Juno Recommends Reggae Classics: August 2022

Review: After the success of the DISCO REGGAE LOVERS series, Emotional Rescue teams up again with HMV Record Shop (Japan) with a selection of 7"s, this time delving in to the early reggae and soul releases of Noel William's (King Sporty) Konduko records. Predating his move in to disco and electro-boogie, here his production skills mixed his Jamaican reggae years with touches of US funk to create a number of highly collectable singles that have never been reissued before.

To begin, The Chosen Few's take of Tony Hester's classic, In The Rain. Essentially the same version as Williams later recording with Ernest Ranglin, this original early 70s version was undertaken in the first years of his move to Miami, working with what would go on to be members of KC & The Sunshine Band; the quintet of brothers Bunny, Busty and Errol Brown alongside, Franklin Spence harmonies' offering a totally different feel and soulfulness that makes it, for some, the most essential version.

Already famous in Jamaica, the band's covers of People Make The World Go Round and Shaft are rightly classics today. Recording their third album in Miami gave them a new perspective, linking reggae and soul ever closer.

The subsequent album, Night And Day was released in Jamaica by the fledgling Konduko before being repackaged as 'In Miami' for overseas. Here, the Spence and Williams penned title song, is the perfect uplifting reggae-soul fusion, love song accompaniment to launch the series.

Review: The Konduko 7" series ends with the 4th and possibly best single with Noel Williams aka King Sporty's cover version of Bob Marley's Them Belly Full, here released as Dance To The Music.

First released on the Natty Dread album of 1974, it was Marley's first album working away from Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer and was a spiritually charged political and social statement, also featuring classics No Women, No Cry, Lively Up Yourself and Rebel Music.

As an associate and friend from their Studio One days, William's version makes sense, in the tradition of covers throughout reggae's history. Appearing a year late, the 1975 single came in Jamaican and US pressings, a nod to Konduko's roots, having started in Kingston before the move to Miami in the earlier part of the decade.

A warning against allowing the poor to go hungry, with the prophetic "a hungry mob is an angry mob", the cover includes a lot of the Miami feel Sporty was incorporating. With instrumentation again from the Ocean Liners KC And Sunshine backing band), the horns and guitar raise the soul, with counter keys, Part 1 is a straight vocal, while Part 2 is close to a Version but more than an instrumental and in its title, shows its funk and soul background too. A perfect end to the series, the uplifting tracking belies the powerful message, bringing the Miami swing to the JA groove once more.

Review: A true staple of the Soul Jazz compilation canon, Studio One Rockers originally came out in 2001 and has remained an authoritative overview of the Studio One sound ever since. As one of the major powerhouses of Jamaica's music industry during those heady years of ska, rocksteady, reggae and dancehall, Studio One's legacy deserves acknowledgement from anyone with even a passing interest in the music. This collection takes in legends like Horace Andy, Dawn Penn, Johnny Osbourne and Jackie Mittoo, and shines a light on many other iconic artists with that perfect balance of broad appeal and deep-rooted knowledge that Soul Jazz nail when they pull a collection together.

Review: Honey-voiced mic man Anthony Johnson's classic eighties dancehall album Reggae Feelings was recorded at Channel One with The Roots Radics. It was produced by Delroy Wright and Toyan, and mixed and voiced at King Tubbys, so the credits alone tell you of its quality. These are heavy rhythms with raw drums, hints of digital synthesis and some great mic work that ranges from wordless ad libs to yearning pleads. It still sounds fresh today, with plenty of sci-fi production motifs over the organic drums.

Review: Bob Marley & The Chineke! Orchestra marked the 60th anniversary of Jamaican Independence with a special concert that showcased Marley's most famous songs all recorded with new instrumentation and orchestration. Trevor Nelson presented the project and he tapped up Skip Marley, an inheritor of his family's famous musical legacy and who made his debut UK performance for this concert which was recorded for this album on Island Records. British singer-songwriter JP Cooper plus Jamaican born and Birmingham based soul, gospel and R&B legend Ruby Turner also featured.