Reggae Anthology: Sweet Reggae Music

by Barrington Levy

Overview

It's a rare thing even in the singles-oriented field of reggae to find a compilation as rock-solid as this one. Sweet Reggae Music 1979-84: Reggae Anthology offers up 40 tracks from the earliest days of Jamaican singer Barrington Levy's massive output, and unlike the vast majority of compilations this dense, almost every track is a scorcher. Levy put to tape several bona fide reggae classics in different phases of his career, but sat somewhat obscured behind other roots vocalists of his time like Horace Andy and Jimmy Cliff. Though they're relatively deeper cuts, the tracks on Sweet Reggae Music are some of the most essential reggae sides of the late '70s and early '80s. Starting strong with booming roots tracks like "Collie Weed" and "Bounty Hunter," Levy's voice is one of the more distinctive and passionate from his era, though he was still in his teens at the time these songs were recorded. Smoothed-out renditions of rocksteady classics like "Skylarking" and "Sister Carol" add depth to Levy's repertoire, finding him stretching out into lovers rock territory and then back into dark and heavy roots with burning tracks like "Look Youthman." Though the compilation is extensive, it stays vital throughout, reaching into dubby production as the years go on with sun-soaked tracks like "21 Girls Salute" and eventually landing in the proto-dancehall weirdness of the timeless single "Under Me Sensi." Levy marked his place as reggae royalty, and would eventually go on to work extensively with American hip-hop artists, but this picture of his earliest work is a brilliant slice of Jamaican music history. Anyone with an interest in reggae going even remotely beyond pedestrian multi-platinum-selling superstars could look to Barrington Levy as a valuable starting point. ~ Fred Thomas

Product Details

Release Date:	06/04/2013
Label:	Vp Records
UPC:	0054645500210
Rank:	37844

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Barrington Levy   Primary Artist
Jah Thomas   Primary Artist,Featured Artist

Technical Credits

Calabash   Producer
Nigger Kojak   Producer
George Phang   Composer,Producer
Jah Screw   Producer
Joe Gibbs   Producer
Henry "Junjo" Lawes   Composer,Producer
Steve Milne   Source Material
Paul Love   Composer
Ray Hurford   Source Material
David Katz   Source Material
Chris O'Brien   A&R,Project Manager
Barrington Levy   Composer,Producer
Donovan Germain   Composer,Producer
Carlton Patterson   Producer
Christopher Chin   Executive Producer
Tony McDermott   Graphic Design
Alain de la Matta   Photography
Roger Cracknell   Photography
Tero Kaski   Source Material
Pekka Vuorinen   Source Material
Colin Moore   Source Material
Joseph Hoo-Kim   Composer,Producer
Harry Watts   Liner Notes
Linval Thompson   Composer,Producer