The New Oldies: #6 Album of the Year 2022: Shaggy- Com Fly Wid Mi

Something seems to be missing these days. It seems that record companies, radio stations, and streaming services are pushing some the great established musicians to the background. As a result these veteran artists are not getting the attention they deserve. Enter the Top 10 Album Countdown: The New Oldies. The main point is simple – to make this list you must have at least 20 years of producing established music. The album by the artist must have been released between November 1st, 2021 and October 31st, 2022.

#6 Shaggy – Com Fly Wid Mi

Orville Richard Burrell, the artist better known as Shaggy has certainly built a career for himself. His unique fusion of reggae, hip-hop, and dancehall music has set him apart from many. Shaggy’s been doing it for over 30 years, and at some point I think the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will come knocking. The past few years has certainly have seen him on roll. 2022 saw Shaggy take on a project where he would take his unique style of music and cover the music of Frank Sinatra. The result was the album Com Fly Wid Mi. It’s an album that would even earn Shaggy a well deserved Grammy nomination for Best Reggae Album.

The story of Com Fly Wid Mi traces back to a very successful collaboration Shaggy would have with Sting. The two would develop a chemistry and would end up releasing a full album called 44/876. Com Fly Wid Mi is also another collaboration between the two, but with this time Sting is the producer of the album. Sting makes a small gues appearances on three of the album’s tracks.

Normally when it comes to a cover album, I am not a fan of reimagining the album and much prefer to keep it close to the original. With Shaggy’s unique style vocals, it seems to work seamlessly with Sinatra’s songbook. The result is very simple: if you can picture Shaggy’s unique reggae vocals singing the music of Frank Sinatra, that is exactly what Com Fly Wid Mi is. Songs such as That’s Life, I Got You Under My Skin, Under my Skin, You Make Me Feel So Young, and Luck Be My Lady were my personal favorites all shine, but there really wasn’t a weak track on this album. Shaggy isn’t “Mr Bombastic” on this album. He brings a maturity he has quietly developed over the years. The role of Sting is key as a producer here. Sting has worked very closely with Shaggy, and it’s clear he knows what buttons need to be pushed.

The end result is an album that stands out as one of the great Sinatra covers songbook and continues to grow the legend known as Shaggy.