Lloyd Charmers

Harold Butler – Gold Connection

Posted on by jbass508

Harold Butler – Gold Connection

Doctor Bird

CD/DL

Out now

2CD set of Lloyd Charmers productions, headed up by keyboardist Harold Butler’s 1978 Disco/Reggae LP. Also included is Dobby Dobson’s Sweet Dreams R&B album from the same year and a raft of bonuses. Ian Canty writes…

Gold Connection is another edition in Doctor Bird’s series focussing on the production work of Lloyd Charmers. We join proceedings during the latter part of the 1970s, when Roots was the dominant Kingston style. But what is put forward for our consideration here is mostly a world away from that. The R&B that was key to the development of the Sound Systems in Jamaica of the 50s informs Dobby Dobson’s Sweet Dreams and Harold Butler and Co strike out firmly towards the dancefloor on the album that gives the collection its name.

Logically enough this set leads off with nine numbers from Harold Butler’s Gold Connection album. They come over as a slightly MOR amalgam of Reggae and Disco, the latter of which was then at its height as a worldwide phenomenon. With fairly anonymous female vocals floating above some tight rhythmic moves, reflective piano and synth, LP opener Darling I Like It is typical of the fare on offer here. It isn’t really to my taste to be brutally honest, but to be fair some of the items on the LP work better than others.

A solid Roots pattern is overlaid on Do It Any Way and this helps it come over as a convincing dart towards the dancefloor and the Funk accoutrements are vital in making the lengthy title track pack a punch. K.C. And The Sunshine Band’s That’s The Way I Like It is covered faithfully, but the lazy vibe and upfront guitar of Ire Rocker provides more invention, although it appears to be built around the structure of The Floaters’ Float On hit single. On the whole Gold Connection I found a little underwhelming, but having said that closing missive Fly Robin Reggae is good fun and steadily works up a head of steam.

Charmers himself starts off the extras added to this disc under the alias of C.H.A.R.M. with a busy organ near-instrumental cut of Skin Tight. Under his own name he also provides the oddly named but entrancing L. Sucks and goes full-on Disco on Sing La La. Richard Ace was, much like Lloyd, a wiz on the old Joanna and a good singer too. He gets the chance here to show what he could do on cool 1976 single Supernatural Thing and the pure R&B of Stand Up And Be Counted.

My Last Date by Sister Stern is a Proto-Lovers Rock effort and Gathering finds long-running vocal group The Africans successfully making the leap towards a Roots/Jamaican Folk direction. This disc ends with Delroy Wilson’s fine Imagination 45 and Lloyd’s suggestive Tootsie Wootsie Lollipop (La La La), one that has a bit in common with a certain Serge Gainsbourg/Jane Birkin hit.

Highland Ralph “Dobby” Dobson features among the bonus material of disc one with a very soulful Just A Dream and Sweeter Than Honey’s lilting groove. 12 inch mixes of each track are among the bonus items on disc two, including some nice Dub touches applied to the extended sections. Both highlight his velvety voice and on disc two of this set his 1978 Sweet Dreams album takes centre stage. This collection is very much a nostalgic look back to the R&B sound Dobson first made an impact with in the late 1950s as part of vocal group The Twilights. This was of course totally out of step with the Roots Reggae that was state of the art in Jamaica at the time, but the first track Whispering Bells yields a cheerful and fresh sense of momentum that is lovely to witness.

On Oh Gee the listener can discern how the Jump Boogie rhythm transitioned into Ska and a slower Win Your Love For Me is skilfully and touchingly delivered. Sweet Dreams the song is finely judged and the musicians really show their stuff on a heartfelt Don’t Believe Him, Donna. Dobby ends Sweet Dreams with a decent take of the much-covered The Great Pretender.

