Juno Recommends Roots / Lovers Rock: Best of 2023

Review: Hortense Ellis was the sister of Jamaican reggae legend Alton Ellis, but this familial link made her contribution to music no less powerful. Her 1973 cover of The Stylistics' hit 'People Make The World Go Round', released two years earlier, is a snappy, tight, organ-driven rendition in reggae, and is a powerful paean to the principle of people over profit. A Studio One classic, it's one of many to come under the umbrella of Sir Coxsone Dodd, and now comes reissued by Soul Jazz Records with the original dub version on the flip.

Review: VP have got some special and long-lost roots reggae classics here on 45rpm for the first timer in forever. The A-side here first dropped in 1979 and was recorded at Channel One, mixed at King Tubby's and produced by Prince Jammy not one before he went digital - something of a holy trinity of top-class reggae quality. The original is full of proper good and authentic dub flavour with fat bass and smoky atmospheres. Prince Jammy's own superb dub cut features on the flipside which is full of his usual mixing desk magic.

Review: At King Tubby's With The Roots Radics sounds a bit like the sort of text message a kid out too late might send her worried mum. It's also the name of this killer album which finds Barry Brown providing some super vocal work to killer rhythms initially laid down by the in house band Roots Radics and then twisted into psyched out stoner soundscapes by the one and only studio wizard The Scientist. He really gets deep here and EQs hard while masterfully dubbing Brown out of the picture.

Review: The latest edition to the illustrious Charly catalogue - a re-release of Dillinger's most successful single from 1976, 'Cokane In My Brain' - marks a welcome return of this popular release to record stores. Listening to this release, it's easy to trace the figures the Kingston-born Dillinger has labelled as key inspirations in the sound he brings into existence - namely Dennis Alcapone and Lee "Scratch" Perry, the latter of whom he found himself under the guidance of following his big break in 1974 with the release of his single 'Dub Organizer'. There's a reason this achieved serious playtime - though not necessarily on the radio - worldwide following its release. A key release you certainly won't want missing from your collection.

Review: This is a reissue of two rare tracks from the late 70s UK reggae scene which originally surfaced on the Cha Cha Records roster, which launched in the late 1970s. This one first came in 1980: on the A-side, Jackie delivers a tuff lovers rock version of The Jones Girls' 'Who Can I Run To', released just a year earlier in 1979, recontextualizing the song by way of a more propulsive rhythm and higher tempo. On the B comes Earth & Stone, who present their classic roots cut 'That's The Way You Feel'.

Review: Inokashira Rangers are renowned for their ska/reggae covers of some of the world's best-known songs, with versions of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', 'Creep' and 'I'm Not In Love', all laid to sweet 7" over the years. Here they team up with regular collaborating singer Sofia Manari, who takes centre stage in covering two J-pop classics closer to home. 'Love Squall', originally written by jazz great Yuji Ohno, hears a vocal rendition, while Mariya Takeuchi's 'Plastic Love' gets a similarly jubilant reworking on the B.

Review: Japan's brilliantly curious but highly listenable Inokashira Ranger band has covered everything in imaginable in their storied 10-year-plus career. Now they turn to The Nolans for some buttery lovers' rock with a warm and familiar edge. 'I'm In The Mood For Dancing' biomes a rolling rhythm with bright Hammond chords and swaggering riffs. The vocal comes from Yuima Enya and is nice and sweet and soulful. 'Central Freeway' on the flip is a smiler-sounding tune with easy-going drum sways and effortless cool vocals.

Review: Lacksley Castell's 'What A Great Day' is something of a roots reggae classic that has been long hard to find after first dropping back in 1979. It still spuds fresh and will pack a punch on any sound system. Prince Jammy is a master of mixing this sort of stuff who later went on to be a big player in the dancehall game having eventually ditched his analogue tools in favour of digital ones. His dub 'Throne of Blood' is on there flip to round out another brilliant 45rpm from VP, who are masters of just that.

Review: Dub & Sound International are presenting here one of the final recordings from the acclaimed Jamaican vocalists and dub poet George Scott aka Nazamba. He sadly passed in July 2022. This one saw him hook up with the label's studio band The Dubsetters for a heavy rhythm. It finds Nazamba, who has worked with the likes of French O.B.F. and others, retuning to the roots of reggae both in terms of the music and the lyrics and as such it marks a superb debut for the label. On the b-side is a brillaint dub to seal the deal.

Review: Active since the early 1980s, Robert Ffrench is a curio in the reggae scene, with a penchant for extra drum machines and a distinctly wacky sound. Emblematic of Ffrench's approach to music-making is the album 'Wondering', which here comes reissued via 333. Entirely themed around the tumult of Ffrench's relationships while living in 1980s Jamaica, hilarities like 'I Can't Finance You' and 'Heart Breaker' reflect the artist's intense thoughts on the various women in his life. It's all helped along, best of all, by his remarkable synthwork, making this an essential listen.

Review: Nazamba & Dubsetters kicked off this new Finnish Dub & Sound label in a superb style recently and what better way to follow that up than with the reggae master, smoking king and weed aficionado Linval Thompson. This might sound like one of his classic lost cuts from the 70s but it is actually an all new tune from the Jamaican reggae icon. Dubsetters provide the gentle, percussive rhythms which are organic and deep, with Linval's smooth mic work up top adding to the global conversation about the decriminalization of cannabis. Flip it over for an even more mellow and dubbed out sound on the B-side.

