New 7-inches from Thompson Sound
The post New 7-inches from Thompson Sound appeared first on Reggae Vibes.
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New 7-inches from Thompson Sound
After working with producers like Phil Pratt, Lee Perry, and Bunny Lee during the mid-’70s, Thompson moved into production with serious intent, giving reggae lovers landmark albums like I Love Marijuana and Negrea Love Dub. As both singer and producer, he helped shape the bridge between roots reggae and early dancehall, working with names like Dennis Brown, Cornell Campbell, The Wailing Souls, Barrington Levy, and Trinity.
Fifty years on from his 1976 debut album Don’t Cut Off Your Dreadlocks, and Linval is still very much in the game. In recent years, he’s linked up several times with Roberto Sánchez, the respected Spanish producer, engineer, multi-instrumentalist, and singer-songwriter whose work has earned deep respect across the reggae world. Together they’ve built a strong partnership, delivering recordings and reissues across different labels.
Their partnership has produced fresh recordings, but that’s only part of the story. Linval also passed on original Channel One material from the late ’70s and early ’80s, which Sánchez carefully remixed, mastered, and helped reissue through the Thompson Sound label. The catalogue runs deep, featuring names like The Viceroys, Johnny Osbourne, Roman Stewart, Freddie McKay, Barry Brown, Horace Martin, and Prince Alla.
Now comes the first wave of a new 7-inch series that revisits some serious reggae gold. Produced by Thompson and remixed by Sánchez at A-Lone Ark Muzik Studio in Spain, these releases pull from riddims recorded and mixed at Channel One between 1979 and 1981. The line-up is strong: Barrington Levy, Linval Thompson, Frankie Paul, The Viceroys, Mystic Eyes, and rising singer Rafeelya.
Barrington Levy’s Poor Man Style arrives with a real surprise. Levy opens the tune a cappella in pure dubplate fashion, giving longtime listeners something noticeably different from the versions heard before on 7-inch and on his album of the same name. Riding the same riddim, The Viceroys return with Love Is A Key, appearing for the first time on 7-inch vinyl in this form. Their timeless message of love remains intact, but the mix takes a new direction from the version found on their 1981 classic album, We Must Unite. Mystic Eyes also get special treatment with a new vocal cut of Perilous Time, backed by a heavy dub workout from the Ark camp. In fact, the dub sides across the series deserve mention on their own.
And tucked among these revived classics is something brand new. UK-based singer Rafeelya tackles Danger In Your Eyes, the Studio One favourite voiced by Tyrone Evans & The Paragons. She sings it over the very same riddim Linval used for his own 1979 recording of the tune. To round things off, you’ve got two certified dancehall pieces originally produced by “Junjo” Lawes: Linval Thompson’s Look How Me Sexy and Frankie Paul’s Worries In The Dance.
Linval Thompson’s catalogue has never really gone out of style. But these new 7-inch releases show there’s still plenty of life left in those classic Channel One tapes when they’re handled with care.
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