Already released by the Sankofa Blackstar label in 2005 (with an identical tracklisting), the Gladiators' Studio One singles are this time getting a release on Heartbeat, the label which shares Clement Dodd's catalogue with the precious Londoners of Soul Jazz. We go back here to the origins of the group that supplied the most hits in 1970s Jamaica behind the Wailers. Naturally, Albert Griffiths, the lead singer, is in charge of the lyrics, while his instrumental counterpart Clinton Fearon is cutting his teeth before going on to the career we know. History has its impenetrable twists: Clinton Fearon replaced David Webber just after the group's first success (Hello Carol), the latter suffering from mental illness in the manner of Don Drummond or Junior Byles..
This disc comprises about ten Gladiators tracks, paired with their dubs. Among them, a host of hits we all know, Bongo Red, Rearrange or Roots Natty, but these are not the same versions. This is the production of Sylvain Morris, Studio One's sound engineer. So yes, the famous refrains "Dreadlocks the time is now" and "Iman don't want to get mix-up" are there, but the instrumentals are considerably altered. Because most people only know these hits in their Virgin Front Line version, the label that signed the Gladiators in 1976 and made them popular. The gulf is as wide as between Lee Perry's versions of Catch A Fire and those of Chris Blackwell, mixed in London. Linton Kwesi Johnson, as a connoisseur, described the Wailers' album as "international reggae".
The same sonic treatment was applied to the tracks of Albert Griffith's band. LKJ again: "It incorporates elements from various international popular musics, rock, soul, blues, funk. These elements made it easier for the international market to accept. Instead of emphasising the bass-drum pairing, the mix of this album is higher-pitched, less heavy. The emphasis is rather placed on guitars and other supporting instruments." As a result, today, at every Gladiators concert, Albert Griffiths doesn't even have to tire himself singing the choruses. The audience knows the words by heart. We touch here on a profound evolution of reggae, shaped into pop by Anglo-Saxon sound engineers. Purists and Chris Blackwell can debate the subject indefinitely.
