Come Again (Trojan, 1996)

Many people know Dawn Penn from her 1994 hit "You Don't Love Me (No No No)," but as this collection shows, she recorded a decent amount of material in the '60s before prematurely "retiring" some three decades before the height of her popularity (She also performed background vocals on Johnny Nash's classic "I Can See Clearly Now.").  The original version of "You Don't Love Me," her debut single, is included on Come Again, and it differs surprisingly little in sound and quality from the Steely & Clevie-mixed '90s version, and while it may be the best track here (though "Why Did You Leave" is very close), most of these songs are similarly enjoyable, dominated by light, sweet (perhaps too sweet for some) lovers rock and early reggae/rock steady.  The tunes have a vintage sound (although a few like the sultry R&B of "Chilling," seem to be her more recent '90s works) featuring jazzy instrumentation that leads a classy feel to the music.  Penn doesn't have the greatest singing voice in the world, but it is her uniquely throaty, bluesy edge that helped her get back into the reggae biz after all those years.