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My Best Girl Wears My Crown (Trojan, 1992) Even though I'm not the biggest fan of rock steady in the world, I still enjoy it when it's well done. This is why it's surprising that I didn't get into this album more than I did. I mean, it's good, but not as great as the reputation of the Paragons. I appreciate the legendary harmony that the Paragons achieve, but many of the tunes just didn't strike me, tending to meld together into a rock steady jumble. Still, though, you can't discount the writing ability of John Holt -- who would soon leave the group (after the 1966 to 1968 recording of these tunes) for a fruitful solo career -- as his penning of the classics "Only a Smile" and "The Tide Is High" attest. Interestingly, both of these songs would later have remakes that would become more well-known than the originals: "Only a Smile" redone by Dennis Brown and "The Tide Is High" covered with amazing mainstream success by Blondie. Luckily, these aren't the only good tracks on My Best Girl Wears My Crown; "I Want To Go Back," "Riding On a High and Windy Day," "You Mean the World to Me," the R&B-flavored "When the Lights Are Low," and the dreamy "Island in the Sun" are also standouts and display the airy old-fashioned flow in which the Paragons specialize. Perhaps if there were less than 17 cuts here, though, I wouldn't feel like I was playing hit or miss with the album. |
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Heaven & Earth (Classic Sound, 1996)
Probably the best of the mid-'90s series of cheaply made and cheaply priced albums by Classic Sound, Heaven & Earth has all the sounds of a roots classic, with sweet harmonies, lush melodies, and emotion-packed lyrics. The album achieves a wonderful balance between love songs and cultural tunes, the former being only slightly stronger, with gems like "That's All I Want," "Heaven and Earth," "Come a Little Closer," and "The First Time I Saw You" epitomizing the harmonic reggae love song. The more conscious cuts -- "The Maddening Crowd," "Positive Movements," and "A Place Called Zion" -- hold their own, though, with the latter bearing a striking resemblance to the gorgeous power of an Abyssinians song. Even though, as the cover art suggests, these songs were recorded without the talents of the great John Holt or original lead singer Bob Andy, the quality doesn't suffer at all, which is saying a hell of a lot.
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