JOHN CLARKE レコード& CD

Review: Another carefully considered reissue from Wackie's tackles two of Kingston born John Clarke's tracks from 1978. They first landed on the Jumbo Caribbean Disco label (which was actually based in Brooklyn) and here are just some of the tens of gems he recorded for the imprint. Both tracks are super hazy dubs with the clipped rhythms of "Big Leg Mary" and burrowing lead coming on heavy, while "Wasn't It You" is a smooth and deadly jam. This one has been known to fetch upwards of 100 quid on second hand markets, so move fast to secure yourself a sure fire winner.

Review: "Visions Of John Clarke" was a little thrown together for its original release in 1979. Still, its sleeve carried a ringing endorsement from Bullwackies himself - president of the John Clarke fan club - and the album attracted the interest of no less than Studio 1 boss Coxsone Dodd, whose bid for distribution-rights was thwarted when the Brooklyn label Makossa quickly put in for a full licence. The singer - not to be confused with Johnny Clark - had been running with the Wackies operation for the past six years, ever since moving from Jamaica to New York. He'd cut memorable sevens with co-founder Munchie Jackson for the Tafari label - like "In Search of The Human Race" and "Recession" - and with Lloyd Barnes for such Bullwackies imprints as Versatile and Wackies. Several are collected by these two albums, with another layer of modification: for example, on "Wasn't It You", Lloyd Barnes and Prince Douglas give a new treatment - and adding guitar - to the jumbo Caribbean disco twelve; on "Pollution" they remove the horns from the Wackies seven (though generally Baba Leslie is in full effect here).

Review: "Visions Of John Clarke" was a little thrown together for its original release in 1979. Still, its sleeve carried a ringing endorsement from Bullwackies himself - president of the John Clarke fan club - and the album attracted the interest of no less than Studio 1 boss Coxsone Dodd, whose bid for distribution-rights was thwarted when the Brooklyn label Makossa quickly put in for a full licence. The singer - not to be confused with Johnny Clark - had been running with the Wackies operation for the past six years, ever since moving from Jamaica to New York. He'd cut memorable sevens with co-founder Munchie Jackson for the Tafari label - like "In Search of The Human Race" and "Recession" - and with Lloyd Barnes for such Bullwackies imprints as Versatile and Wackies. Several are collected by these two albums, with another layer of modification: for example, on "Wasn't It You", Lloyd Barnes and Prince Douglas give a new treatment - and adding guitar - to the jumbo Caribbean disco twelve; on "Pollution" they remove the horns from the Wackies seven (though generally Baba Leslie is in full effect here).