Ripton Hilton may have initially crept into the dancehalls like a mouse, but it didn't take long before he had the masses by the throat, for this little rodent was indeed
"Wild Like a Tiger." That feline-titled single, a nostalgic look back at
Eek-A-Mouse's early days in the sound systems, had mashed up Jamaica back in 1982, one of a clutch of singles that were bundled onto 1984's
Mouseketeer album. There's also
"Star, Daily News or Gleaner" which may name-check all three of the island's newspapers, but is less concerned with Jamaica's press than the sufferer eking out a living selling them.
"Anarexol," in contrast, has no particular message, but boasts a superb version of
"Real Rock," just one of the phenomenal riddims that underpins this
Henry "Junjo" Lawes set. Some were laid down by the
Hi Times Band, and feature quite awe-inspiring guitar work, the rest are equally potent with
Roots Radics backings, often edged with powerful brass.
Eek, himself, is in top form, swinging easily from the romance of
"Atlantis Lover" to the personal like
"Tiger," but it's culture that fires the majority of these songs. Whether he's pushing the youth onto the righteous path, as on
"Palaving" and
"Treason," or comforting the sufferers, as he does with much conviction on
"Don't Run and Cry," Eek delivers up some of his most powerful messages on this set. The clincher for many fans was the final track, where once and for all the DJ finally answered the question they'd been asking for years, and explained
"How I Got My Name." With
Eek at the top of his game,
Lawes at his mightiest heights, and the bands reeling out lethal riddims,
Mouseketeer was a masterpiece. ~ Jo-Ann Greene
![Exodus: The Movement Continues [40th Anniversary Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0602557591545_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Exodus: The Movement Continues [40th Anniversary Edition]")
