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The Soul Jazz label that mines
the vast lode of classic early reggae, ska and rock steady must
have had a record reviewed in every issue of DIASPORA for the
last two years and they can always be relied on to produce the
goods.
While Studio One Story is an aptly titled summation that doesn’t
duplicate any of the other performances on previous Soul Jazz
releases, those with more than a passing interest in Jamaican
music are sure to have several of the numbers here. Still I don’t
think I’ve heard this excellent version of Delroy Wilson’s
I’m In A Dancing Mood before with its poignant sax in the
second half. Michigan & Smiley’s Nice Up The Dance seems
to appear on many compilations. And The Abyssinians’ Declaration
Of Rights is possibly the most influential song in reggae.
There would be few who haven’t heard Jah Jah Children either
by Sugar Minnott, the godfather of lovers rock. Ditto The Skatalites’
omnipresent ska instrumental The Guns Of Navarone. Still there’s
at least one unsung hero here, Larry Marshall who sings the maddeningly
catchy Nanny Goat. But then there’s so little of the under-recorded
Larry around that you’ve probably got this as well. Theo
Beckford opens the studio with Easy Snapping, an excellent soul-jazz-reggae
number with a much stronger bluesy ambience than a lot of the
reggae of the time.
There are classic songs from The Heptones and master crooner Alton
Ellis, silly rub-a-dub from Lone Ranger, ska and rock steady instrumentals
from Don Drummond, Tommy McCook, Jackie Mittoo and Brentford All
Stars as well as dub from Dennis Alcapone and Dub Specialist.
Initially you may have to approach this one with caution but if
you have none or only a couple of the numbers, Studio One Story
is a compulsory purchase.
