Is this new Sizzla album just another chapter in an unstoppable list of releases from the singjay? Not quite: 'Crucial Times' was recorded with producer Homer Harris and every right-minded Sizzla-fan knows that he is the man that helped to make the unknown schoolboy Miguel Collins into the superstar Sizzla is today and was also responsible for giving him his stage name (which Omar thought of one day after seeing Sizzla drink a cup of sizzling hot soup as if it were a fresh glass of water). All that and more can be read in the extensive liner notes added to the album in the form of a newspaper. Musically this is an exceptional album as well as 'Crucial Times' consists entirely of tracks which Sizzla recorded in the first years of his career and were never before released in album format (opener 'Precious Gift' was the first song Sizzla ever put on record). It's therefore not surprising that the level of the songs on 'Crucial Times' is somewhat higher than on Sizzla's recent releases: Sizzla makes far less use of his falsetto voice and on tracks like 'Agriculture And Education', 'Rat Race' and especially 'Foundation' he sounds like we like him best. Since Homer Harris is a conscious producer content-wise there's nothing to criticize about this album.