CD: King at the Controls: King Jammy Essential Hits From Reggae's Digital Revolution (1985-1989)
ARTISTE: Various, all produced by Lloyd 'King Jammy' James
LABEL: VP Records
IT IS a long title for a CD and this two-disc collection (the second is DVD) earns every syllable.
Contrary to what might be expected from a label and sound system renowned for the raunchiness of Shabba and Bailey (both appear with Peenie Peenie and One Scotch, done in tandem with Chaka Demus, respectively), Essential Hits contains a good chunk of roots reggae, done digital style.
It actually starts out with Half Pint's Money Man Skank and there is the genuine Black Uhuru's I Love King Selassie (which has nowhere near the punch that the live, Sly and Robbie backed version on the Island collection packs), as well as Admiral Tibet's Serious Time (the original, not the remake with Shabba and Ninja).
LOVER'S SIDE
On the lover's side, Dennis Brown's The Exit makes the cut and John Holt's If I Were a Carpenter is a surprise (did not know it was a digital era, much less a Jammy's, production), while Frankie Paul's I Know The Score brings Essential Hits to gentle closure.
There are some serious cuts among the other popular songs. Pinchers' gleeful grinding anticipatory Agony, Admiral Bailey's rollicking crotch classic Puy, Nitty Gritty's Run Down The World (a rahtid bassline made for children to be made to, or at least for rehearsals to be conducted) and of course the song and rhythm that jump-started digital reggae, Wayne Smith's Under Me Sleng Teng among them.
So are some lesser known tracks, far lesser known tracks, like Nicodemus' Father Jungle Rock, delivered in the distinctive mixture of baritone and monotone, which harks back to the oversimplified lyrics of an earlier time ("c-a-t dat a cat/r-a-t dat a rat/f-a-t dat a fat) before making a definitive statement on the female form ("a tell yu any gal wid dem bottom no fat/dem cyaan get no medal fi dat"). Flattay! Scoobay!
Leroy Gibbon's She's My Baby highlights the extra crisp delivery of a phenomenal voice that went silent.
The notes in the sleeve are extensive, with pictures of people like Jammy's sound system selector Tupps as well as Waterhouse Gully.
TRACK LISTING
1. Money Man Skank (Half Pint)
2. If I Were a Carpenter (John Holt)
3. Agony (Pinchers)
4. Punaany (Admiral Bailey)
5. Peenie Peenie (Shabba Ranks)
6. I Love King Selassie (Black Uhuru)
7. Father Jungle Rock (Nicodemus)
8. Water Pumping (Johnny Osbourne)
9. Boom-Shack-A-Lack (Junior Reid)
10. Deh Wid You (Super Black)
11. Children of the Ghetto (Cocoa Tea)
12. The Exit (Dennis Brown)
13. Run Down The World (Nitty Gritty)
14. Under Mi Sleng Teng (Wayne Smith)
15. She's My Baby (Leroy Gibbon)
16. Rock Them One By One (Eccleton Jarrett)
17. Let off Supum (Leroy Smart)
18. One Scotch (Admiral Bailey and Chaka Demus)
19. Serious Time (Admiral Tibet)
20. I Know The Score (Frankie Paul)
- Mel Cooke
