BLACK SLATE Vinyl & CDs

Review: Reggae collectors may already be aware of 'When You Gonna Stop', a now exceedingly hard to find UK reggae release. It was recorded by Black Slate, one of the most active British reggae bands of the period, under the alternative Jeduthum alias, produced by Robert Fearon, and initially released in 1978 on the short-lived JBC label. It remains a superb slab of conscious, warming and weighty roots reggae, with great performances from the band and an impassioned lead vocal that tends towards the world-weary. Equally as impressive is the flipside 'Stop Ranking Dub', which - as you'd expect - provides a perfect dub-wise interpretation. A genuinely essential reissue.