We finish off here with another eight bonus items. Lloyd Charmers’ fast moving Disco 12 inch cut of Stay shapes up as a further tilt at the dancefloors, with Richard Ace’s Wish You Were Mine finding him deep in a mellow R&B mode. Supernatural Thing 12″ briefly restores a tough Reggae beat, but Stale Mate and You’ll Always Be On My Mind are performed back in an easy-going Soul fashion. An instrumental version of Lloyd’s aforementioned Stay ends this set.

Anyone picking up this as a Doctor Bird release and expecting Reggae will be disappointed, but as far as I was concerned Sweet Dreams represented a pleasing change of pace and well-deserving of a fresh hearing. The Gold Connection album is a little more niche though, Reggae crossed with Disco that doesn’t really add up to more than the sum of its parts. Having said that, some lively bonus selections bolster disc one and offer something worthwhile. In summary this set is more an interesting period piece that shows a 1970s Jamaica away from the hip sound of Kingston, than a couple of great long players put together. However there is enough here of to divert the confirmed Lloyd Charmers fan and it is easily accessible for anyone who digs R&B as well as Reggae.

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Dadawah – Peace & Love Wadadasow

Posted on by jbass508

Dadawah – Peace & Love Wadadasow

Doctor Bird Records

2CD/DL

Released 15 March 2024

Reissue of Ras Michael’s Lloyd Charmers-produced Rasta-themed Nyabinghi drum oddity from 1974, along with a bonus disc gleaned from Charmers’ Dub plates cut in the mid-70s. Ian Canty writes…

Say what you like about Lloyd Charmers’ productions, but he certainly was not afraid to experiment. By 1974 he had carved out an enviable reputation on the Kington music scene, both as a performer as well as behind the boards and emboldened by his success, he sought out Nyabinghi drum expert Ras Michael to try and capture the ultimate Rastafarian statement on record. With musicians the calibre of Lloyd Parks and Willie Lindo also along for the ride and the famed Federal studio the venue for this project, Peace & Love Wadadasow was an ambitious attempt to document pure Rasta vibrations.

Ras Michael aka Michael George Henry had recorded previously for Coxsone Dodd back in 1967, but would come into his own here as the Roots/Rasta connection took off. Peace & Love Wadadasow is far from a typical Doctor Bird release. This album consists of four lengthy, hypnotic and highly meditative tracks with the occasional passing resemblance to the Reggae music of the time through some heavy bass work. There is also an obvious debt to traditional Jamaican Folk stylings.

The Nyabinghi drums are key though and if I was trying for a comparison, perhaps some African Head Charge’s work would be the closest sound to what is presented here, with maybe a little of the atmosphere of the “Freak Out” albums of the late 1960s. Run Come Rally’s almost Psychedelic trippy feel is deep and echoing and next Seventy Two Nations takes up the devotional baton for the most part, until in its second half it becomes suddenly a touch more more strident near to the end.

On the second side of the original vinyl LP, Zion Land then takes us on a slow-motion tour of JA, this time with more of a song structure and a lilting, hymn-like feel. Lastly Know How You Stand has some crossover with the DJ-Toasting style by way of an upfront, echo-laden vocal and brings Peace & Love Wadadasow full circle as this revisits Run Come Rally. I think it is good that the compilers didn’t try to jam bonuses on the end of this disc, as it needs to be appreciated in its own right as something extraordinary.

Although linked by starting off with Dadawah’s brass and drum pearl Burning Drums, the second disc of this set collects some of Lloyd Charmers’ more regular Dub offerings from around the same timeframe as Peace & Love Wadadasow. One of Lloyd’s familiar “school room piano” efforts, a jolly Mother Mary, follows and bass supremo Boris Gardiner gets the credit on a spacey Brand New Version, cut on his cover of You Make Me Feel Brand New.

Question Sign has Charmers and his band stripping back the music to leave just the simple but effective bassline, flying cymbals and scat singing. Ken Boothe’s When Will I See You Again, aka Now You Can See Me Again, retains a fair amount of the original vocal despite being termed an instrumental and the R&B cover I’m A Changed Man by B.B. Seaton is retooled similarly Dubwise.

