Blow Mr. Hornsman blow – Dean Fraser pays tribute to Dennis Brown

Sax veteran Dean Fraser has released his first solo album in twelve years. On Melodies of D.E.B. he pays tribute to the late and great Dennis Brown, aka the Crown Prince of Reggae.

Together with producer Tad Dawkins Jr this 60-year-old saxophonist – who also serves as musical director for Tarrus Riley’s band Black Soil Band – have recorded instrumental versions of some of Dennis Brown’s greatest musical treasures, including Cassandra, Ghetto Girl, Sitting and Watching and the stunning West Bound Train.

Dean Fraser played with Dennis Brown back in the days and supported him both in studio and on tour with Lloyd Parks and We the People Band. And his interpretations of these Dennis Brown classics are well-rounded and balanced, i.e. not too slick, which can sometimes be the case with instrumental albums.

Survivor is another solid EP from Marla Brown

The late and great Dennis Brown’s daughter Marla Brown comes forward with another solid EP. Survivor includes six cuts, of which two are combinations – one with Indonesia’s Ras Muhamad and one with Jamaica’s  Hempress Sativa.

Survivor is all about self-motivation, faith and especially family and unity, which is celebrated through a heartfelt and triumphant homage to her own mother Yvonne Brown. Mumma Knows Best is up-tempo and melodic with catchy hooks and powerful backing vocals.

Marla Brown continues to impress with youthful energy, thoughtful messages and confident singing.

Loving tribute to Dennis Brown

Jamaican legendary vocalist Dennis Brown is my all-time favourite singer, so when I heard about a new tribute compilation dedicated to his works I was somewhat sceptic. Why mess with perfection so to say. But after listening to the 30 tracks I realized I couldn’t be more wrong. We Remember Dennis Brown is a superb and loving tribute to an icon that has been dubbed both Boy Wonder and The Crown Prince of Reggae.

Dennis Brown’s music and influence as a singer is unmeasurable. He voiced his first recording at the tender age of eleven and before turning 16 he had worked with some of Jamaica’s top singers and producers. In the 70s he was on a creative high and put out hit after hit, equally at ease with both romance and social commentary. For about three decades Dennis Brown was the most popular singer in Jamaica – yes, more popular than Bob Marley – and created a truckload of reggae classics.

During his much too short lifetime – he passed in 1999 only 42 years old – he recorded extensively and has a capacious catalogue. And from this treasure chest seasoned producer Clive Hunt has dug to create this emotional and passionate tribute, which collects timeless classics and lesser-known gems.

The two discs are largely divided into culture and romance and showcase a wide and impressive range of voices from both Jamaica and abroad. And some of the songs were premiered already in February – Dennis Brown’s birthday month – including Caress Me from Romain Virgo, Milk & Honey by roots reggae rockers Raging Fyah and Bloody City from soulful songstress Jah9.

The songs on We Remember Dennis Brown lie close to the originals and Clive Hunt hasn’t aimed at create a new sound for these masterpieces, something that appeals to huge Dennis Brown fans like myself. And some of the tracks actually sound like the originals, but with a more powerful soundscape, and no one can deny Dennis Brown’s influence on a singer like Bushman, who successfully covers the militant Don’t Want To Be No General.

There are many bright moments and highlights and best of the bunch is Yahsha’s version of the devout The Existence of Jah, which originally appeared on Dennis Brown’s major label debut Foul Play, a set co-produced by Clive Hunt back in 1981. I’ve actually had this song on repeat several times.

Hopefully this compilation will reach both previous fans and find a large number of new ones. Dennis Brown’s greatness and relevance can’t be overstated and even though 30 tracks make a hefty compilation there’s much more to discover.

Promising debut EP from Dennis Brown’s daughter Marla Brown

The late reggae icon Dennis Brown is one of Jamaica’s finest talents and was described as the Crown Prince of Reggae, but unfortunately he never reached the heights of international stardom like Bob Marley and Peter Tosh did.

Now Dennis Brown’s youngest daughter Marla Brown – a trained dancer – carries his legacy forward. Her debut recording as solo singer, the uplifting Better Days, on Royal Order Music’s Smart riddim, was dropped earlier this year.

Her debut EP was recently put out. On the cover sleeve Marla Brown floats on a sea of vinyl, including albums from her father, Bunny Wailer and Tiger. Her EP is however far from vintage. Deliverance is contemporary hard-hitting reality reggae with guest appearances from her peers Runkus and Kabaka Pyramid.

