Horace Andy - Good Vibes (2017)

Horace Andy, an enormously popular reggae singer in the 1970s, enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in the late '90s, due in part to his extensive work with the British band Massive Attack. This has led, thankfully, to massive reissues of his earlier work, of which this is one of the better examples. Each of the ten tracks is presented in "discomix" style: The normal, vocal version comes first, and then segues seamlessly into the dub version. Those who have found his recent solo work under the aegis of Mad Professor to be a bit bloodless and overproduced will find this collection of 1970s singles refreshing. It starts out slow, with a disappointing piece of meta-reggae – reggae songs about how wonderful reggae is are rarely revelatory – but things pick up quickly with "Serious Thing" and the inevitable "Skylarking," and the momentum stays strong up to the end. Andy's high, almost girlish voice and weird vibrato may be an acquired taste for some, but he's worth the effort.

Tracklist:
01. Horace Andy - Reggae Rhythm / It's Gone Internationally
02. Horace Andy - Serious Thing / A Serious Version
03. Horace Andy - Skylarking / A Better Version
04. Horace Andy - Youths Of Today / Jah Youths
05. Horace Andy - Don't Let Problems Get You Down / No Problems
06. Horace Andy - Mr. Bassie (Discomix)
07. Horace Andy - Pure Ranking (Discomix)
08. Horace Andy - Good Vibes / Dub Vibes
09. Horace Andy - Control Yourself / Version Under Control
10. Horace Andy - Ital Vital / Ital Ites Dubwise
11. Horace Andy - Ital Vital (feat. Jah Bull)