This is Ziggy Marley's second solo album since moving away from the Melody Makers early in the millennium. As solid as the albums with the MM were, it was time for Ziggy to take a different tack, much like Tom Petty recording an album without the Heartbreakers unit.

Love is my Religion is similar to the understated but solid Dragonfly in that it mines familiar territory but doesn't limit itself to strict reggae. As Ziggy moves into his late thirties (he was born in 1968), his music moves into areas not normally associated with typical reggae, if there is such a thing as typical reggae. Just as his famous father Bob Marley did when he released Uprising at the age of 35, Ziggy's Dragonfly and now Love Is My Religion show more depth of studio artistry and experimentation.

When you've been playing and recording for your entire adult life, you should know your way around a studio, and by working with creative producers you can come up with arrangements that flatter the composition. Ziggy works with Russ Hogarth on a few tunes on the new album, but essentially, Religion is self-produced.

Take the title track "Love Is My Religion," a light, airy 3-chord song that bounces happily along. Just imagine a day in the park or at the beach with an energetic reggae tune and you've got the mood. And that's what music always does, it creates a mood.

While some commentary I've read assail Ziggy's lyrics in this song in particular, I find that the concept and tune grow with additional listenings. My first time hearing the song was on a local radio station, and I couldn't really get a handle on it. Can anybody in one listen? A few days later I picked up the album and have been thoroughly delighted with the whole package.

"Love is my religion. You can take it or leave it and you don't have to believe it..." It's digging the same vein that was so successful for John Lennon when he penned "All You Need Is Love" and "The Word," to mention a few.

Reggae, more than most any other style of music, lends itself equally well to light and happy love songs and heavy political protest songs. Witness the contrast between side one and side two of the original vinyl album Exodus from Bob Marley, rightly proclaimed as album of the century by Time magazine. Bob's follow-up to Exodus was the lighter love-song oriented Kaya, and he was taken to task by many critics and fans for straying too far from the political and strident tone of his earlier albums. Kaya was followed by Survival, which had no love songs whatsoever. So reggae's true boundaries are broad.

Ziggy has no album of the century here, but he's true to his sound and himself, and is a passionate craftsman at writing and performing cohesive songs that cover the fertile ground of love, music, friendship, freedom and dreams - all valid themes for reggae.

"Keep On Dreamin'" grabs a laid-back upside-down reggae beat to inspire the listener to follow their own personal quest. "Blackcat" goes for a little jazzy saxophone intro and moves quickly into a light ska-flavored bounce. "Beach In Hawaii" puts you right there - except I kept wondering when I'd hear steel drums.

By choosing the theme "Love Is My Religion," Ziggy stays close and explores several aspects of it.