[coll]: Doo Wop Jamaican Style (Sanctuary)
Reviewed by Sadie O.,
Sheer fun! Covers of Doo Wop classics by some great Rock Steady artists, from the vaults of Trojan Records. Plenty of that primitive single-mike production that makes Rock Steady so much fun. Doo-Wop lends itself easily to Rock Steady vocally, because all the groups are doing harmonies already, but rhythmically it’s often a complicated fit. Fun comp of some real classics, yard-stylee!
No FCCs, track 7 kills, and 14 is great classic ska.
1. 3:22 **starts straightforward, then rock steady beat comes in. Alton Ellis was a great voice.
2. 2:59 **rather slow lover’s rock beat, plenty of harmonies and horns.
3. 2:36 *uptempo, almost ska, vocal duet with a reedy-voiced girl and a guy who’s clearly standing much closer to the mic, nice horn solos.
4. 2:23 ***slightly uptempo, great instrumentation – it’s a hit!
5. 2:59 *rather downtempo, solo female vocalist, nice groove.
6. 3:18 midtempo with farfisa, duet involving male falsetto, which was unnecessarily popular in the rock steady days…
7. 2:43 ****great bouncy midtempo cover of the Doo Wop classic – they do it justice.
8. 3:04 *uptempo near-ska with farfisa, nice harmonies.
9. 3:54 *slow, apparently recorded in a shower (with a small orchestra in the dressing room). Interesting…
10. 3:00 **rather uptempo, nice guitars, rather odd reworking.
11. 2:40 ***uptempo, fun beat, lots of harmonies.
12. 2:50 *midtempo, nice vocals, sparing instrumentation.
13. 2:18 ***midtempo, VERY cool vocals, familiar riddim.
14. 2:16 ****straight-up ska, crap production, but so much fun!
15. 2:39 **somewhat uptempo rock steady, nice vocals.
16. 2:47 **midtempo, great harmonies (NOT Bob Marley!) (maybe it’s Bunny Wailer? No clues in the liner notes…)
17. 2:57 *slightly downtempo, great harmonies.
18. 2:53 **midtempo, nice vocals, spare instrumentation, trumpet.
19. 3:43 *slow, recorded in the shower, true to the pompous feel of the original.
20. 2:22 ***uptempo, nice bounce and vocals, fun cover.