Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Various Artists - Trojan Soulful Reggae (Disc 1)
This daily reviewing lark isn't something to be taken lightly. Only a couple of weeks in and already I'm woefully behind with my vignettes of recent listenings. So, as Henry Kelly would say, I'm playing catch up, and my topic is reggae reworkings of soul classics.
Trojan was the mightiest of all the reggae labels that spread its releases from Jamaica to the UK in the late 60s and through the 70s. The label name and rights to their huge archive of recordings, many barely known since their release, are now owned by Sanctuary. Through a vast series of lovingly-crafted box sets, the Trojan catalogue is now showing its true depth, covering everything from mod classics to skinhead rock-steady.
This three-CD set looks at the soulful side of Trojan. I'm only covering the first CD here (daresay the latter two will work their way onto this page one day), as each disc is quite neatly a self-contained package of tunes around a theme. Here, we're treated to seventeen reggae-styled covers of Motown hits. You can play a fun game as you listen: as soon as the intro starts, try to guess what each one is. For any Motown fan worth their Funk Brothers instrumentals bootlegs will know every single one of these - but not quite as they sound here.
Particular treats include several tracks from The Chosen Few, most notably "I Second That Emotion", which lends itself superbly to the reggae sound of off-beat emphasis and shuffling guitar scratching. Ken Boothe does good work on Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" (which, hang on, wasn't a Motown track - hey, what's it doing here?), and Mike Dorane's "You Keep Me Hangin' On" takes all the pace out of the original, while leaving the soul intact.
Some of the reggae reworkings are amusing; a couple are plain bad, and should be left alone. Another problem is that the sound is quite similar from track to track, and an entire CD is quite a chunk to sit through; let alone three discs of the stuff. Still, if you like your Motown all sunshined up, and you don't mind exercising a bit of your own quality control, it's a fun set of covers that'll have you smiling and singing at the same time.
Trojan was the mightiest of all the reggae labels that spread its releases from Jamaica to the UK in the late 60s and through the 70s. The label name and rights to their huge archive of recordings, many barely known since their release, are now owned by Sanctuary. Through a vast series of lovingly-crafted box sets, the Trojan catalogue is now showing its true depth, covering everything from mod classics to skinhead rock-steady.
This three-CD set looks at the soulful side of Trojan. I'm only covering the first CD here (daresay the latter two will work their way onto this page one day), as each disc is quite neatly a self-contained package of tunes around a theme. Here, we're treated to seventeen reggae-styled covers of Motown hits. You can play a fun game as you listen: as soon as the intro starts, try to guess what each one is. For any Motown fan worth their Funk Brothers instrumentals bootlegs will know every single one of these - but not quite as they sound here.
Particular treats include several tracks from The Chosen Few, most notably "I Second That Emotion", which lends itself superbly to the reggae sound of off-beat emphasis and shuffling guitar scratching. Ken Boothe does good work on Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" (which, hang on, wasn't a Motown track - hey, what's it doing here?), and Mike Dorane's "You Keep Me Hangin' On" takes all the pace out of the original, while leaving the soul intact.
Some of the reggae reworkings are amusing; a couple are plain bad, and should be left alone. Another problem is that the sound is quite similar from track to track, and an entire CD is quite a chunk to sit through; let alone three discs of the stuff. Still, if you like your Motown all sunshined up, and you don't mind exercising a bit of your own quality control, it's a fun set of covers that'll have you smiling and singing at the same time.
# posted by Sam : 18:56
