POP REVIEW : Dance-Hall Reggae Stumbles

The American success of Shabba Ranks may have opened the doors here for artists working in reggae’s dance hall-deejay style, but you couldn’t have proved the point at the Music Machine on Monday. Two veteran Jamaican deejays, Admiral Bailey and Josey Wales, headlined a show that gave more ammunition to reggae’s critics than its supporters.

Singer Coco Tea, the scheduled headliner, failed to get his work permit in time, and that slanted the bill heavily toward the deejay end. The gruff-voiced Bailey was a hot commodity a few years ago, but the Jamaican deejay scene is a notorious breeding ground for short-lived success, and Bailey was no exception. His raps quickly grew wearisome despite an unusual fashion sense--a flashy dinner jacket and headband ensemble that opened to reveal a sleeveless white undershirt and a rather prominent belly.

Second-billed Josey Wales fared better in large part because of his ebullient stage personality, but even his hourlong set offered only sporadic flashes of excellence. Much of the problem--and with the show in general--was the Jah Maka Inc. backing band’s failure to lay back enough to provide the kind of rhythm grooves that can elevate even average reggae.

* The Bailey-Wales bill, with vocalist Wendy Shaw now opening the show, is also scheduled at the Strand in Redondo Beach tonight.