Linton Kwesi Johnson - Reggae Greats (1984) Reissue 1997
EAC | FLAC | Tracks (Cue&Log) ~ 225 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 93 Mb | Scans ~ 73 Mb
Dub Poetry, Reggae | Label: Spectrum Music | # 552 881-2 | Time: 00:40:36
EAC | FLAC | Tracks (Cue&Log) ~ 225 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 93 Mb | Scans ~ 73 Mb
Dub Poetry, Reggae | Label: Spectrum Music | # 552 881-2 | Time: 00:40:36
Culled from Johnson's albums for Mango recorded between 1978-1984, this is a distillation of work by the dub poet and the man who has perhaps been England's greatest contributor to reggae. While the great "Reggae Fi Peach" doesn't make it on here, and nor, even more surprisingly, does his excoriating immigrant tale "Inglan Is a Bitch," there are still plenty of gems in the album's 40 minutes, like "Independant Intavenshan" and "Sonny's Lettah (Anti-Sus Poem)," which might still stand as his best-ever track. Working in a sing-speak Jamaican patois, Johnson never pulls his punches, and why should he? He's seen plenty and experienced plenty at the hands of the English. The country might be his home, but that doesn't mean he can't see its myriad faults. The combination of Johnson's words and delivery with Dennis Bovell's production and leadership of the dub band is an almighty one-two punch, always going for the knockout blow, and the very best British reggae has had to offer: political, powerful, and penetrating.
