DENNIS BROWN

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Review written by Benoit Georges on Wednesday, September 03rd 2008 - 25 986 views Almost 10 years after his death, the release of a Dennis Brown reissue can still make news. Proof of this is "A little bit more", a 17 North Parade (VP) compilation gathering his best 12-inch singles (or "disco mixes") released on Joe Gibbs. Nostalgia comes first in front of this dream team, now gone: Joe Gibbs, the engineer Errol Thompson and Dennis Brown. In competition with Channel One in the late 70s, Joe Gibbs chose to use the same weapons: the same musicians, christened The Professionals (Sly & Robbie, Errol Nelson, Ansel Collins, Bobby Ellis, Vin Gordon or Tommy McCook, who were recording at the same time for Channel One as The Revolutionaries), the same format, the "disco mix", with its heavy bass, much appreciated by DJs, in which the main single is followed by its dub or deejay version. These deejays were regulars at Gibbs's, and not necessarily the most fashionable: the veterans Big Youth and Trinity, or more underground names such as the duo Kojak & Liza and (Little) U-Brown. It is no coincidence that Joe Gibbs released the largest number of these discs with Dennis Brown: a true golden goose, the "crown prince of reggae" hit the British charts several times with some of the titles presented here. Across the 12 extended versions, Dennis Brown appears at the peak of his art, even when tackling classic reggae versions (Equal rights by the Heptones, The man next door by the Paragons, Girl I've got a date by Alton Ellis or Say what you say by Eric "Monty" Morris) or soul covers (Ain't that loving you by Luther Ingram on Studio One's Pressure and slide riddim). And what can be said about the British hit How can I leave, the prison-themed Three meals a day, the evergreen Your love's got a hold on me on the Heavenless riddim, or I can't stand it on the Answer riddim? All the tracks have been reworked in a powerful "rockers" style, and the different orchestrations sound as fresh as on day one. Essential by definition, the disc pulls off the feat of being both a very good introduction for those who want to discover this great singer and a collector's item for aficionados.

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