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Greater Jamaica Moon Walk
Reggay
(Culture Press/Jet Set,
1969) This Treasure Isle session compilation from the vaults of Duke Reid is unique in many ways. Take it first as a rare musical testimony of the slow and misty maturation process which saw rock steady mature into reggae in the very late sixties/early seventies. I'm no big fan of the early sixties music but this is way beyond the jerky ska period and the soulish innocence of pure rock steady (as in the Termites or the Melodians for example). What you have here is a harmonious combination of rock steady classics re-played by a formidable Duke Reid session crew (equipped for one of the first times with bass and electric organ) into a completely new brand of instrumental music as well as the emergence of reggae tunes proper. "Drink Milk" is not a song where Justin Hinds and the Dominoes adapt their music to a new style, it is a piece where they actually create and define reggae. The Gladiators with one of their very first recordings, "You Were to Be," are in my view at their best. Dave Barker’s restrained toasting on "Funkey Funkey Reggae" turns the tune into a mesmerizing experience. Winston Wright's shadow looms BIG over the whole album. "Moonlight Groover," "Moon invader" and "Stealing Vol II’ are three instrumental master pieces where his imaginative presence is most felt. "Moonlight Groover" is an instant headshot that makes you wonder how you have managed to live your entire life until then without listening to this track. I tell you truly, this track is not from the moon, it is from beyond. The compilation would have been perfect for me without the weird "Quando My Amor" by the Ethiopians, a rather unhappy attempt at hybridizing an old Latino mento song with a reggae beat. The overall style of this session/compilation is difficult to pin down. If I had my say, I'd put it under "early classic reggae" alongside with Leslie Kong's reggae connection 68-71 Vol.1. “Classic” as in music that does not fade away and makes you want to listen to it time and again. Don’t get me wrong, this is no grandpa music for going to bed. It has that uplifting, hypnotizing and starry quality to make you forget about terrestrial matters. - Kinfe
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