Maxi discography

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Maxi Priest Releases

safe
You're Safe [1985]
Maxi's debut album is about as close to mainstream reggae as it ever got. It contains a couple good songs, "In The Springtime" (which also ended up on the "Best of") and "Should I".

intentions
Intentions [1986]
Maxi's second album is where he started making pop-flavored reggae. There's a nice cover version of Van Morrison's "Crazy Love" on the album and Maxi is joined on other songs by Aswad and Caron Wheeler of Soul II Soul.

maxi
Maxi Priest [1987]
The third Maxi Priest release is the album which first gave him world-wide recognition. This album provided the first collaboration with Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, gave us the cover version of "Wild World", and featured Beres Hammond sharing vocals with Maxi on "How Can We Ease the Pain." This is a nice pop-reggae album for anyone looking for one of Maxi's older efforts.
Wild World

bonafide
Bonafide [1990]
From the first drum tracks of "Just A Little Bit Longer", you could tell that this one was different. Yeah, the R&B influenced "Close To You" ended up #1 on Billboard, but this baby has some good music on it besides that one. "Best of Me" and "You" are definitely songs to listen to while you drive with the top down on a sunny day while "Space in My Heart" is the first good romantic ballad Maxi did.
Just A Little Bit Longer

Best of
Best Of Me [1991]
Here's where some folks that only knew "Bonafide" first heard some of Maxi's older songs. "Wild World" was a great choice as the opening tune and the next 2 songs just keep up that great beat. After "Close To You" there's that Beres Hammond duet "How Can We Ease the Pain" then it starts to pick up again. "Housecall" with Shabba Ranks is heard here for the first time since it had never been released before - what a great dance number! The remaining songs, including "Just a Little Bit Longer", "Best of Me", Van Morrison's "Crazy Love" and "Woman in You" are all goods songs which make this an outstanding package for someone wanting Maxi at his best.

Fe Real
Fe Real [1992]
I remember when "fe Real" first came out and I got home with my copy - boy, what a difference. Smooth R&B influences run everywhere. Don't get me wrong, I still loved it from the first time I played it even though it was very different from what I was used to in the past couple albums. I really love "Just Wanna Know" and then all of a sudden, you drop into the slow "Groovin' in the Midnight" and you wonder, "What's next?" The rest keeps the mood, back and forth between upbeat reggae numbers and slow R&B efforts, culminating in "Hard to Get" which happens to be my favorite.

fun
Man With The Fun [1996]
I had to wait 4 years for "Man With the Fun" and I guess it was worth the wait. Its not as R&B as "fe Real" but it does have its R&B moments. The first song, "That Girl" is probably the best - it uses a sample from Booker T & the MG's "Green Onions" and features Shaggy. There is also what's called a "urban remix" of the song at the end. Both versions are good. "Heartbreak Lover" with Beres Hammond and Buju Banton has that dancehall feel and is a fun number. "Love Will Cross Over" and "Are You Ready For Me" are both reggae naturals. The rest is middle of the road, R&B influenced stuff. By and large, I enjoyed the CD from the day of purchase but I guess I was expecting more after a 4 year wait.
That Girl

Maxi Priest Appearances On Other Releases

Shabba
Shabba Ranks - As Raw As Ever [1991]
There's a different version of "Housecall" than the one that's on Maxi's "Best Of."

planet
Planet Dancehall [1992]
The Shabba Rank's "Housecall" version is on the compilation CD featuring others like Cutty Ranks and Apache Indian.

reggae beat
Ragga Heat Reggae Beat [1993]
"Wild World" appears on this compilation CD. Others on the CD are Inner Circle, Ziggy Marley, Shabba Ranks, Shaggy, Shinehead, Dennis Brown and Third World.

wes bound
Lee Ritenour - Wes Bound [1993]
Now here's an interesting experience. In the middle of ten songs featuring the music of Wes Montgomery, Lee Ritenour invites Maxi along in a version of Bob Marley's "Waiting In Vain." It seems to work with Maxi's smooth voice and the quiet guitar tones of Ritenour.

dance reggae
Dance Reggae [1994]
There's two real nice cuts by Maxi on this compilation CD. First is "Fe Real" with Apache Indian and the second is a great remix of "Just Wanna Know." Besides these two cuts, there's some decent songs on here from Alpha Blondy, Ziggy Marley and a interesting mix of Shaggy's "Oh Carolina."
Just Wanna Know (New York Radio Mix)

speed 2
Soundtrack from Speed 2 [1997]
This reggae influenced soundtrack includes Maxi's cover of Blondie's "The Tide is High" which I personally like much. There's actually a couple other decent songs on here including UB40's "Tell Me It Isn't True", Jimmy Cliff's "You Can Get it if You Really Want it" and Rayvon's "Some People."
The Tide is High

jungle
Soundtrack from Jungle 2 Jungle [1997]
For this Disney movie soundtrack, Maxi does a very Disney sounding song call "It Starts in the Heart". A forgetable song on a miserable CD.

police
Reggatta Mondatta - A Reggae Tribute to the Police [1997]
Here's a compilation of covers of Police songs that you may either like or not. Aswad does a nice job on their rendition of "Roxanne", there's an interesting version of Shinhead's "Jamaican in New York", and Ziggy Marley and Sting get together and do a decent job on "One World." As far as the other songs by Betty Wright, Steel Pulse, and Sly & Robbie, forget it. Oh, almost forgot, I don't particularly like Maxi's version of "Message in a Bottle." Didn't like it on "Man With The Fun" either. Sorry Maxi...