Ken Boothe was recording for Lloyd successfully at the time and it stands to reason that his archive provides a fair bit of the source material here. For Charmers he recorded a classy take of the Pluto Shervington number Let Go, which gets a sparkly semi-instrumental Dub workout attributed to C.H.A.R.M. and his I’m Falling In Love With You has the vocal almost totally removed and instead highlights an intriguing guitar sound.

It also must be said that the bit where the female vocals cut in on Last Date by The Connection is masterfully managed by Lloyd and brings home his natural aptitude for Dub production. The Connection also are represented by Just A Dream Version and Natural Thing later on this disc, with the former being rendered on a Slim Smith rhythm and the latter a radically restructured version of a Richard Ace cut.

Long Dub by Charmers Dub Lovers is a neat combo of glistening guitar and baleful horns, with the same act being attributed the elastic bass runs of Dub Slave. Delroy Wilson’s I’m Still Waiting becomes a natty Dub Waiting, his My Cecilia is transformed into the bare bones of a self-explanatory My Rhythm and I Don’t Want To See You Cry is redone as Dub Don’t Cry by The Casanovas (presumably another Charmers alias). Devoted Skank by Willie Lindo & The Charmers Dub Band signs things off here, with the aforementioned guitarist’s laidback work dominating the mix.

Dadawah’s Peace & Love Wadadasow is certainly novel and offers an unique listening experience quite different from most of Doctor Bird’s output. I relished this, probably a result of my already developed Psych/Dub leanings. But in 2024 it comes across as something really cool and out of the norm, even when taking into account Rasta’s deep links to Dub and Reggae. The second disc underlines the fact that while Lloyd Charmers might not be one of the first names one that springs to mind when considering 70s Dub, he should be. He keeps his Dub interesting all the way through by not merely dropping down to bass and drum, but by also skilfully using the other instruments and voices in a tasteful and wholly satisfying manner. A spellbinding collection on the whole.

You can find out more about Dadawah – Peace & Love Wadadasow here

Marcia Griffiths & Willie Lindo – Sweet Bitter Love/Far And Distant

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Marcia Griffiths & Willie Lindo – Sweet Bitter Love/Far And Distant

Doctor Birds Records

2CD/DL

Released 9 February 2024

Reissue of two albums originally released in 1974 that were both produced by Lloyd Charmers, with Marcia Griffith’s debut LP being embellished by a set of alternate mixes included on disc two. Ian Canty writes…

Recently Doctor Bird have highlighted the works of Lloyd Charmers, both as a performer and producer. The combination of Sweet Bitter Love/Far And Distant provides some more proof of his aptitude in the studio environment. By 1974 he was concentrating on production more and having an artist of the calibre of Marcia Griffiths to call on is a good indication of his standing on the Jamaican music scene.

Marcia had just come off the back of an internationally successful pairing with Bob Andy and was looking to capitalise on this in her solo career. Although 1969’s boom year for Jamaican acts on the world stage was well in the rear view mirror by this point in time, there was still a substantial audience for well performed Pop tunes with touches of Reggae and Soul. Sweet Bitter Love fits snuggly into that category, as Marcia versions some tried and trusted material to a sympathetic but subtly skanking backing, while also aiming for straight Rhythm & Blues offerings on the second half of the LP.

This long player ensues with the sound of The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face, an Ewan MacColl number which lends itself well to a Reggae treatment. Play Me, which also appears at the end of this LP in a different form, impresses and There’s No Me Without You continues the strong start of this collection. An easy-going I Just Don’t Wanna Be Lonely is good fun and Curtis Mayfield’s Gypsy Man shows how well his songwriting held up when covered by Reggae artists.

