Archive
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Spiritually charged roots reggae from Clement Dodd’s super-studio.
By Jon Dale
Fire Over Babylon: Dread, Peace & Conscious Sounds At Studio One
SOUL JAZZ
8/10
Count Ossie & The Mystic Revelation Of Rastafari
OVER the past few decades, Soul Jazz have made a name for themselves with stylish, smartly conceptualised comps. Their curatorial touch is sure but lightly applied, and if they sometimes skirt predictability, there’s something to be said for the reliability of their approach, particularly when taking on a catalogue as deep as the productions made at Clement Dodd’s Studio One, the ‘Motown of Jamaica’. A legendary place, with Dodd a gifted producer, some of reggae’s greatest passed through – Bob Marley, Burning Spear, Bunny Wailer and Johnny Nash all cut sides there, often backed by house band the Skatalites; arranger Jackie Mittoo finetuned his craft at the studio, too.