AL CAMPBELL レコード& CD

Review: Meditations Music is a new label out of Jamaica that is going to add to the endless amounts of reggae and dub music that we still cannot get enough of. Its opening gambit is a superb one from Al Campbell. 'Ah Di Same Mouth' is a heavy hitter designed for seriously loud plays on a beefy sound system. The bottom end wobbles like a jelly, with ricochetting hits firing bat the mix next to big horns. The vocals are gravelly and deep but come with real soul and passion. Things get more fleshy and deep on the brilliant flipside dub.

Review: Yet two more rarities from the esteemed Jamaican roots label Studio One, helmed by Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, come to the fore. A true mystery rests at the core of this record. 'Take A Ride' was originally released in 1978 over the 'Truths & Rights' riddim by Johnny Osbourne. Though the famous reggae artist Al Campbell takes credit for the release, it should be noted that the real recording artist behind this song was a mythically unknown artist and doppelganger known as Alan Campbell, a complete unknown in the reggae world who allegedly believed he could make a quick buck out of recording just one song. As if by one swoop of Faustian vengeance, Alan was miscredited as Al, and the typo has since endured through time as one to be treasured rather than corrected. Though the song was originally a flop, it's found cult success in recent years. The track is also a perfect complement to Alton Ellis' 'Pearl', a no less gemmy cut by one of the most influential singers in Jamaican music history.