Van McCoy’s title track is given a luscious Kingston rhythm, but the second half of the album makes a clear move away from Reggae to try something more Soul-based. The moody R&B of Al Green’s Here I Am (Come And Take Me) is the first to eschew Reggae entirely and the following cut of David Gates’ Everything I Own, a UK smash hit of Ken Boothe in the same year, is more Funk than anything else.

Green Grasshopper is an excellent effort, but the return of a cheery, lilting Play Me, this time with Marcia in duet with Charmers, resolves the Sweet Bitter Love LP with a trip to what brought Marcia to the dance in the first place. It is a record of two halves certainly and how well you are disposed to Soul/R&B is going to determine how much you enjoy the second side. I much prefer the Reggae numbers to be honest, but there is no doubt Marcia could sing a shopping list and make it sound great.

Sweet Bitter Love is on the whole decent showing. But also in 1974 Marcia Griffiths’ career would take a major change of direction when she became part of The I Threes, playing a key role in Bob Marley’s rise to prominence.

Willie Lindo’s Far And Distant collection follows on straight away on disc one. Guitarist Lindo figured in crack session outfits like The Revolutionaries and Joe Gibbs’ Professionals, so he certainly was a player of note. With Lloyd Parks as well as Charmers himself in the backing band, Far And Distant showcases Lindo’s six string prowess from the off with a very cool instrumental in Drum Song. The Beatles’ Norwegian Wood is used as the template for the “Reggae Shadows” sound of Darker Shade Of Black and a fairly MOR Midnight Train To Georgia has Lindo’s guitar taking over the vocal part surprisingly well.

Chopper is pretty mellow too, but does include some choice playing from Lindo and Charmers Mood credits the producer by having his keyboard tones melding perfectly with the guitar atop a sinuous beat. The warm backing to the similarly titled Mystic Mood makes for a joyful piece, one where Willie gets a chance to be a little more expansive in his playing on the long, slow fade out. The sunny feel of Breezing and a solid skank outing Holly Holly close out Far And Distant, a curio for sure, but I found it a charming one. There is one bonus appended to the end of disc one, Midnight (And You) which grants Lindo and his guitar another opportunity in the spotlight and features some (wordless) vocals for the only time on his selections here.

On disc two we return to Marcia Griffiths’ Sweet Bitter Love for 10 alternate mixes of the LP’s tracks, rejigged into a different order. They’re on the whole not massively different from the original takes, but good to have and Marcia’s vocals are of course top quality. Everything I Own sounds Northern Soul-ready in this form and after a little studio talk Green Grasshopper shines in a simpler treatment, until it finally squelches to an end that reveals why it wasn’t used. Two single versions of Sweet Bitter Love and Play Me draw this section to a close.

This set is rounded off by a dip into Lloyd Charmers’ 45 productions from around 1974 with a variety of artists. Marcia’s singing partner Bob bookends these ten single tracks with a rousing Fire Burning to start with and an alternate take of the same song to finish. The suitably spooky intro to The Bone Yard Belly Dancers’ Bone Yard Skank previews a smart trombone instro and B.B. Seaton’s Changed Man comes across as a loveable vocal number. B.B. also contribute the very creditable Been Such A Long Time too.

Bassman Boris Gardiner appears well on the way to the sound of his UK number one I Want To Wake Up With You on a romantic You Make Me Feel Brand New, while DJ Big Youth is caught on ebullient form on Johnny Reggae. Errol Thomas’ Hear Thy Children Cry reveals itself as a touching sufferers anthem and Lloyd Charmers gets in the act himself with a piano drift through Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On.

Sweet Bitter Love/Far And Distant is an odd combination of two contrasting LPs, with the only thing really in common being Lloyd Charmers’ input. The variety of material on Marcia’s album showed there was one eye firmly on the international market in its production. She performs assuredly throughout, the playing is top notch and the alternate mixes show the work in progress well. But I think Willie Lindo’s cultured guitar instrumentals will be more pleasing for the Reggae fan. Added to that, the grab bag of single tracks that end this collection have a few aces in their ranks too. All of this reveals the industry and imagination of Lloyd and his roster of talents, even during one of Reggae’s leaner periods.

