Juno Recommends Reggae Classics: November 2023

Review: Well, there are no prizes for geeing what this one is about - it is a collection of classy and authentic roots, reggae and lover's rock versions of all the tunes from Amy Whinehouse's seminal Back to Black album. Importantly, the voice of the late, great jazz singer herself is left in place and it is just the music that's replayed by a selection of people - who do a fine job. Interestingly, the sounds all sound as good as the originals despite the stylistic departure, making this a great addition to the shelves for anyone who fancies hearing Winehouse in a new context.

Review: Sometimes all you need is a classic with a stylistic twist. This is the fifth installment of the very functionally named 'Disco Reggae', a series of compilations of reggae covers of disco classics. French outputters Stix are the brains behind this one, being the sub-label of Favorite Recordings, who specialise exclusively in reggae remixes. Everything from slow-jam nighttime disco ('What You Won't Do For Love' by Bobby Caldwell) to high-energy glitterballers (Labelle's 'Lady Marmalade') appear here, flaunting the easier-to-bridge-than-you'd-think gap between disco and reggae.

Review: Inokasira Rangers are known for bringing their own idiosyncratic dub and rootsy take on a whole world of classic source sounds from multiple different genres. Here they look to an iconic tune from The Sex Pistols and completely rework it into a slow and skating digital-dub framework then wire it up with spangled bass, bright metallic chords and re-sing the vocal in snarling fashion. On the flip is the excellent 'Longing For Andulusia' which is a more laid back and traditional dub sound that comes doused in island sun with some epic guitar solos.

Review: It's always a treat hearing reggae and dub renditions of classic songs, and The Beatles have more than enough incredible songs to warrant a re-imagining or 12. This new collection from Jamrock legend Clive Hunt pulls together old versions and new renditions alike, featuring legends like Barry Biggs taking on 'Here Comes The Sun' and The Pioneers' stunning take on 'You Won't See Me'. Rub-A-Dub Soul also welcomes in new generations of talent as Yannis Odua sings 'Revolution' and Danakil takes on 'Hey Jude'. It's no mean feat to pull off covering such globally adored songs, but these singers and players step up to the challenge without missing a beat.

Review: Here's come another sure shot from Dave Barker, a classic reggae vocalist whose croon joins the dots with the genres connection to US soul and r&b. 'We A Fe Come Over' is an uptempo, rocksteady-esque riddim produced by Neil Anderson, featuring some joyous trombone from Michele Fortunato and The O'Gees on extra brass where it counts. On the flip, Anderson leads the Woodfield Rd Allstars in a pristine version which centres some classic 60s-style Hammond organ flexing from Abramo Riti for a feel-good flavour sure to appeal to everyone who hears it.

Review: Catch A Fire, Bob Marley and The Wailers' seminal first release on Island Records, universally regarded as the album that put reggae music on the global stage, is being re-issued via UMe on November 3 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of its original release in 1973. The album features nine songs, two of which were written by Peter Tosh and the rest by Marley. 'Slave Driver', one of the most powerful tracks on the album, will be released as a single, accompanied by remarkable live performance footage recently unearthed from the legendary Edmonton show in England in 1973.

Review: As the undisputed 'Keyboard King of Studio One' Jackie Mittoo left a huge mark on Jamaican music across the eras, helping found The Skatalites and leading The Soul Brothers amongst many other bands. Soul Jazz gathered together some rare recordings of Mittoo and the Soul Brothers from the mid-60s, where the ensemble glide with poise between ska and rocksteady, sprinkling in funk, jazz and Latin touches for good measure. It's a heady crew which captures Jamaican music in a period of open-ended innovation, as practised by some of the key architects of the sounds. After being out of print for some time, this special green vinyl edition isn't likely to hang around for long.

Review: Jamaica Soul Shake Vol 1 is one of the many seminal compilations put together by Soul Jazz. It first arrived in 2006 and provided, as you would expect, a perfect overview of the goddamn funky Sound Dimension. They were one of the many crucial in-house bands that worked at Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd's pioneering and influential Studio One. The original has been impossible to find since forever so do not sleep on this new, one-off limited edition pressing on silver coloured double vinyl. The sea re all rocksteady rhythms and delicious dubs that will keep you moving and grooving for days.

Review: Jamaican singer-songwriter Alton Nehemiah Ellis OD has been inducted into the International Reggae And World Music Awards Hall Of Fame since 2006 - just two years before his death - which shows how much he contributed to the genre in his heyday. And that was the early 70s, when most of the music on this new album Valley Of Decision: The Collection is taken from. His style was high-impact reggae, often delivered with extra power from superb horn arrangements. For many, he was an important pioneer in the development of what became known as the rocksteady style and as such was known as the Godfather of Rocksteady.

Review: Lifelong reggae fans, vinyl lovers and frequent Juno readers will be familiar with Crystal D's Reggae Disco mix series. It was a 70s thing where artists served up their own unique reggae versions of Christmas classics and now we get volume 17 of the Christmas Songbook. This one comes on 12" in hand-stamped sleeve and the A-side is an 11+ minute collection of tunes from Derrick Harriott & The Tamlins & Joy White & Reasons & U-Brown with natty chords, sleigh bells and choral reggae vocals. What a mix. In authentic reggae fashion, the flip side is a dub of the whole lot by The Chariot Riders.