This best-of compilation was selected by
Half Pint
himself and draws on the handful of releases he put out on
reggae
-specialist and Jamaican labels. That's fine, but it also makes you wonder why this excellent singer who delivered two absolute classics right out of the career gate is still something of a
enigma. Hell,
"Greetings"
only launched and named the raggamuffin bassline/
ragga
sound that had a huge global impact in the late '80s and early '90s -- okay, maybe not quite the formative impact that
Chic
's
"Good Times"
(with that
Bernard Edwards
bassline) had on
hip-hop
, but we're still talking serious foundation archetype here.
"Level the Vibes"
was also an unforgettable slice of mid-'80s roots
dancehall
era (i.e., pre-tape loops and drum machine beats) with another deadly nonstop bassline. So it's puzzling why his profile in
circles has remained so low. Not that he should have gone in for the
Dennis Brown
/
Gregory Issacs
Frankie Paul
syndrome and recorded with everyone under the sun, but he's only put out a handful of albums and rarely did the deejay/singer combo records with contemporaries who seem like a natural fit. It's more troubling that, once you've heard the opening salvo of
/"Level the Vibes," you've basically heard
, because he seems unwilling or unable to stray far away from his formula. The Spartan arrangements will be bass and drums with skank keyboard or guitar and not much else behind his plaintive, emotional singing about girls and little else, since he seems to have used up his metaphor quotient with the two big hits. So small differences become big deals here, like a modified bogle beat with syndrum bloops on
"Crazy Girl,"
the horns marking
"Mr. Landlord,"
and a livelier drum push distinguishing
"Too Late."
"Sally"
has an arresting variation on the raggamuffin bassline and some
dub
flair, and the pure
lovers rock
of
"Substitute Lover"
stretches with double-tracked chorus vocals and very soulful singing.
's strong singing is a constant, but you've also already heard the melodies to
"One Big Family"
and
"Victory"
by the time they roll along.
ultimately wears down due to the similarity in the unadorned arrangements and vocal melodies. The fact that it's still not a bad compilation is a testament to the singer's skill.
are essential '80s
tracks for any collection, but you can't shake the feeling that
should have reached greater heights by now. ~ Don Snowden