About a month ago I had the opportunity to interview Earl Sixteen on his upcoming album Fittest of the Fittest. That effort is hopefully just as good as the Mikey Dread-produced album Reggae Sound, an album originally put out in 1981.
This long lost gem has now been reissued. And the label has put eight bonus dub cuts on the CD version, which is a real delight since the mixing – courtesy of Mervyn Williams, Mikey Dread and Scientist – is wicked and wild.
Earl Sixteen has recorded since the mid 70’s and he has worked with some of the greatest Jamaican producers, ranging from Joe Gibbs and Lee Perry to Coxsone Dodd and Augustus Pablo.
But this album showcases Earl Sixteen and Mikey Dread in their prime. The riddims are rougher than rough and the sound quality is excellent, most likely because the repress is made from the original master tapes.
The original ten tracks made this a great record and with the additional eight tracks it should belong in every record collection. Early dancehall doesn’t get any better than this original reggae sounds.
Reggaemani 
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