Customer Reviews

Studio One Soul

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

 

 

studio one's coxsone dodd produced some of the best reggae albums ever. this isn't one of them. there are some choice cuts on here (e.g., express yourself by leroy sibbles, no one can stop us by willie williams). there are some other nice tracks (e.g., groove me by leroy sibbles). there are a few weak tracks, where the production and performance sounds as if the song wasn't really intended as a major release. this is pretty much expected, as much of the classic studio one tracks have been picked up by heartbeat records.

key to note is that the tracks are all (or pretty much all) covers of motown or american soul hits. i'm not a real fan of reggae covers of motown or other genres as it usually just waters down the best of each genre - and this is pretty much the case here.

the album also comes with a truly excellent set of liner notes -more of a booklet - that gives a pretty nice explaination of the whole studio one thing as well as most of the songs/covers. great pictures. very, very well done.

if - like me - you're desperate to have every classic track mr. dodd produced and/or you're willing to shell out the price for the liner notes (they're really that good), then by all means plunge in and pick this up. but don't expect to want to listen to it straight through all that often.

if you're on anything resembling a budget and just want to get a solid set of great reggae records, however, look for the studio one reissues by heartbeat records - e.g., hit bound the revolutionary sound of channel one (which is still studio one) and the best of studio one volume one.

From the rocking reworking of Charles Wright's "Express Yourself " to the warbling melacholy of Norma Frazier's version of "The First Cut Is The Deepest " this is soulful roots and reggae at it's very best. Some unexpected covers of classic soul, such as "Set Me Free " and "Message To A BLack Man", all with a warm jamaican flavour. A must for lost summer days lying in the back garden chillin'. All hail Clement "Sir Coxone" Dodd, and Souljazz records for bring it too us!

Reggae wasn't only home grown. As this collection of Clement Dodd productions shows, the US had influence there, as it did pretty much everywhere. In the case of Jamaica, radio stations WNOE from New Orleans, WINZ in Florida and others were received loud and clear, and the black music in particular that they broadcast led to regular visits from artists of the stature of Curtis Mayfield and Aretha Franklin.
Studio One was modelled on the record labels that had their own crack studio house bands, labels and studios like Stax in Memphis, Motown in Detroit, Muscle Shoals in Alabama and Criteria in Florida, so it was natural that at Studio One versions of some of the most influential soul records would be reworked in a Jamaican idiom for playing on the powerful sound systems, sometimes with different titles and sometimes with different composer credits, too, and some of the very best are rounded up here.
And so we find studio band Sound Dimension's instrumental re-interpretations of Young-Holt Unlimited (Soulful Strut) and Booker T. (Time Is Tight) alongside the Jackie Mittoo's keyboard reading of Barry White's I'm Gonna Love You A Little More Baby (as Deeper And Deeper). Top singers like Leroy Sibbles transpose King Curtis (Groove Me), Charles Wright (Express Yourself) and the Temptations' political Message From A Black Man (with the Heptones) into the reggae idiom. Ken Boothe's Set Me Free is actually a gorgeously extended 12" mix of the Supremes' You Keep Me Hangin' On while Willie Williams, best known for Armagideon Time, covers the McFadden and Whitehead 1979 disco hit Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now as No One Can Stop Us, and the Impressions' Minstrel And Queen is revived by Cornell Campbell and the Eternals as Queen Of The Minstrels.
As American black music became more politicized, militantly and sexually, through the music and messages of Sly Stone, the Temptations, Jimi Hendrix, Millie Jackson (I Don't Want To Be Right) and others, so Jamaican culture reflected this change in its music. Other examples here include Norma Fraser's adoption of Aretha's version of Respect, and Senior Soul's cover of Syl Johnson's Is It Because I'm Black, though there is still plenty of room for innocent dance tunes, as first recorded by the Detroit Spinners, the Delfonics and others.
There is an illustrated booklet with an essay by the compiler Mark Ainley which is full of helpful facts, though it does fall short of giving composer credits or publication dates of the included recordings

I understand the gripes of other reviews, and as the Studio One series goes this one is not 100% satisfying. The interpretations of classic soul music by Studio One artists are fascinating, exciting and dance-inducing. Not every one is successful .... but none are unlistenable either. The high points are well worth the cost of the entire disk.

This is a great compilation. This album has the type of sound that some of today's popular artists would [love] to reproduce. It is the perfect blend of ska and soul with sweet vocals and earnest backing. A++

Sometimes i wonder if it aint so that the best soul covers are made in Jamaica. Old soul and modern rnb remakes shows what an incredible feeling for rythms the have on that island. This album is a 'must buy' for every one with an interest in reggae, soul and other riddim based music. This album makes opens up a world for the wellknowing critic and for the beginner! Turn on the music and 'Express your self' (track one)!

I recently got this disc (and a few other Studio One discs) and I love them. This disc is great for anyone who likes soul & reggae. Even though it is a cover album you shouldn't let that deter you - the songs are great, the performances top notch and the overall mood is hypnotic. A must have!

listen this baby is a must for anyone that loves soul...it is impossible to listen without feeling happy and the barry white cover is to die for...I tell you...it is a great homage to the masters of soul...