Review: 'Open The Gate' is a 1989 box set of Lee 'Scratch' Perry's most enduring productions, involvements and features until that date - most of which were laid down at his legendary yet ramshackle recording studio Black Ark. These were the tunes that cemented Perry's name as an oddball, prodigal, outsider producer; classics including 'Words', plus The Upsetters' versions of their contemporaries The Heptones' tracks Babylon Falling and Mistry Babylon, all appear.

Review: The next tasty drop from the Fruits label, now well over 50 releases deep, is a pan-European affair featuring Bristol singer Joe Yorke and Swiss reggae band The 18th Parallel. The original on the A-side is a deliciously authentic and super sweet bit of rootsy lover's rock. 'End Of The Day' has lazy-as-you-like guitar riffs over loose drums with a falsetto from Yorke soaring high up in the sky on a warm summer's day. On the flip side comes the traditional dub version which is more empty and sparse to allow the reverb room to make its mark while the original vocal is also allowed plenty of space to bleed into.

Review: Double vinyl LP reissue of Linton Kwesi Johnson's smash, underground reggae hit from 1978, 'Forces Of Victory', in celebration of Black History Month by parent label UMC. Produced by Dennis Bovell and LKJ, this is a staunchly British dub poetry classic, with every track, from 'Want Fi Goh Rave' through to 'Time Come' charting Johnson's lifelong grapple with meaning, resistance and revolution in his distinctive reality-checking patois.

Review: Annette Brissett grew up in the USA even though she is a noted reggae vocalist. Her influences are the likes of Otis Redding and the Wailers and she also plays several instruments. 'Hard To Find' is one of her most well-known tunes and it pairs electronic reggae with prog rock guitars and her own soulful vocals. It's curious and compelling and has some funk deep in its bones. The version is provided by Wackies Rhythm Force who strip the vocals and make more of the noodling prog guitars and dubby swagger.

Review: Count Ossie and The Mystic Revelation's 1975 album Tales of Mozambique comes once again as a definitive purple vinyl edition. A critical album for the fusion of reggae with Rastafarian traditional music, Ossie is second only to Bob Marley in terms of being a populariser of the religion's sonic tradition. This cult favourite collates several songs, all of which were recorded and produced with Ossie's entourage in his compound in the hills of Wareika, Kingston. Flutes, shakers and organs conjoin with propulsive drum and bass patterns, producing a deeply mystical and ethereal experience that is nonetheless rooted in communal spirit.

Review: Bim Sherman and Sound Iration came together for this one in 1989 on WAU! Mr. Modo Recordings. Since then it has become a cult classic that will cost a few quid on the second-hand market. But it's not easy to find and so now comes a reissue by Partial. It features two of the three tunes that were on the original with identical artwork. In original form, 'Dream' is a blissed-out bit of sun-kissed electronic reggae. The drums are crisp, Bim's vocals are clean and the organ chords suck you in deep. 'Dream' (version part 3) is a subtle rework that brings out different leads.

Review: Robert French and Anthony Johnson are two of the great reggae artists of their generation. When they came together it was a landmark moment and thankfully it was captured on wax. This is the first time their seminal long player has ever been reissued and it takes in everything from reggae to roots and dancehall. The tunes include a protest song from French in 'No War' and a Johnson cover of 'Sitting In The Park.' The tunes were all laid down in the legendary Channel One Record studio so have that essential Jamaican feel to the rhythms, not least in part because they were played by the acclaimed Roots Radics Band.

Review: Two star songs from the Jamaican reggae scene of the 1970s. Packed with an opulent jives, impassioned vocal performances and bright flutes, on the A-side comes 'Without Your Love I'd Go Crazy' by Tony Hearne, a soulful ballad, and an ode to the madness of lovelessness, with a light-footed rocksteady rhythm. The B-side is 'Ring My Bell' by Blood Sisters, a female vocal trio that covers the disco hit by Anita Ward with a roots reggae twist. Rock A Shaka do well on this reissue, topping up their specialism in reissuing rare and classic Jamaican music.

Review: Bernard Cumberbatch - presumably no relation to actor Benedict - and Garnett Cross are Aquizi, the dub duo fromed in the early 80s and Aiwa label mainstays. Their most notable 12" - aside from maybe 1981's 'Merry Christmas' was 'Kunte Kinte' earlier in the same year. It is a bit of a collector's fav that has more than held its value over the ensuing 40+ years. Driven by lazy dub swagger and carefree keys, it's a lovers rock outing peppered with toms and hits and plenty of echoing depths. Flip it over for version if you want something that will boggle the brain more with its endless mixing board effects.

Review: Dub innovator, celebrated smoker of the herb and much-loved nutter Lee Scratch Perry has been gone a while now but his musical legacy will never fade. Partly, of course, because he made so damn much of it during a prolific career, most of it at his own iconic Black Arc studios. Not so much of it was solo work but Heaven is, and is also the final album he wrote before passing in late 2021. His contribution to Jamaican music knows no bounds and took the form of him being producer, arranger, writer and artist. His unique take on the island's signature sound is present and correct here.

Review: It should be obvious that the fifth studio album by Micah Shemaiah, Jamaica Jamaica, is a dedication to the reggae homeland. However, anything more than a cursory listen will reveal it to be a mixed-emotive, wistful affair, with the Jamaican reggae once more asserting his reflective, rootsy style to diagnose both the ills and joys of the nation - "Jamaica, Jamaica... the country need a doctor, people". A further two dub versions appear on the album, as well as collaborations with other Jamaican artists such as Eesah, Xana Romeo, Rassi Hardknocks and Mikey General.