Julian Marley in strictly vocal mode. - Contributed

At first, Julian Marley played excerpts of varying lengths from songs on his new Awake album, then he delivered two tracks live at the Bob Marley Museum, 56 Hope Road, St Andrew, last Wednesday evening.

Awake initially sounded extraordinarily ordinary, the title track urging active participation in life presented first and then On The Floor, which Marley described as "that dancing kind of party tune". Then came Boom Draw, a rub-a-dub ode to the precious green stuff and it wasn't ordinary anymore. The audience on the grounds of the museum knew the difference as well, their response indicating that a restart was required and duly granted.

Host of the listening session, Carlette DeLeon, said that Awake is Julian Marley's third album, emphasising that he is a multi-instrumentalist, Julian eventually showing his guitar playing abilities in tandem with guitarist Paul and percussionists Bongo Herman and Sticky. But that was after he worked his way through the album on Gully Bank sound system, mostly in the same order as the recording.

A good listen

Rosehall was the first track exclusively about a woman, whose "eyes entice many great men, who fell under her spell". It proved a good listen. A Little Too Late with Stephen Marley also goes along the relationship route and also presents women as enticing, duplicitous and as heartbreakers.

Awake appears to have thematic sequences, as Just In Time (which has a strong hip-hop influence) and Jah Works are spiritual in focus. Julian Marley's falsetto on Oh Girl, with Mr Cheeks, shows his versatility.

Violence in the Streets is another brotherly combination, this one with Damian 'Jr Gong' Marley. It's a slow reggae song which is (at first listen) musically not outstanding or lyrically fresh as it repeats the purported connection between unemployment and crime.

Incisive manner

Awake does have those 'I've-heard-this-before' moments, another coming on the hip-hop influenced All I Know, where Marley sings "if you keep on taking water from the well/It will all dry out/And you will have nothing for yourself". Sharp Like a Razor does, however, present the malevolent intentions of 'Babylon' in a particularly incisive manner.

The last two tracks, Things Aint Cool and Trying, were played live, a smiling Julian Marley making it a quartet on the small stage as he strapped on his guitar. He delivered them in reverse order from the album, saying Trying was being done as it was composed, remarking afterward that on the CD it is a bit more uptempo. It is a song asking for empathy on the path to manhood, Marley singing "I'm trying, can't you understand/Trying to be a better man."

And he closed with Things Ain't Cool Anymore, to wrap up a presentation of an album that - on first listen - is above average in production and decent in lead vocal delivery, but lyrically preaches too blatantly where it takes stances and dispenses advice and does not present hackneyed topics in new and interesting ways.

The 14-track album will be officially released on May 26, while Boom Draw is now available on iTunes.