The Blind Boys of Alabama – Higher Ground (2002)
On the follow-up to their Grammy-winning album Spirit of the Century, the three gospel-singing septuagenarians celebrate the holy side of secular songs in hopes of connecting with “the generations that are behind us,” as founding member Clarence Fountain put it. Always alert to the potent message of God’s mightiness, they exuberantly spiritualize the Stevie Wonder title track and Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready,” as well as choice picks from the songbooks of Prince (“The Cross”), George Clinton (“You and Your Folks,” grafted onto the 23rd Psalm!), Ben Harper (“I Shall Not Walk Alone”), and others (Harper guests on three tracks). A few uplifting traditional gospel numbers turn up, too. Throughout the program, Blind Boy Jimmy Carter’s stirring tenor voice is a minor miracle. And “sacred steel” guitarist Robert Randolph and his Family Band are important to the success of the album, supplying genuine fervor to grooves that complement the elders’ heaven-bound vocals. –Frank-John Hadley
Average White Band – Show Your Hand (1973)
What eventually becomes known as the White Album is recorded for MCA in Los Angeles, but MCA rejects it. Undeterred, the band discovers that Jerry Wexler from Atlantic Records is in town, they crash his party and play him the album. In his book The Rhythm And The Blues Wexler says “They hit me where I lived, their tape was great and I wanted to sign them on the spot!”
Arif Mardin is assigned producer and asks for two more songs. (‘Nothing You Can Do’ and You Got It’) are written before flying down to start recording at Miami’s Criteria Studios.
Easy Star All-Stars - Dub Side of the Moon (2003)
Talk about high concept: this project features the house band of noted New York reggae label Easy Star covering Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon in the same sequence and in recognizable but reggae fashion. Here, the All Stars turn Floyd’s strangely surreal world even stranger and more surreal, adorning the English band’s dark psychedelic music with slow reggae beats and head-spinning dub-style production that is both inspired and effective. “Money” opens with the sound of bong hits and coughing instead of the cash register, then grooves to a reggae beat as guitar and organ churn out the classic riff–there’s even the signatory sax break in the middle. The group hits it just right on “Great Gig In The Sky,” retaining the soaring gospel voice, while the remake of the chiming bells on “Time” reveals a bit of irreverent humor. Tearing away at the alienation of the original, this infusion of new personality makes it all work, elevating the album’s concept from the half-baked to visionary. –Tad Hendrickson
The Skatalites – Foundation of Ska
As fans are well aware, although the Skatalites only officially existed for a mere 14 months or so, the bandmembers’ impact on Jamaican music extended far beyond that brief period into the rocksteady era and then the reggae era and beyond, and stretching back into the island’s pre-recording days. In various aggregations, the musicians played on vast swathes of songs throughout the ’60s, and during the ska years virtually everything that was put on disc featured at least a couple of the men. Foundation Ska delves deeply into this era, exclusively with the group’s work for Coxsone Dodd. A good number of the tracks predate the group’s official launch, and even then the Studio One head oftentimes preferred to release their singles credited to the composer and/or the main soloist. Thus, although all 32 of the songs within were recorded by the band, many of them never appeared under the group’s name. Helpfully, the sleeve notes provide an excellent background piece on the island’s early music scene, as well as an exceptional biography of the band drawn from interviews with group members. Best of all, though, the individual soloists are listed for each song, a boon for those desperate to tell the saxophonists’ work apart. While instrumentals are the main thrust of the set, five vocal tracks are also featured, a potent reminder of the group’s equally crucial work behind the singers. Sadly, Skatalites’ vocalist Lord Tanamo seems never to have recorded for Dodd during the ska age, but you do get a scorching number from another one of the band’s singers, Jackie Opel, as well as a fabulous duet from Opel and Doreen Schaffer, who also sang live with the group. Filled to the brim with classic after classic — “Don-De-Lion,” “Eastern Standard Time,” “Silver Dollar,” “Scandal Ska,” “Occupation,” and so many, many more, just try to find a weak track within. Foundation Ska isn’t the definitive set; fans still need to hear their equally masterful material from Treasure Isle, never mind the spectacular numbers they cut for the Yap brothers, but nonetheless this is a stunning and essential set. ~ Jo-Ann Greene, All Music Guide
