Various Artists – The Observer Roots Albums Collection

Various Artists – The Observer Roots Albums Collection

Doctor Bird Records

2CD/DL

Out now

2CD set featuring the productions of Niney The Observer, made up of two Freddie McGregor albums, The Ethiopians’ comeback set Slave Call and a collection of single sides entitled Reggae Mix Up. Ian Canty writes…

Much like the recent Gold Connection set of Lloyd Charmers’ work, The Observer Roots Albums Collection continues Doctor Bird’s ongoing Niney The Observer series. This time we have The Ethiopians’ Slave Call joined by a pair of key Freddie McGregor albums, plus a compilation set in Reggae Mix Up. But, as the collection’s title bears out, unlike the aforementioned R&B-themed Charmers’ set, most of what is contained is set firmly in the Roots Reggae camp.

The Observer Roots Album Collection begins with the ten offerings of the 1977 Slave Call LP by The Ethiopians. The group had enjoyed considerable success during the Rocksteady era, in particularly with their monster hit 45 Train To Skaville. Later Everything Crash found them moving towards the Original Reggae sound and after that they had many successes in Jamaica, something that was tragically curtailed when founder member Stephen Taylor was killed in a car accident in 1975. Band kingpin Leonard Dillion understandably retreated from performing for a time until Slave Call, cut with a new line up of The Ethiopians. This was a record that embraced Dillion’s growing Rastafarian beliefs and the Nyabinghi drum sound that was something of a musical trademark of the faith.

As we come to the first track on the LP Ethiopian National Anthem, the Rasta connection is made clear, with Nyabinghi percussion taking up the main musical thrust of the piece that is buttressed by bass and choral voices. The album’s title track fleshes out the musical palette towards an appealing Reggae sound, with purposely flat horn parps and Leonard’s soulful delivery ratcheting things up a notch. Guilty Conscience comes with all the energy and charm that informed the band’s best work and succeeds in bringing it all bang up to date, with the following Hurry On proving conclusively that it wasn’t a fluke. They both make for a easy transition from The Ethiopians’ late 60s recordings by drawing on their core strengths and then serving them up with a large helping of pure Roots attitude.

Nuh Follow Babylon utilises echo to neat effect and even at the most Dread point in their career, The Ethiopians could not resist reworking their most well-known tune for a new audience. Train To Skaville makes the jump into the 70s well enough and then a louche Culture moves with a stately, loping stride. Obeah Book is in a more strident Roots style, but next the Rasta twist on The Beatles’ Let It Be doesn’t work quite as well. Thankfully a brass-boosted I Love Jah ends what is a very creditable collection on a high note.

The second part of disc one is Mix Up, which collects fourteen Niney-produced single sides from Roots’ halcyon days of 1977 and 1978. It’s virtually a role call of top names, with The Heptones, Gregory Isaacs, Junior Delgado, Johnny Clarke, Ken Boothe and Delroy Wilson all putting in an appearance, but a few lesser known acts show up too.

We start off with a catchy Black Is The Highest Culture by Glasford Manning’s The Jewels and The Heptones’ nippy Through The Fire (I Come). The latter return on this disc for the effortlessly cool Move On and a jolly Book Of Rules. They also team up with Don “Tabby Diamond” Shaw for Well Hot aka Red Hot, a tune that comes with a solid hook and the organ glide is very pleasing too.

Niney’s smarts behind the boards and the playing of his crack studio players The Observers pay dividends here, he even revisits his breakthrough hit Blood And Fire with aplomb. Warrior by Johnny Clarke is pretty much everything one could wish for from a Dread Roots number, with a chiding Mr Know It All by Gregory Isaacs coming with some smart Dub touches. After a brilliantly performed Left With A Broken Heart by Ken Boothe and Niney & The Morwells’ impressive LP title track, it is left to Reggae George Davey (or Daley) to sign off disc one with an easy-going Trodding Along.

This leaves a lot for disc two to live up to, but luckily enough Freddie McGregor was well up to the task. The former child prodigy rose to prominence as Roots music was on the up and his 1979 platter Mr McGregor starts this part of the set. His Rasta ideals were of course informing his musical path, but by applying a measured and sunny approach the uncommitted could also enjoy it. We begin here with the sultry and stylish sufferers’ lament We Got Love, the ideal opening gambit and the Niney/Freddie-written Walls Of Jericho also cuts a real Roots Reggae dash.

Freddie’s emotive delivery is spot on for the entire album, a cool and catchy version of Little Roy’s Jah Can Count On I being joined by the winning Pop charm of Why Did You Do It? and an attractive but more Roots Zion Chant. A slow and sinuous rhythm powers Rastaman Camp, with a jaunty Do Good again demonstrating the Reggae/Pop appeal McGregor would eventually turn into international hits. Mr McGregor ends appropriately with Rasta Have Faith, a hovering organ-led sound.

For the second Fred LP presented on this disc, Showcase from 1981, a different approach is taken in that Niney’s extended Dub sections pad out the relatively low number of offerings aboard. An endearing take on the UK trend for romantic Reggae, Lovers Rock JA Style/Lovers Version, sets the tone marvellously. The lilting The Overseer/Overseer Version follows and Niney and his musicians apply just the right touch, something which is also the case on a bright Love One Another and Chant It Down/Chant It Version, the latter being possibly one of Freddie’s very best Roots numbers. Sitting In The Park/In The Park Version, a cover of Billy Stewart’s song, is a lovely note for the album to sign off on.

Despite containing the two LPs, there is still room for a couple of FM bonuses in the form of Follow This Ya Sound and Roman Soldiers Of Babylon. Both of these hammer home what a great combo Freddie and Niney’s set up was at the height of Roots Reggae.

For me this is one of the most enjoyable Doctor Bird releases in some time. Slave Call represents a convincing 1970s return for The Ethiopians and the two Freddie McGregor albums are uniformly excellent, making the second disc thoroughly essential. To put the cherry on top of the cake, most of the bonus tracks included are also endowed with similarly high quality. Niney was in his element at the time of Roots, he just knew instinctive what was right and added to that, he had a set of inspired musicians on hand to achieve just the right results. Put that together with artists of the stature of The Ethiopians or Freddie McGregor, you got gold. If you want to knew why Roots dominated Kingston music in the 70s, ample proof is here.

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