12″ Taxi/Silent River
Bitty Mclean continues his work with the riddim twins, Sly n Robbie, on this cut of ‘Shine Eye Gal’ released on the Taxi label.
Bitty grew up in Birmingham, his father had a sound and Bitty was surrounded by sound system from a young age. Eventually he picked up the mike and his natural talent was obvious. By the time he was in his early teens he was singing on local Birmingham sounds. He rose to prominence in the mid-90s with a series of UK and worldwide hits, then hit it big again with the hugely successful ‘On Bond Street’ with fresh vocals over classic Duke Reid riddims.
His next album ‘Moving On’ is a collaboration with Sly n Robbie, which really showcased his talent and versatility, be it lovers or conscious, over both original riddims and reworks of classics from the Taxi catalogue.
‘Running Over’ continues this theme. The vocal is a version of Freddie Mckay’s ‘Its Running Over’ from 1977 on a heavy rework of the ‘Shine Eye Girl’ riddim. For the toast on the combination you get dancehall legend Josey Wales, although I prefer the straight vocal. On the flip you get ‘No Love’, a cut of ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner’, the only noticeable absence is a straight dub. It’s all pressed up on 180gm vinyl and the sound quality is excellent. The UK’s finest reggae soulman delivers a wicked slice of roots.
Conviction Roots
