Juno Recommends Reggae Classics September 2020

Review: Reggae veteran Nick Manasseh, and David Hill formerly of the Ballistic Brothers, here make a welcome return to Acid Jazz for a first new offering since their 1998 album Shining. The results have already been getting high praise from reggae don David Rodigan and and radio tastemaker Giles Peterson, and the single is a hard-hitting one with nice fluid, silky guitar from Ernest Ranglin riding up top. This comes on the heels of Soul Revivers digital debut "Harder" which got plenty of plaudits, and is just as essential.

Review: Keith Hudson's Nuh Skin Up is the dub companion to his 1979 vocal album, From One Extreme to Another, and is often talked about in hugely hushed tones. It is well removed from what you might expect of a record record in Jamaican during that time and two lead cuts for it are presented here. Swampy, earthy dub is the order of the day on "Nuh-uh Skin Up" with wiry synths extended off into space. It's futuristic still today, and the flip is an even slower, more spaced out dub with tape hiss, distant pad and gently riffs all taking you to another head space entirely.

Review: Songs of Our Forefathers is a compilation of original Jamaican and UK single releases by The Ethiopians originally recorded between 1967 and 1973. The ask, rocksteady and reggae group included Leonard Dillon, Stephen Taylor and Aston Morris and worked with the legendary Coxsone Dodd in the sixties before later moving on. This collection includes their biggest hit, "Everything Crash", which criticised the political situation in Jamaica at the time, which included power cuts and rationing and plenty of clashes with the authorities. It is one of many highlights in this fine overview.