(Forward Records, USA)
When I first began collecting reggae music, I didn’t have the advantage of having any knowledgeable friends on the subject, so my initial record buying experiences were all based on self-schooling. This involved hearing a song in a session and then pursuing it. Luckily, most song titles are easy to pick up from listening to the songs, including this tune. And after hearing it time after time, I knew I had to track it down.
Years after first hearing the tune, I heard it again on a Coxsone Sound live tape (or rather a natty dubplate of it!). Finding out exact information about it has proven harder. One listing says it was recorded at Channel One and produced by Mike Brooks and Jah Lloyd. Another says it was produced by Duke Reid. It certainly doesn’t sound like Duke Reid, but an album of the same name was released on Treasure Isle, so who knows?
Whoever produced it, the tune is a great one. It has a nice big sound, with great vocals from the underrated Mike Brooks, who is still active in the re-issuing market. And it comes with a great version. It was repressed on a Teems 7 in the late 90s/early 2000s and is also available on the LP, which shouldn’t cost the earth.
Plattsie Onevoice (London)
OneVoiceRevivalSound Podcast – My Year in Roots
