Heavyweight 3: A Blood and Fire Sampler (Blood and Fire, 1999)

More of the same from Blood and Fire's sampler releases: a reasonably priced introduction to Blood and Fire's catalogue of rich, heavy roots and dub that may scare away some beginners but which may still prove useful in exposing acts that may otherwise elude the general public. This third set gathers two tracks each from the label's then (1999) most recent releases: Johnny Clarke's Dreader Dread, Impact Allstars' Forward the Bass, U Brown's Train to Zion, Vivian Jackson's (AKA Yabby You's) Jesus Dread, Junior Byles' 129 Beat Street, Morwell Unlimited's Dub Me, and Horace Andy's Good Vibes. The Byles set shines brightest, with Byles' "Pitchy Patchy" and Bim Sherman's epic "Mighty Ruler," while the ever-reliable Andy and Jackson provide solid cuts, and the best of the so-so Impact Allstars set is represented in the horny classic "Jaro." The other dubs, meanwhile, come from the less-than so-so Morwells album, which bring this sampler down somewhat. Old school DJ fans, however, should relish not only U Brown's cuts, but also an appearance by Trinity on the righteous hymn "King Pharoah's Plague." Really, though, as implied by the title, this album is a sampler and should be viewed as such. To get the full story, you have to get the artists' full albums.