[coll]: Rebel Music vol. 2
Reviewed by Sadie O., 11/15/07
Fantastic collection of recently uncovered Rock Steady/early Reggae cuts, 1968-1972. Some top stars, some I’ve never heard off – all cuts from great to fantastic, IMO.
No FCCs detected. 7, 8 17, 20, 23, 26, and esp. 18 are my faves.
1. 2:57 **early rock steady skank, sweet and primal, soulful vocals.
2. 2:04 **swingy lover’s rock, danceable, well-delivered lover’s lament.
3. 2:27 **midtempo rock steady with slight syncopated hesitations, more great vocals. Jamaica was a goldmine back then…
4. 3:03 **slightly muffled sounding master, downtempo minor key, nice harmonies.
5. 2:37 ***midtempo with bits of odd elements, very simple solo vocals almost like a children’s song – reminds me a bit of Cab Calloway!
6. 2:55 **sweet lover’s rock, solo vocals by a major early star who never seemed to get much international recognition.
7. 3:17 ****fine downtempo skank with stuttering guitar, Dekker’s fabulous warbling vocals.
8. 2:52 ****interesting early nyahbinghi drumming with very 60’s style lounge-y keyboards. Instrumental – unusual stuff.
9. 2:10 **downtempo swingy rock steady with lovely solo vocals.
10. 3:20 **uptempo riddim, great star with backing vocals.
11. 2:56 **uptempo skank, rather poor quality master, but Toots and crew’s vocals are still impressive.
12. 3:01 ***midtempo bubble with fabulous lead and backing vocals and FARFISA. Cornell Campbell is another name that should have gotten more US recognition.
13. 3:19 **slightly downtempo skank, nice lead and falsetto backing vocals. Shrillest keyboards on the planet, too.
14. 2:30 ***terrific midtempo instrumental skank with great piano and cool rhythm guitar sound. I could listen to this all day and night…
15. 3:04 ***great midtempo skank with drama-fraught intro, high lamenting vocals.
16. 3:26 **uptempo skank, great vocals, both in upper and lower registers, rather primal, up-the-country vibe.
17. 3:33 ****downtempo roots skank, early version of a huge hit, a real classic. Very Rastafarian with Ethiopian pretensions. Fantastic signature vocal harmonies.
18. 2:51 *****brilliant sound – great midtempo bubble (“Beat Down Babylon”) with killer early toasting. This is the poop, yo!
19. 3:18 **midtempo bubble, another under-appreciated early singing star. Some dubby bits, and a few amazing vocal yowls.
20. 3:11 ****very downtempo lover’s rock – there’s a reason Gregory was the king of lover’s rock – listen and know..
21. 3:26 **downtempo and rather stoned sounding music, but Dennis Brown is no slouch as a vocalist, either.
22. 2:40 **midtempo diatribe by the best dressed man in Reggae music. Ladies, do NOT cross Mr. Smart!
23. 3:26 ****fine midtempo “version” (“You Don’t Love Me”) with violin solo, bits of dub. Different…
24. 3:23 **downtempo skank, fine singer, falsetto backing vocals. Rasta lyrics.
25. 4:17 ***downtempo skank, Rastafarian toasting by another fine early “DJ”. Black history essay.
26. 2:06 ****very downtempo and dramatic skank with slight hints of Blaxploitation drama, gorgeous deep vocals. Cool!