Sometimes I think that the guys in Easy Star are reading my mind. Or maybe they just want me to keep writing glowing reviews of everything they release. Whatever the case, their streak of crucial reggae releases continues with the outstanding new compilation of rare and unreleased tracks from the mind of producer Linval Thompson.
Thompson's produced some of the biggest names in reggae, and is an accomplished singer in his own right. His sound is a classic one, a defining sound that some fans may not know, but certainly should. His work at Channel One with the Roots Radics could be heard on Freddie McGregor, Triston Palma, Wailing Souls, Barrington Levy, and Scientist albums, among others. His recent "best of" on Blood & Fire was phenomenal and Can't Stop Us Now serves as a perfect accompanying disc, offering up more than a dozen previously unreleased or rare tracks.
Freddie McGregor's "Jah Help the People" is a slow moving track with a thundering bassline and minimalist drums. The track's been extended to include a nice dub version. Junior Reid's "Mr. Big Man" is a great uncovered gem, featuring the classic Junior style heard on the Boom-Shack-a-Lack album from several years later. Thompson's deliberate riddims work well with Junior Reid's not-quite-singjay style.
Barrington Levy contributes three songs. Levy takes it easy on the first, "Jah Help Us," a gloriously mellow tune that may not stretch his voice "Murderer"-style but accentuates his lyrics. "Sensimilla" is similarly mellow, appropriately enough for the theme. There are some real nice rhythmic and vocal switch-ups that take the track in different directions. Lastly, Thompson joins Levy on vocals for "Bad Boys," a great little tune that has Levy sounding uncharacteristically subdued. However, Levy's vocals sound distanced from the beat, which works well, giving a different dimension to the track.
Some other noteworthy cuts include Dennis Brown's "Give a Little," the stellar extended version of Johnny Osbourne's "Night Fall," Wayne Wade's uplifting "Poor & Humble" (one of my favorite cuts on the album), and Rod Taylor's "Jah Jah is Calling." Other recognizable artists include Triston Palma, Wailing Souls, Freddie McKay, Sugar Minott, Gregory Isaacs, and Don Carlos. (I know... wow, right?)
With 20 solid tracks of slow-grooving reggae like this, it's hard to go wrong. It's refreshing to hear reggae with live musicians from before the days the computers took over. Like Linval said, "Computer just a machine, you following the machine. The vibes is from you, that's what we need." Can't Stop Us Now is proof of that statement, indeed.
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