Track down Marcia Griffiths & Willie Lindo – Sweet Bitter Love/Far And Distant by clicking here

Lloyd Charmers – Reggae Is Tight & Reggae Charm

Posted on by jbass508

Lloyd Charmers – Reggae Is Tight & Reggae Charm

Doctor Bird Records

2CD/DL

Released 12 January 2024

Reissue of a pair of instrumental albums cut by singer/producer/musician Lloyd Charmers and issued by Trojan on their TTL imprint during the original Reggae boom, plus a host of bonus tracks. Ian Canty writes…

Lloyd Tyrell, better-known as Lloyd Charmers, had established himself as a force in the Jamaican music first as a performer, with his work as part of the popular vocal group The Uniques bringing him to prominence. But by the end of the 1960s, he was issuing solo material and also became known for his abilities in the fields of arrangement and production.

Although he was initially known as a vocalist, the first three long players he cut early in his solo career called more upon his keyboard talents. This set focuses on Reggae Is Tight and Reggae Charm, with material from the House In Session collection, where Lloyd was backed by The Hippy Boys, figuring among the bonus tracks.

5 to 5 sets Reggae Is Tight in motion with a chanted, insistent vocal line rendered atop a solid Skinhead Reggae organ rhythm and Follow This Sound, an instrumental take of The Uniques’ Watch The Sound that gives Charmers a chance to indulge in some flowing piano, comes next. Golden Moon takes oldie Blue Moon and moulds it into a Reggae-fied organ instro and Psychedelic Reggae makes ample use of echo effects. Crimson And Clover is an odd choice, being Tommy James & The Shondells’ cover, but it is interestingly realised, with Rat Trap coming hot on its heels with some rampant organ swirls.

The Whitfield/Holland Soul tune Everybody Needs Love has Lloyd’s keys right upfront. Likewise the title track Reggae Is Tight is Booker T’s Time Is Tight is given a Blue Beat backing with appealing results. The LP ends with Stronger, which comes welded to a solid beat that is just made for the dancefloor. The whole of Reggae Is Tight is excellent, filled with just the kind of thing that sound-tracked a thousand 1969 Skinhead love stories.

A flute leads Freedom Sounds, the first of 16 bonus items on this disc. After Dark has a loveable strut about it and (Get) In The Spirit is a real ace, a lovely knotty rhythm bolstered by a sharp toasting vocal. Paul Simon’s Sound Of Silence gets covered in a breezy, slightly queasy, manner, with the satisfying, slower tempo of Ducky Lucky coming next.

Soul Of England feels like it is pitched firmly towards the UK’s new young Skinhead fans, with a cod-Cockney vocal being added to the R&B Reggae of the tune. There’s a lovely organ glide to Cooyah and Shang I, one from House In Session, features some neat Boogie Woogie piano work from Charmers and intermittent DJ interjections. Cat Nip, otherwise known as Yes Sah, is a sunny number from the same source and the melody of Extension 303 skips along marvellously.

Harris Seaton’s There’s A Fire becomes Fire, Fire, where the singing becomes a ghostly whisper and after Burt Bacharach’s Walk On By gets an unlikely and frankly ill-fitting rejig, a fast moving Memphis Underground ends a disc replete with the correct materials to keep the dance going on all night long.

The Reggae Charm LP, where Charmers teamed up with Bryon Lee & The Dragonaires, emerged in 1970 and sets forth in a very relaxed mode. Lloyd’s piano is the dominant feature, something that is made plain by the stately sound of Dr No Go, a recut of a tune originally recorded with Sonia Pottinger. A twinkling Try To Remember and a version of Gospel number Oh Happy Day continue the sedate proceedings, but then an off-key stab at Honey I Miss You isn’t really a good candidate for a Reggae instrumental do-over.

