Though not exactly a household name outside of Jamaica, producer
Glen Brown
is greatly respected in the reggae community and elicited some of the heaviest rhythms ever committed to tape from such studio bands as
Soul Syndicate
and the
In Crowd
. He never had enough money to release his singles in quantity, and the bulk of his output is encapsulated on three CDs released in the U.K. on the
Greensleeves
label in 1989, and then on
Shanachie
in the U.S. in 1990:
Check the Winner
, a collection of instrumental tracks;
Dubble Attack
, a program of deejay performances on those same rhythms; and
Boat to Progress
, a collection of vocal tracks based on the same instrumental material. The three excellent discs should be considered companion titles.
is especially strong in that it most clearly demonstrates
Brown
's genius in the studio; on tunes like
"Mr. Baldhead Aitken,"
"2 Wedden Skank,"
and especially the immortal
"Dirty Harry,"
fashions spare but melodically rich tunes and supports them with dense, rubbery basslines and snappy percussion. The fact that
King Tubby
manned the mixing board for these singles is icing on the cake. ~ Rick Anderson