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Reggae's Greatest Hits Volume 1 (Heartbeat, 1995) A bit of an odd choice with which to start a series called Reggae's Greatest Hits, since it has few big hits, but considering the rest of the series, it's appropriate. Like this album, the entire series contains "great" hits that were mostly minor ripples (Indeed, the various volumes were previously released by Heartbeat under different names, when they apparently weren't considered "reggae's greatest hits.") , but the collection is nevertheless valuable in its ability to pick relatively obscure songs that are of good quality and that many listeners would otherwise overlook, combining them with genuinely "great hits." It's sometimes a hit-or-miss effort, but these moderately-priced compilations are worth the effort. That said, this initial set -- a collection of Gregory Isaacs productions -- may not draw a ton of people into the series, since it's a tad below the series' standard. Gregory Isaacs isn't necessarily known for his production skills, and as this album shows, he apparently didn't do a whole lot of it, since there are only 10 songs performed by 5 artists (including himself). Surprisingly, the best songs here aren't performed by the bigger names on the album -- Isaacs, the Mighty Diamonds, or the Viceroys -- but rather by the lesser-known Ronnie Davis and Bobby Melody. Davis' tender "No More Darling" shows influences of Isaacs' style -- and actually, virtually all of the tracks display his mellow touch -- while the conscious lyrics and cultural style of Melody's "Gotta Be True" and "Try So Hard" represent true quality roots reggae. |
| Track Listing 1. Top Ten -- Gregory Isaacs 2. Writing on the Wall -- Ronnie Davis 3. No More Darling -- Ronnie Davis 4. Brethren and Sistren -- The Viceroys 5. Wicked a Fight -- The Mighty Diamonds 6. Got to Be True -- Bobby Melody 7. Cream of the Crop -- Gregory Isaacs 8. Try So Hard -- Bobby Melody 9. Make Haste -- The Might Diamonds 10. Miracle -- The Viceroys |
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