Customer Reviews

Love Is All I Had: Tribute to the Queen of Jamaica

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you like classic soul music. Phyllis Dillon being addressed as the "Queen of Jamaican R&B" is very easily justified within the tracks on this CD. Every single one of them is a stand out- Jamaican influence is there, but with even a greater soul influence. When I first heard it, I went and dusted off some old Northern Soul albums afterward. The arrangments are great, the set of pipes on Phyllis are amazing...and I doubt this CD will ever leave my player.
Stand outs are "Make Me Yours" (this is better then Bettye Swann's version), "Nice Time" (which made the Trojan Rocksteady box set) and "Don't Touch me Tomato"...but her covers of classics like "Midnight Confession" and "Love the One Your With" are also outstanding. I can't say enough about this one- If you like Northern Soul or old Motown...and you like the sounds of the island, this is going to knock you out. Just buy the darn thing already...oh yeah, and skip "Eddie O Baby"- really the only turd in the whole thing.

I use a high power high quality system and love to play this CD often. The first reviewer said it sounded bad but I simply cannot understand why. Phyllis Dillon's voice is sweet and pleasant, and most songs were hits.

I hold these songs off of this cd close to my heart. This cd is a great price for as many great tracks that are on here. Phyllis is one of my all time favorite female vocalists. I recommend anyone who is a fan of Jamican rocksteady to get it! Not one bad song on here.

This is a compilation of Phyllis Dillon's recordings - not a "tribute" in the sense of people recording covers of her recordings.

Sure, there are 29 songs - almost 80 minutes of music - but the sound quality is poor. It is not the worst I've ever heard, it is not like an old Ma Rainey or scratchy Billie Holiday recording, but there is not credit given for remastering, and I think it is safe to assume that these recordings, from 1966-1971, were NOT digitally remastered.

The music is OK, Dillon is not particularly Soulful or vocally dynamic, but it is some pleasant Reggae/Jamaican-style music. The booklet includes an essay by Mike Atherton and a few photos.