	You're Safe [1985] Maxi's debut album is about as close to mainstream reggae as it ever got. It contains a couple good songs, "In The Springtime" (which also ended up on the "Best of") and "Should I".
	Intentions [1986] Maxi's second album is where he started making pop-flavored reggae. There's a nice cover version of Van Morrison's "Crazy Love" on the album and Maxi is joined on other songs by Aswad and Caron Wheeler of Soul II Soul.
	Maxi Priest [1987] The third Maxi Priest release is the album which first gave him world-wide recognition. This album provided the first collaboration with Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, gave us the cover version of "Wild World", and featured Beres Hammond sharing vocals with Maxi on "How Can We Ease the Pain." This is a nice pop-reggae album for anyone looking for one of Maxi's older efforts. Wild World
	Bonafide [1990] From the first drum tracks of "Just A Little Bit Longer", you could tell that this one was different. Yeah, the R&B influenced "Close To You" ended up #1 on Billboard, but this baby has some good music on it besides that one. "Best of Me" and "You" are definitely songs to listen to while you drive with the top down on a sunny day while "Space in My Heart" is the first good romantic ballad Maxi did. Just A Little Bit Longer
	Best Of Me [1991] Here's where some folks that only knew "Bonafide" first heard some of Maxi's older songs. "Wild World" was a great choice as the opening tune and the next 2 songs just keep up that great beat. After "Close To You" there's that Beres Hammond duet "How Can We Ease the Pain" then it starts to pick up again. "Housecall" with Shabba Ranks is heard here for the first time since it had never been released before - what a great dance number! The remaining songs, including "Just a Little Bit Longer", "Best of Me", Van Morrison's "Crazy Love" and "Woman in You" are all goods songs which make this an outstanding package for someone wanting Maxi at his best.
	Fe Real [1992] I remember when "fe Real" first came out and I got home with my copy - boy, what a difference. Smooth R&B influences run everywhere. Don't get me wrong, I still loved it from the first time I played it even though it was very different from what I was used to in the past couple albums. I really love "Just Wanna Know" and then all of a sudden, you drop into the slow "Groovin' in the Midnight" and you wonder, "What's next?" The rest keeps the mood, back and forth between upbeat reggae numbers and slow R&B efforts, culminating in "Hard to Get" which happens to be my favorite.
	Man With The Fun [1996] I had to wait 4 years for "Man With the Fun" and I guess it was worth the wait. Its not as R&B as "fe Real" but it does have its R&B moments. The first song, "That Girl" is probably the best - it uses a sample from Booker T & the MG's "Green Onions" and features Shaggy. There is also what's called a "urban remix" of the song at the end. Both versions are good. "Heartbreak Lover" with Beres Hammond and Buju Banton has that dancehall feel and is a fun number. "Love Will Cross Over" and "Are You Ready For Me" are both reggae naturals. The rest is middle of the road, R&B influenced stuff. By and large, I enjoyed the CD from the day of purchase but I guess I was expecting more after a 4 year wait. That Girl

	Shabba Ranks - As Raw As Ever [1991] There's a different version of "Housecall" than the one that's on Maxi's "Best Of."
	Planet Dancehall [1992] The Shabba Rank's "Housecall" version is on the compilation CD featuring others like Cutty Ranks and Apache Indian.
	Ragga Heat Reggae Beat [1993] "Wild World" appears on this compilation CD. Others on the CD are Inner Circle, Ziggy Marley, Shabba Ranks, Shaggy, Shinehead, Dennis Brown and Third World.
	Lee Ritenour - Wes Bound [1993] Now here's an interesting experience. In the middle of ten songs featuring the music of Wes Montgomery, Lee Ritenour invites Maxi along in a version of Bob Marley's "Waiting In Vain." It seems to work with Maxi's smooth voice and the quiet guitar tones of Ritenour.
	Dance Reggae [1994] There's two real nice cuts by Maxi on this compilation CD. First is "Fe Real" with Apache Indian and the second is a great remix of "Just Wanna Know." Besides these two cuts, there's some decent songs on here from Alpha Blondy, Ziggy Marley and a interesting mix of Shaggy's "Oh Carolina." Just Wanna Know (New York Radio Mix)
	Soundtrack from Speed 2 [1997] This reggae influenced soundtrack includes Maxi's cover of Blondie's "The Tide is High" which I personally like much. There's actually a couple other decent songs on here including UB40's "Tell Me It Isn't True", Jimmy Cliff's "You Can Get it if You Really Want it" and Rayvon's "Some People." The Tide is High
	Soundtrack from Jungle 2 Jungle [1997] For this Disney movie soundtrack, Maxi does a very Disney sounding song call "It Starts in the Heart". A forgetable song on a miserable CD.
	Reggatta Mondatta - A Reggae Tribute to the Police [1997] Here's a compilation of covers of Police songs that you may either like or not. Aswad does a nice job on their rendition of "Roxanne", there's an interesting version of Shinhead's "Jamaican in New York", and Ziggy Marley and Sting get together and do a decent job on "One World." As far as the other songs by Betty Wright, Steel Pulse, and Sly & Robbie, forget it. Oh, almost forgot, I don't particularly like Maxi's version of "Message in a Bottle." Didn't like it on "Man With The Fun" either. Sorry Maxi...