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| The Viceroys at Studio One: Ya Ho (Heartbeat, 1995) Although The Viceroys are not generally lumped in with the top tier of harmony trios -- "Ya Ho" being their one seminal hit -- this compilation highlights the their marvelous versatility. Formed in 1968, the group navigated a time period in which the reggae sound was shifting from rock steady to the cooler, more righteous roots, and they went with the flow. Recorded before it could be confused for an insult ("Ya ho? Ya mama!"), "Ya Ho" embodies the intersection between rock steady and roots and does so beautifully, with a haunting refrain and a vivid portrayal of the days before pirates in the Caribbean conjured images of Orlando Bloom. Most of the material on the album Ya Ho is rock steady, but there is a significant early roots presence on excellent tracks like "Love Jah," "So Many Problems" (riding the riddim used on Horace Andy's "Every Tongue Shall Tell") "Slogan on the Wall," "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego" (on The Abyssinians' "Satta Massagana" riddim), and my new favorite word, "Jollification." The Viceroys' supple harmonies are as at home in roots surroundings as in the older rock steady sound, as they would show later in the '70s and '80s while recording roots albums (sometimes as The Inturns) for legendary producers Linval Thompson, Phil Pratt, and Winston Riley. All in all, Ya Ho is a welcome showcase of an underexposed act, although the choppy extended mix of "Ya Ho" sounds pieced together from three different takes, and the anemic liner notes sadly undersell the group, providing only about a paragraph's worth of background information. |
| Track Listing 1. Maga Down 2. Last Night 3. Ya Ho 4. Love Jah 5. Shake Up 6. Fat Fish 7. Trying Hard to See 8. So Many Problems 9. Love and Unity 10. Slogan on the Wall 11. Don't Cry 12. Guarantee My Love 13. Jollification 14. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego 15. Lose and Gain 16. Rasta Footprints 17. Ya Ho [Extended Mix] |
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