Showcase

Junior Delahaye may have been one of the most talented singers in the late-'70s Bullwackies stable. He had a delicate high tenor, and his singing displayed an uncanny intensity and precise phrasing that recalled the impassioned vocals of giants like Horace Andy and Cornell Campbell. Despite this, Delahaye never experienced the commercial and critical success of his idols. His painfully attenuated discography consists of only one album: 1982’s phenomenal Showcase. Yet the six extended disco mixes that make up Delahaye’s debut are of such quality that the lack of any followups almost doesn't matter. All the selections here have the murky late-night ambience that characterizes Bullwackies’ ‘70s productions, but they're brought to another level by Delahaye’s unfailingly haunting delivery. The dreamy crawl of the opening track, “Love,” is a particular standout, while elsewhere Delahaye turns in dreamy, opiate-choked versions of classics like The Techniques’ “Traveling Man” and Billy Stewart’s “Sitting in the Park."