Saturday 31 December 2011
Rocksteady and Ska, the Jamaican precursor to Reggae, never really got off the ground in Australia apart from the odd track like Desmond Dekker's The Israelites, but anyone with an interest in the harmonic territory covered by the Motown artists could find plenty to enjoy in this compilation of eighteen tracks from the mid- to late-sixties. Reputedly the island's premier singer of the era Slim Smith's high pitched vocal works the same lyrical territory as the Motown groups but there's an edge there that doesn't quite fit in the middle of the road, and personality issues cut short what could have been a substantial career once the world discovered Jamaican music in the mid-seventies. Smith, however, bled to death trying to break into his parents' house in 1973.