Black & White (C5, 1989)

Be warned when purchasing a Greyhound album titled Black & White: There are at least three such albums, at least two of them (and possibly all three) with the same artwork.  One is the group's original 1972 album on the Trojan label with 18 tracks.  Another is a 2003 "best of" compilation on Sanctuary/Trojan that features 25 tracks.  The third -- and probably the worst -- is this album, a French release from 1989 on the C5 label that collects only 12 songs.  While I haven't actually heard the other releases, the mere inclusion of the outstanding "The Pressure Is Coming On" (see also Arise Rootsman) alone makes them likely more valuable than this tiresome collection tainted by cheesy covers of '50s pop/doo-wop hits like Bobby Darin's "Dream Lover" and The Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody," and treacly protest tunes like Three Dog Night's "Black and White," which is just as corny and dated as the original.  That said, I'd also wager that the other two Black & White albums are no prizes either.  Greyhound (formerly known as The Rudies), although attaining some mainstream success in England, are often dismissed by critics for their pop inclinations -- and, based on what I've heard, this is justified (thankfully, this album doesn’t include their cover of Henry Mancini's "Moon River").  Not that a pop sensibility on its own deserves denunciation, but much of Black & White (this one, at least) is painfully sweet and upbeat with a limp sound that would've been played on AM radio in the '70s.  Certainly, some of their sound is derived from the times in which they lived -- the songs have a bouncy rock steady sound that is representative of the late '60s or early '70s -- and if this is a sound that you relish, you-ll probably like this set more than I did.  Their style is somewhat comparable to Jimmy Cliff's work of that era: up-tempo with soul and rock 'n roll overtones, although Greyhound could not match the quality of material that a legend like Cliff produced, nor could they match his potent socio-political lyrics.  Still, not all of this album should be dismissed, just as not all of Greyhound's body of work should be dismissed -- as I said, "The Pressure Is Coming On" is a classic roots tune.  There are some "harder" tunes, ones that are not covers, nor are they quite so pop-inclined, although they are all instrumentals (which aren't for everyone): "Jamaican Rum," "Wappadusa," and "Sky High."  Other tunes lean not towards pop so much as R&B -- namely "Mango Rock," "Hold On to Your Happiness," and "Some Dark City," although the latter does so so much that it ceases to be reggae at some point.  And "Stand For Our Rights," though obviously in the mold of a '60s rock protest song, is not as flaccid as most of the other tracks; rather, it has a soulful fire reminiscent of Ken Boothe's "Freedom Street."  Of course, none of these cuts are really particularly good; just OK at best. They surely can't outweigh the schmaltz of "Only Love Can Win" and the similarly-themed "why can’t we all get along" title track, and others like them.  All in all, it seems as if Greyhound's greatest contribution may not have lain in the quality of their material as much as in their trend-setting run as one of the earliest British reggae groups, setting the stage for a wave of home-grown acts to come in the '70s and '80s (Aswad, Steel Pulse, UB40, Matumbi, Misty In Roots, Black Slate, et al.).