Shaggy: ‘Com Fly Wid Mi’ Album Review

Shaggy, with his rumbling baritone-range singing voice, covering 10 tracks from Frank Sinatra, one of the biggest names in the history of American music, was a very ambitious task, and one executed with finesse, for his Come Fly Wid Mi album.

Come Fly Wid Mi, is the Jamaican Patois translation of Come Fly with Me, a song written for Sinatra, which was the title track for his 1958 album of the same name, and which later became a critical part of the singer’s concert repertoire.

That song, which is the second track on Shaggy’s album, is akin to a wanderlust advertisement and describes adventures in far-flung, exotic destinations, among them Peru, Bombay and Mexico’s Acapulco Bay.   At the time it was voiced by Sinatra, it heralded the beginning of what has been dubbed the Jet Age in 1959, where a proliferation of commercial jet aircraft revolutionized world travel, opening up the four corners of the earth to not only the wealthy but to the working-class citizens of many countries.

History aside, Come Fly Wid Mi, done mainly on Reggae beats with elements of Ska in some instances, reminds the listener of chilling on a beach, of tropical sunsets, pina coladas and romance.   The songs would make perfect background music for tropical resorts, whether in the lobbies, for a dreamy beach playlist or as ambient sounds for a wedding or romantic dinner.

Shaggy’s unique renditions not only pay homage to Sinatra, known also as the Bourbon Baritone, but also showcases his singing voice and the versatility of Reggae beats, to which music from practically every other genre can be adapted to fit seamlessly.

However, unlike songs such as UB40’s reggae version of Neil Diamond’s Red Red Wine and Whitney Houston’s cover of Dolly Parton’s I Will Always Love You, which were covered with such astounding effect that many people believed the cover versions were the actual original, this is not the case with any of the songs on Come Fly Wid Mi.

In doing a good cover version, a song has to sound like the person doing the cover and not like the original singer, and Shaggy, while he does enough to embody Sinatra’s cadence in the songs, sounds like good old Mr. Bombastic himself, and not like a carbon copy of the Bourbon Baritone.   In other words, the album gives off a contemporary feel, as Shaggy does not obsequiously imitate the original songs.

As expected from Shaggy, the songs sound carefree and light.  He begins with That’s Life, a fully Reggae song about the trials and highs of life and the importance of being positive and resilient, and follows up with the uptempo Come Fly With Me, done on a Ska beat, before slowing down again with That Old Black Magic of a seemingly going “crazy in love” and Fly Me to The Moon.

“Hot Gyal” he begins in Jamaican style in Luck Be a Lady, which he has declared his favorite of all the tracks, and which is really a Dancehall song with elements of Jazz trumpets.  The lyrics of that song caution his woman about going out on a date with him, and then gallivanting all over with other men in what he considers an unladylike fashion.

The breezy You Make Me Feel So Young, one of two duets with the album’s producer Sting, is next, and has insertions of ad-libs that sound distinctly like Dancehall godfather U-Roy.  This is followed by Under My Skin, Saturday Night, Witchcraft which is about being smitten by a lover, and Angel Eyes.   The album ends with a bonus track, a version of Witchcraft done on guitar.

Come Fly Wid Mi, is an interesting take by Shaggy and Sting, on the work of Frank Sinatra.   The songs give off a feel of his breakout song Boombastic.  Those who like Reggae, should like it, as there is hardly anything to dislike about this novel album.