AMPLIFY IS #1

AMPLIFY, the new release by progressive reggae band John Brown’s Body, debuts at #1 on this week’s Top Reggae Albums chart in Billboard Magazine. The new album, which also climbs to #10 on the CMJ World Music chart, was just released by Easy Star Records. It presents the band with the highest chart position in its history and outsells its 2005 release PRESSURE POINTS by nearly 20% in its first week of release.

“We’re very happy with the number one chart position,” says Easy Star’s Eric Smith. “But we’re equally excited to see that we’ve not only kept pace with the last release, we’ve outsold it. In these challenging times, where declining sales are the norm, this is a real achievement for everyone involved. It’s also a credit to the tenacity of this band, which has been through a lot over the last several years. JBB’s playing the game their way, and it’s great to see them rewarded for it.”

“AMPLIFY is a big stew of a lot of different influences and sounds and grooves,” says JBB drummer and co-founder Tommy Benedetti. “I think reggae applies to us in the way that we definitely draw from drum and bass. That’s always the foundation of what we start with. We also tried to step outside of the normal reggae grooves‚ sounds‚ lyrics and topics on this one, and what goes on top wound up being very progressive and current.”

AMPLIFY “…fuses Kweli-like beats with Massive Attack funk” and “…invokes the tripped-up rhythms of Radiohead” – Boston’s Weekly Dig

“…the band’s energy is soaked up and spread out in all the right places, never allowing Amplify to slow down and catch its breath. A heck of an achievement…” – Glide