A variety of producers have been involved, but it sounds surprisingly cohesive with Marla Brown’s light and honey-coated singing about morality, her father, the climate and a brighter future.

Marla Brown has taken the moniker The Crown Princess of Reggae. That comes with great expectations for the future and Deliverance is certainly promising.

Dennis Brown’s best according to Blood and Fire board

The late Jamaican singer Dennis Brown has been one of my favorite singers ever since I started listening to reggae. He’s one of Jamaica’s most beloved and prolific artists, and has often been referred to as The Crown Prince of Reggae, following the lineage of Bob Marley, who is by far the most successful reggae artist to date.

During Dennis Brown’s far too short lifetime – he died only 42 years old following hard use of cocaine – he cut a myriad of romantic hits and rootsy masterpieces.

Like many other Jamaican singers and musicians he started his career at Studio One with producer Coxsone Dodd, with whom he cut his first hit song No Man is an Island in the late 60s, only eleven years old.

He later moved on and started a fruitful musical relationship with Winston “Niney” Holness, but during his 30 years in the business he also worked with a plethora of different producers, including Phil Pratt, Bunny Lee, Joe Gibbs, Sly & Robbie and Augustus “Gussie” Clarke. He also ventured into self-production and started his own label in the late 70s.

In his early 20s Dennis Brown was a legend with major tunes like Africa, Here I Come, Westbound Train and Money in My Pocket. He had a strong reputation in Jamaica and abroad and only lacked an international smash hit, and the deal with major label A&M in the early 80s might have been his ticket to Bob Marley-like stardom. Unfortunately his albums for the label didn’t match his earlier output. They were too slick and polished.

Dennis Brown was an extremely consistent singer equally at ease with both romantic and conscious material, and the list of powerful roots classics and silky ballads could go on and on and on.

He left behind a rich musical legacy, and at the Blood and Fire board there’s a discussion about the difficulties selecting only ten Dennis Brown favorites. Some have presented their ten, 12 or 20 favorites.

Reggaemani has taken the liberty to compile the selection into a Spotify playlist, including my own top ten, presented below. Not all of the tracks selected on the forum are available on Spotify, but the great majority is actually included, with respect to the fact that it could be the wrong version, since Dennis Brown – just as many other reggae artists – recorded a string of versions of one particular tune.

You can check the lists on the Blood and Fire board here and Reggaemani’s Spotify playlist can be downloaded and listened to here.

Reggaemani’s top ten Dennis Brown (in no particular order)

The Creator
Drifter (Live at Montreux Jazz Festival)
No More Will I Roam
Created by the Father
Milk and Honey
Ghetto Girl
Musical Heatwave
Deliverance Will Come
Words of Wisdom
Rasta Children

New reggae compilation celebrates Africa

A new compilation from reggae powerhouse VP Records celebrates the kinship and inspiration that Africa has given reggae music.

Some of the industry’s greatest voices and biggest artists pay tribute on Reggae Loves Africa, a twelve track collection including classic cuts with themes of liberation and repatriation sung by the likes of Buju Banton, Warrior King, Queen Ifrica, Luciano, Freddie McGregor, Beres Hammond, Dennis Brown and Tarrus Riley.

Reggae Loves Africa presents Africa’s history and its modern day struggles. It’s conscious reggae with messages of upliftment and hope. It drops in the UK on July 14 and the rest of Europe on July 20, not including France though, where fans have to wait until August 25.

Five reggae superstars in a box

Dennis Brown was on top of his game in the mid to late 70s and he put out more than a handful of excellent albums, including Joseph’s Coat of Many Colours, Words of Wisdom and Visions of Dennis Brown.

But this esteemed singer also dropped great material in the 80s and 90s, as shown on the brand new four disc box set Dennis Brown & Superstar Friends. It collects four original combination albums released between 1984 and 1993 – Judge Not and No Contest with Gregory Isaacs, Legit with Freddie McGregor and Cocoa Tea and Hotter Flames with Frankie Paul.

Augustus “Gussie” Clarke was responsible for production on Judge Not, No Contest and Legit. These collect solo and duo tracks as well as several discomixes, discomixes that showcase the crisp and sharp hi-tech riddims that became Gussie Clarke’s trademark.

Hotter Flames – produced by Patrick Roberts and Andre Tyrell aka Shocking Vibes – is rawer and more rugged compared to Gussie Clarke’s slick, yet with an edge, style.

