Gregory Isaacs

★★★ Showcase TAXI/HIGH POWER MUSIC. CD/LP

GI’s extended mixes, with the Rhythm Twins: Sly Dunbar and the late Robbie Shakespeare.

After forging strong professional bonds touring with Peter Tosh in the mid1970s, drum-and-bass stalwarts Sly and Robbie launched into record production, the first significant hit on their Taxi label arriving with Gregory Isaacs’ sensual Soon Forward. Released in Jamaica in limited numbers in 1980, the Showcase album was comprised of the six songs Isaacs voiced for the duo in this early phase, all but one presented ‘showcase’ style, where the vocal is followed by an extended dub portion. Motherless Children is a forceful diatribe decrying Jamaica’s endemic poverty and Going Down Town speaks of the symbolic power of the sound systems, defiantly rejecting the island’s colonial hangovers. A decent version of Marley’s Slave Driver and a couple of lovelorn tearjerkers evidence Isaacs’ versatility, though the thunderous dub mixes with their subtle percussive touches really give the set its greatest appeal.

David Katz