Juno Recommends Roots / Lovers Rock October 2020

Review: Since it first featured on the 1980 album Jah Jah Way, Yabby You's 'Stop Your Quarrelling' has been a perennial feature of many reggae DJ's sets. Three years ago, Pressure Sounds unveiled two previously unheard versions from the Jamaican singer, toaster and producer's vaults, both of which had been featured on one of his own exclusive dubplates. This 45 offers-up those same mixes, this time on a less limited vinyl pressing. The A-side 'Dubplate Mix' is a formidably fuzzy affair and features Yabby You, singing attractively over a chunky riddim, fluid piano solos and tight, clipped guitar riffs. On the flipside 'Version', Yabby You turns it into a stripped back, heavy dub monster replete with snaking saxophone solos and echoing hand percussion.

Review: Four years ago, One By One Records founder Baay Selectah offered up Valmeria Roots Volume 2, a digital mixtape based on his interpretations of classic roots reggae riddims from the past. It included two new songs based on Coxsone Dodd's legendary 'Breaking Up' riddim, which was first heard on an Alton Ellis single in 1969 and has been repurposed by producers ever since. This limited-edition 7" single features both of Bay Selectah's 2016 tributes: 'When I Found You', featuring toaster style rap vocals from Payoh SoulRebel, and 'Me Nah Trust Dem', which boasts a wonderfully soulful lead vocal from fellow Valmeria Roots crewmember Yeyoh Perez's more soulful and impassioned 'Me Nah Trust Dem'.

Review: This pearler from Cornell Campbell has never before been released. It features heavy production from Charles Reid AKA the UK Duke Reid in Jamaica but somehow never made it to the pressing factory and now gets a proper treatment from Horus Records who have restored it direct from the original master tapes. 'Never Gonna Give Up' is a super sweet and soulful tune with soaring vocals from Campbell. They're pained and impassioned and heartfelt, and the flip side 'Gonna Dub Up' is clean and crisp, with upbeat kicks and noodling keys.

Review: Jamaican trombone player Vin Gordon played in heaps of different groups throughout his most active years. He also worked under myriad variations of his own name and other monikers but few of his works compete with his 1980 album Way Over Yonder. A timeless document of roots reggae goodness, it has become increasingly hard to find and ever-more expensive when you do. This reissue redresses the market, though. Opener 'Easy Living' sets a cheery tone with plenty of Gordon's fulsome trombone sounds and those good time feelings never let up until the final track.

Review: More from One By One Records' founder Baay Selectah's celebrated Valencia Roots Volume 2 mix-tape, a 2016 set entirely made up of new cuts based on classic roots reggae riddims. The riddim being bitten/paid tribute to this time round is Coxsone Dodd's killer groove for Burning Spear's 'Rocking Time', which has been repurposed by countless reggae producers since. A-side 'Kailen' boasts a rasping, heavily accented lead vocal from toaster-and-singer Missal, whose lilt suits the tweaked Coxsone riddim like a glove. Baay Selectah delivers his own dub style 'Version' on the flip, stripping the track back to the drums and bass before adding jazzy guitar licks and heady Hammond organ-style licks.

Review: J.C Lodge's 1984 debut album Revealed has become one of the most sought-after lovers rock sets of recent times, in part because it's super-soulful blend of boogie synths, sweet vocals and electronic reggae rhythms borders on sun-kissed perfection. Perhaps the most potent track on the album is opener 'Alien', which here is given the single-sided, re-mastered reissue treatment courtesy of German crate diggers MISS YOU. It's well worth picking up, with Lodge's impassioned, emotive lead vocal rising above a killer lovers rock groove, jangling electric piano sounds, kaleidoscopic synth sounds, chiming lead lines and sharp, summery disco guitars.

Review: Earlier in the year, the Inn House Crew - a reggae supergroup featuring a wealth of legendary Jamaican players - provided the musical backing on vocalist Winston Ready's excellent Black Pearl album. Here they get a chance to showcase their undisputed musical skills under the watchful eye of producer Lewis Murtagh, on watch should be considered their debut album. It's a hugely entertaining affair that sees them embellish their usual reggae rhythms and basslines with everything from glistening jazz guitar solos and squelchy synthesizer lines, to samba-style acoustic guitars, calypso melodies and Ebo Taylor style solos. As a result, the album is surprisingly stylistically varied, but always rooted in reggae, roots and dub.

Review: On her first full-length excursion, Denise Sherwood has wisely called on the production talents of her father, legendary On U-Sound main man Adrian Sherwood. It's a smart move. While it always sounds like her musical vision - it's her sweet, emotive and quietly soulful voice that dominates throughout - Sherwood the Elder has predictably done a terrific job in bringing it to life. While his dub roots naturally shine through, This Road is a pleasingly eclectic beast, with tracks variously touching on trip-hop (the string-laden brilliance of 'Let Me In', the dub-wise 'Mezzanine'-era Massive Attack paranoia of 'Fairy Tales'), drum & bass (Lee 'Scratch' Perry hook-up 'Music Shall Live'), Roots style hip-hop soul ('Sweet Mary Jane'), dubstep ('Ghost Heart'), jazz-meets-South African Juju ('Sunny Days') and Lovers Rock ('Uncertain Times').