U-Roy - Natty Rebel '1991

Tracks list

Still recording with producer Tony Robinson, with whom U-Roy cut 1975s Dread
Inna Babylon album, for the follow-up Natty Rebel, the DJ enlisted the services
of bassist/backing vocalist Lloyd Parks, drummer Sly Dunbar, and singers
Barrington Spence and Flip Wilson. As one would expect, Parks and Dunbar filled
the album with deep, rootsy rhythms, with the latter clicking away like a human
metronome on Badie Boo. Robinson was particularly adept at turning rocksteady
classics on their head; his studio trick of fading the vocals out in a stutter
of reverb gave these oldies a fresh, dubby feel that was further accented by the
rhythm section. But around these rootsy beats and style, U-Roy created a
kaleidoscope of moods and styles with the help of a heap of backing tracks.
Compared to the more radicalized Dread, Rebel has a jauntier, easygoing air that
permeates virtually the whole disc. Its particularly noticeable on Do You
Remember, where the DJ launches into the track, and chatters along non-stop, as
light and breezy as a spring day. Yet, U- Roy has total control of the rhythms,
never misplacing a single syllable, whilst sounding so relaxed as to make you
believe he recorded this impromptu in one take. The albums most talked about
song was inevitably the title track, a version of the Wailers Soul Rebel. In
truth, though, the original is so powerful that U-Roy does little more than echo
the lyrics. Perhaps Robinson should have stripped off the vocals and given the
DJ more room to maneuver. The highpoint, then, belongs to the exuberant Babylon
Burning, a song loosely based on Proud Mary, which in a burst of inspiration the
DJ resurrected in a Rastafarian mode and gained another deserved hit single.

01 - Babylon Burning (Remaster 1991)
02 - Natty Rebel (Remaster 1990)
03 - Badie Boo (Remaster 1991)
04 - If You Should Leave Me (Remaster 1991)
05 - Do You Remember (Remaster 1991)
06 - So Jah Jah Say (Remaster 1991)
07 - Jah Son Of Africa (Remaster 1991)
08 - Peace And Love In The Ghetto (Remaster 1991)
09 - Running Around With Tom Dick And Harry (Remaster 1991)
10 - I Got To Tell You Goodbye (Remaster 1991)
11 - Africa For The Africans (Remaster 1991)
12 - Runaway Girl (Live From The Lyceum,London,United Kingdom/1976 / Remaster
1991)
13 - Babylon Burning (Live)
14 - Chalice In The Palace (Remaster 1991)
15 - Wear You To The Ball (Remaster 1991)

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