' unless your tastes are reggae MOR." ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' noted that, "despite its pop ambitions and the dance hall grooves carved out by producers Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, there's no mistaking the album's inspirational and feminist bent." The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' stated that Mowatt "never loses sight of the classic reggae sound or its concern for socially conscious messages." The ''

Star Tribune The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...

'' thought that the album "finds her moving closer to a pop sound." The ''

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the ''Belleville News-Dem ...

'' concluded that the album "presses Mowatt's search for a fusion between reggae and contemporary American black music ... She uses heavily electronic percussion beats with a pervasive undercurrent of hip-hop."

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 ...

wrote: "Breezy seems a word tailor-made for Judy Mowatt, and her sweet vocals, bouncy delivery, and bright as sunshine optimism make ''Look at Love'' an upbeat charmer."

Track listing

References

{{reflist 1991 albums Shanachie Records albums