Included is no less than 38 tracks, and highlights include the massive Gregory Isaacs combination Let off the Supm, To the Foundation, No Camouflage, Big All Around, Bone Lies and a nice take of Bob Marley’s Natural Mystic.

This set is a proper showdown where the Crown Prince of Reggae teams up with four of his superstar friends to make music for your ears and listening pleasure.

Four superstars showcased on new King Jammy box set

Successful producer, engineer and label owner Prince Jammy, later King Jammy, has recently earned himself two collector’s box sets on reggae powerhouse VP Records. One of them – Rootsman Vibrations at King Jammy’s – was reviewed by Reggaemani only a week ago.

The second set is titled Vocal Superstars at King Jammy’s. And the title doesn’t lie. The four album box set collects one album each from Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, Horace Andy and Sugar Minott. These are some of Jamaica’s most gifted and celebrated singers, and unfortunately Horace Andy is the only one still alive.

This set isn’t as cohesive as Rootsman Vibrations. Or it has one main oddity – Sugar Minott’s Bitter Sweet. A great album in every aspect, but it’s an organic roots album with live instrumentation put out in 1979. The other three albums – Dennis Brown’s History aka The Exit, Gregory Isaacs’ Come Along and Horace Andy’s Haul and Jack-Up – were originally released in the mid to late 80s and have a completely different sound – sparse, computerized and digital with drum machines and synths.

All albums bear King Jammy’s signature sweet reggae sound and even though none of them are regarded as a classic these days, they still sound strong and the box set showcases the shift from analogue reggae to digital dancehall.

Another rock-solid set of soulful reggae from Lloyd Brown

On UK veteran soul and reggae singer Lloyd Brown’s 16th studio album he presents a smorgasbord of vintage and modern urban reggae styles fused with vintage and contemporary soul and R&B.

Lloyd Brown is a traditional, confident and reliable singer, much like some of his contemporaries, including Glen Washington, Richie Stephens and Nerious Joseph. His featherlike, seductive and smooth singing is particularly well-suited for romancing ballads, but he is equally at home with both heavier and more up-tempo styles.

New Veteran is – just like some of his most recent output – released on his own imprint Riddimworks and based on the work from a number of different producers, including himself. And this makes New Veteran a bit non-cohesive, but that is not necessarily a bad thing since there isn’t a weak moment. The other day I actually listened to the album for three hours straight.

Lloyd Brown has always been fond of both covers and combinations and this 15 track set is no exception. He has invited veterans and newcomers alike coming from the reggae, dancehall, soul and hip-hop arenas, including soul diva Kele Le Roc, teenage dancehall sensation Shanti Force, Jamaican singjay Tanya Stephens, guitar virtuoso Junior Marvin, UK hip-hop artist Mystro, an excellent unknown soul singer called Mikie Blak and the the late Dennis Brown on a cover version of the Eagles’ mid 70s smash hit Lyin’ Eyes.

The album is currently only available on iTunes, a distribution tactic I’m not particularly fond of. The sound is a bit thin due to the hard compression and it’s better for the consumer to be able to choose their favorite platform instead of being obliged to use this poor outlet.

Lloyd Brown shows why he’s one of the most reliable forces in reggae

Lloyd Brown is one of the most reliable and consistent artists from the UK, and this year he celebrates 30 years in the music business with the aptly titled 20 track album 30, his 15th full-length album.

During his long career he has been singing in the band Sweet Distortion, been a pivotal figure on the British lovers rock scene and for the past 15 years or so he has released several eclectic, but mostly reggae-based, albums.

30 is more or less a reggae album, even though there are other influences, mostly from soul and R&B, and Lloyd Brown has for example invited Julie Payne for a cover version of Philly vocal group The Three Degrees’ international smash hit When Will I See You Again.

On several albums Lloyd Brown has paid respect to Bob Marley by doing both covers as well as versions, and 30 is no exception since he utilizes the classic Could You Be Loved riddim for his marvelous Catch the Feeling. He also pays tribute to the late Dennis Brown, a little less unsung hero compared to Bob Marley.

Lloyd Brown’s tender and delicate voice is always a pleasure and 30 also boasts a number of tasty relicks of reggae and rocksteady riddims complete with exquisite musicianship, particularly the horns arrangements and the airy guitar solo in Right There.

United Reggae’s Angus Taylor once wrote that Lloyd Brown is a cert for every best album of the year list, and I have a feeling 30 is a strong contender for this year’s list.