Lloyd is on firmer ground with Desmond Dekker’s Israelites, with If I Only Had Time coming equipped with a sturdy dance rhythm. Mama Look, cut to a Monkey Man backing track, scores well and Pat Kelly’s How Long is expertly reworked too. Reggae Charm comes to a climax with Tribute To the Dragon aka Soul At Large, another number that saw the light of day on House In Session.

Overlooking the occasional foray into Les Dawson territory, Reggae Charm is an endearing and different platter. Like disc one, there are raft of bonus efforts appended to the LP. Who Done It aka I Did It, with warm organ and a vocal toast, opens up this section with a driving sound and Reggae-A Bye Bye then highlights the guitar. This acts as a good contrast to what has gone before on this disc, with Dollars And Cents unusually taking the subject of 007 James Bond in the voiceover and then splicing it to various unrelated film theme tunes.

It is an agreeably daft fun item though and along with the baby talk of Ensure aka Baby Huey at least shows Charmers was always ready to experiment. Sounds Familiar appears that it could have come from Reggae Charm at first, but later highlights chimes instead of piano. The Charmers are credited with Colour Him Father Version II and Cloud Burst is a very cool and brassy DJ cut.

Vengance cops Lee Perry style, replicating his method of daffy voices grafted onto a breezy rhythm and Ready Talk has a spoken word intro that again employs a British accent. The school room piano of Reggae Charm returns on Cool And Easy, with the disc ending with the smart skank of Ishan Cup aka Hi-Shan.

Reggae Is Tight gets the balance right for me between tasteful piano work and steady rhythms and as a result I preferred it to Reggae Charm, where the piano is pushed right forward and once or twice this stifles the action rather than enhances it. Having said that, there are a few gems among the bonus material and there’s no doubt that this a worthwhile and enjoyable release. Lloyd Charmers was a truly creative force in Reggae, one that liked to tinker with a pretty tight format and we can enjoy the results here.

Pick up Lloyd Charmers – Reggae Is Tight & Reggae Charm by clicking here

Lloyd Charmers – Moody & Blue

Posted on by jbass508

Lloyd Charmers – Moody & Blue

Doctor Bird Records

2CD/DL

Released 21 April 2023

Subtitled The Best Of Lloyd Charmers 1973 – 1979, this 2CD set includes the rare Moody & Blue LP that was readied for release by Trojan in 1974, but subsequently did not emerge. Ian Canty writes.

By the early 1970s Trench Town native Lloyd “Charmers” Tyrell had successfully branched out into production with his own imprint Splash. This activity would take most of one ordinary person’s time, but his solo singing career and studio dates as a session musician on the keyboard continued as well as producing and arranging. He had come a long way since getting his start in music ten years beforehand as part of a duo alongside Roy Willis called The Sweet Charmers. The last part of the band name stuck with Lloyd and followed him as he figured in the revitalised line up of The Uniques with Slim Smith and Jimmy Riley.

Together they made many records that were wildly popular in Jamaica, but by the time Boss/Skinhead Reggae took over from Rocksteady as the predominant sound, Charmers had opted for a solo career, as well as playing the organ in top studio outfit The Hippy Boys. Among his recordings he memorably cut Birth Control under the name Lloydie And The Lowbites, which was repurposed a decade on by The Specials for their UK Number One hit Too Much Too Young. By 1973 he had struck out towards the Romantic Reggae market, something his smooth vocals were perfect for, as well as also cutting Roots material imbued with his strong sense of social concern.

Opening up this set is the Moody & Blue album itself, which Trojan intended to issue during 1974 but in the end decided not to release. It consists of numbers that came out on singles from 73 to 74, with the exception of the previously unheard busy dance sound Stoned Out Of My Mind. Around that time Pop/Romantic Reggae with an emphasis on covers of recent hits was the only thing selling internationally, so much of Moody & Blue is cut in that mode. Harmony, the first track, is a good example of what is contained on the LP and is sweetly sung and accessible, although the Country overdubs on the version of Kris Krisstofferson’s Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything Else I’ve Donne) make it a little too schmaltzy for my tastes.

