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Dancehall Essentials ina Rub-A-Dub Style (Hip-O, 2001) Few albums truly live up to their self-promoting titles, but Hip-O's Essentials series (Roots Reggae Essentials, Dub Reggae Essentials, Ragga Essentials, etc.) seems to be the real deal, for the most part. You certainly can't argue with the selection of tunes here, which capture the early pre-digital dancehall sound of the late '70s and early '80s expertly. I can't say that I love all of these tracks -- I've never been a big fan of Junior Delgado's "Fort Augustus," Papa Levi's "Mi God Mi King," or Michigan & Smiley's "Diseases," while General Echo's "Arleen" strikes me as an awfully generic take on the Stalag 17 riddim -- but I still can readily admit that practically all of the songs on Dancehall Essentials are seminal, influential pieces of reggae history (although I wouldn't have minded seeing The Tamlins' "Baltimore," Carlton Livingston's "Chalice in Mind" or "100 Weight of Collie Weed," or tracks from Michael Prophet, Lone Ranger, or Johnny Osbourne). My particular favorites include Gregory Isaacs' sultry "Night Nurse," Sly Dunbar's omnipresent instrumental "Unmetered Taxi," The Mighty Diamonds' "Pass the Kutchie" (later an international hit for Musical Youth), Eek-A-Mouse's sing jay jam "Wa Do Dem," and Dennis Brown's "ooo-ooo-ooo-oooh" so sweet classic "Sitting & Watching." An added bonus to this album are the tremendously informative liner notes, which knowledgeably trace the formation of dancehall amidst the tumultuous backdrop of the socio-political landscape of 1970s/80s Jamaica. |
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