Cornell Campbell - Greedy Ways - NiceUp

(Roots Garden 10″ single)

For those unfamiliar with the Don Gorgon, he posesses one of the sweetest falsetto voices in the game – much like a Jamaican Sam Cooke. As an 11 year-old he cut his first tune for Coxsone Dodd in 1956 and his long career has had several peaks along the way. With The Sensations and then The Eternals he scored big hits in the late 1960s with “Queen Of The Minstrels” and “Stars”.

In the mid-seventies he was part of Bunny Lee’s stable and notched up some big-sellers on the producer’s then popular flying cymbals style including “The Gorgon”, “Dance In A Greenwich Farm” and “Natty Dread In A Greenwich Farm”. More recently he came to the attention of a whole new generation of 21st Century fans when he cut “King In My Empire” for Rhythm and Sound in 2005 and he continues to be in great demand as a singer both in the studio and on the concert touring circuit.

Here he teams up with Nick Manasseh who is one of the U.K.’s top modern roots producers. It’s a perfect marriage with a crisp slow-tempo minor key rhythm underpinning Cornel’s plaintive warning to the materialistic and power-hungry elements of society. Backed with an obligatory and always essential Manasseh dub cut, “Dub The Majority”, this ten-inch is not going to set the dancefloor alight, but for those that like their roots music clean, deep and meaningful it’s a worthy addition to the crate.

These two gentlemen are both leaders in their respective fields and this is a rewarding combination. Manasseh has clearly been pretty busy lately as his recent collaboration with Earl Sixteen, the “Walls Of The City” album was also just released on Merge Productions.