Sufferation: The Deep Roots Of Niney The Observer

Sufferation: Deep Roots
Reviewed by Sadie O., 2/20/09
Roots rock reggae from way back in the early 70’s. Mostly lesser known, mostly very Rasta/biblical, often a bit quirky in production. I have no idea if there’s a theme (beside Niney’s production) here, because the damn liner notes are in a font so small I can’t read em. Who cares – it’s good stuff. Most of the tracks include versions/dubs, which is always a good thing.
No FCCs that I could find. I like 2, 13 and 14 best.
1. 6:44 **downtempo, dubby bubble, sweet high lead vocals. Dub and toast cut in and out a bit. Nice stuff.
2. 5:28 ****downtempo skank, some of Gregory’s most gorgeous vocals, sparse instrumentation. Version features pretty female singing, both songs about love lost.
3. 7:29 **dramatic piano intro, slow minimalist skank, stream of consciousness hard times lyrics. Rather glitchy dub version.
4. 6:34 **uptempo bubble, biblical chat and song, bass-heavy dub.*
5. 3:05 *midtempo, rock steady feel, sweet loneliness song.
6. 7:13 ***uptempo intro, midtempo swingy bubble, exhuberant backing vocals. Particularly nice dub.
7. 2:32 **midtempo skank, vocal harmonies. Rather judgmental lyrics!
8. 3:16 ***lopassed, dubby skank, remix of often used riddim, biblical lyrics.
9. 4:55 **midtempo bouncy skank with trumpet, sweet vocals. Dub with a toast by Dillinger – always a good thing, trumpet is going nuts just behind him.
10. 7:12 *midtempo skank with fairly creative drumming, sincere if slightly tone-deaf singing. Nice dub with crashes and chimes.
11. 7:07 **odd dubby skank, right living lyrics. Song is actually a bit cloying, but the riddim is pretty amusing, and it includes a version.
12. 2:29 **pleasant midtempo skank, rather muddy vocals, but nice harmonies.
13. 3:24 ****downtempo simple skank, biblical lyrics, cool harmonies.
14. 5:09 ****same terrific song as track 2, but with lots of horns up front in the mix. Includes dub with syndrum. Gets better as it gets deeper into the dub.