LITTLE JOHN

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Review written by Alexandre Tonus on Monday, February 18th 2008 - 11 418 views Recently launched by VP Records (news of 21/12/2007), the 17 North Parade label is dedicated to reissues from the prestigious Randy's Studio catalogue. This new label itself houses three collections, including Reggae Rewind, which looks back at the essential reggae albums, in remastered and sometimes previously unreleased CD versions. Such is the case with this 'Ghetto Youth' by Little John. Born in 1970, John McMorris gets his nickname from the fact that he recorded his first single at the age of 9 (51 storm, on the I'm just a guy riddim, for Sugar Minott's Black Roots label, ed.) and was already a star at 17. It was producer Henry 'Junjo' Lawes who produced 'Ghetto Youth' for his Jah Guidance label in 1983, when Little John was only 13, and it was the Roots Radics who took care of the instrumental backing. It is therefore no surprise that this album sounds as good as it could and that there is not a weak track on it. Little John's strong point lies unquestionably in his singing and in the palette of voices at his disposal. The finest examples are English cowboy, Searchin' everyday and Time longer than rope, on which his highly nasal voice oscillates between roots reggae and lovers rock with disconcerting ease. A forerunner of the singjays, considered by many to be one of the first dancehall singers, Little John has always appealed with his ability to adapt his singing effortlessly to all the remixed versions of classic riddims that were rife in the 1980s. Left me slim thing on the Three blind mice, Long dread locks on the Revolution, I'm gonna make you mine on the Baby I love you, I love you Jah Jah on the Heptones gonna fight, Gal a mad over me on the You should have known and the bonus track United we stand divided we fall on the Silhouette are all irrefutable proof. The same goes for Dancehall style, which takes the riddim of Don Carlos's Hey Mr. Babylon in a bewitching extended version. A quality reissue of one of his major albums, ideal for (re)familiarising yourself with part of the repertoire of this far too little-known and yet oh-so-talented singer.

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