Legends of Reggae

Although the great falsetto singer Horace Andy is known primarily for his work at Studio One in the early 1970s, he also gained recognition later in his career for the recordings he made under star producers like Bunny Lee, Keith Hudson, and Winston "Niney" Holness. But these King Jammy-produced sides come as something of a surprise, and a very pleasant one. There are no musician credits or recording dates in the scant liner notes, but the pre-ragga digital rhythms sound like the work of either Steely & Clevie or perhaps the Firehouse Crew, and the overall flavor suggests a recording period of the late 1980s or early 1990s. The problem is that you can't date the sessions based on Andy's voice, which is as pure and clear as it was 25 years ago. The songs themselves are mostly excellent; some of them, like the beautiful "Fever," are remakes of old Studio One material, and others are more recent compositions. Highlights include the paradoxically dread "This Little Light of Mine" and a bracing hymn of warning entitled "See It Deh." The album's only real low point is a dreary piece of metareggae called (sigh) "Sweet Reggae Music." Highly recommended overall.