A take of Neil Diamond’s Play Me is nicely done. But considering that Lloyd was more than capable of writing his own material, the reliance on other people’s songs on the album is a little disappointing in retrospect. The cut of Mr Bojangles is very MOR to be honest, even if the performance shines. Better is Love Is The Song aka Rise And Shine, which has a tidy Roots rhythm that is boosted by some smart brass interjections. Then To Be With You dispenses with Reggae altogether, a Soul/Jazz slowie that benefits from a typically measured vocal, with the first of Charmers’ self-penned efforts Bring Back The Love being also in a firm R&B mode.

On I Stand Accused the Reggae backbeat returns and this I found to be a pretty good version of the old standard. Save The People is actually by The Messengers, a Reggae Supergroup of sorts that had Lloyd star alongside Ken Boothe, Busty Brown and B.B. Seaton on a piece that melds Soul and Reggae to a coolly drifting sufferers song. The LP ends with Charmers at the keys for the self-explanatory organ instro Sweet Organ. Moody & Blue is an attractive, easy going long player and it is odd that having readied it for issue, Trojan never bothered to actually put it out.

Eight bonus offerings drawn from Charmers’ 1973-74 archive round off this disc. A wry White Rum And Salvation is good fun and stately piano/organ number Father Mary feels like a slo-mo look back to Boss Reggae’s heyday. After a decent run out for Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On, we get more keyboard action on the unappetisingly-titled but pretty good Dreadful Piano and Lloyd has a tilt at Reggae-fied Isaac Hayes-style Funk on I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little Bit More, Baby. A good go at A Lover’s Question, which has roots right back to Doo Wop and My Own Version end this first section of the set. The latter is actually an instrumental cut of Bread’s Everything I Own, the song that was a big hit for Ken Boothe with Lloyd in the producer’s chair.

Disc two of Moody & Blue widens the timescale, taking in Lloyd’s recordings from 1974 to 1979. Immediately we are into something a tad spicier than what is featured on disc one, with a cool Roots version of Curtis Mayfield’s (We People) Darker Than Blue. Probably because of their high quality, Curtis’ numbers always seem made for smart Reggae re-runs. This is followed by a sharp comment atop a full sound called Pure Fire and the arresting rhythm of Skin Tight. A self-penned Slavery again highlights Lloyd’ social consciousness as does Africa, before the flowing Soul effort Love Connection takes us away from hard reality and rough rhythms and more towards the dancefloor.

1979’s Stay is more guitar-led Pop/Disco than anything else, as is Rock (On) from two years before, which shares something with The Floaters’ Float On. Love Charm matches a Reggae beat to a string arrangement for a tidy instrumental outing and The Commodores’ Easy gets a gentle workout. This disc starts off strong with some great items, but as it goes on things get far more commercial and less satisfying for me.

Things perk up with the DJ/Dancehall structure of Straighten It Out and Dreaming As One, which has some good electronic effects and makes the best of the kind of assured vocal you could depend on from Lloyd. The whole thing concludes with a feelgood sound in Thank You Lord (A Prayer For Israel).

Moody & Blue is a very listenable showcase for Lloyd Charmers’ elegant vocals. If some of the material is a bit on the Easy Listening side, his voice always turned in a quality performance and the musical arrangements are similarly tasteful. Romantic Reggae was the forerunner to Lovers’ Rock and this set shows Charmers at its forefront. But it was not everybody’s cup of tea and alongside tender love songs, Lloyd cut edgier tunes more in line with the Roots style. These are well represented at the start of disc two of Moody & Blue. With some informative liner notes, it is worth catching up here with what Lloyd did during the 70s.

Get a copy of Lloyd Charmers – Moody & Blue here