Silver Bullets

Silvertones – Silver Bullets
Reviewed by Sadie O., 10/31/07
Wonderful early Rock Steady vocal trio with production by Lee Perry. These guys are almost unknown and vastly under-appreciated. Harmonies are particularly nice, with a fine baritone lead and some falsetto backing vocals, and production is, of course, excellent. This is before Perry really started nutting out with dubs, although there’s an early taste of it on track 12.
No FCCs, tracks 1, 5-6, 9 and 12 are terrific.
1. 3:47 ***starts with car revving and brief skit, then somewhat downtempo rock steady with great doo-wop vocals. Sad tale of date-switching at the dance…
2. 3:20 **midtempo, bouncy one-drop, danceable.
3. 2:46 **HA! Downtempo rock steady cover of the Archies song! Nice baritone lead vocals, terribly serious delivery – what a hoot…
4. 2:47 *slightly downtempo minimalist rock steady, “what I did on my vacation”.
5. 3:12 ***midtempo early Reggae skank, Rasta-Christian lyrics, fine sound.
6. 3:20 ***version of track 5, showcasing Lee Perry’s tasty production.
7. 2:39 *downtempo rock steady, heartbreak number, reminiscent of late 50’s soul.
8. 2:51 **downtempo one-drop, lovely vocals, odd take on the concept of “soul sister”…
9. 3:05 ***very downtempo, very minimalist, bass and drum-driven rock steady, very soulful vocals.
10. 2:49 **downtempo, swingy and soulful riddim.
11. 3:14 *half-time rock steady cover of the Jerry Butler hit, a somewhat uncomfortable pace for delivery.
12. 2:02 ***wonderfully bloopy midtempo dubby rock steady, with just occasional vocals. Blat blat blat! Yay!