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Like all of the Island releases in the "an introduction to" series covering artists that actually did some-to-much non-Island recording, this isn't a complete career survey, but an extraction of highlights from the artist's Island catalog. In Sly & Robbie's case, that means 14 tracks from the late '70s to the mid-'80s, only three of which are actually billed to Sly & Robbie (though another is billed to Sly Dunbar as a soloist). For this rhythm section were and are more known as session musicians and a production team, and this also features ten Sly & Robbie productions of other artists, including tracks by reggae stars Black Uhuru, Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, Junior Delgado, the Mighty Diamonds, and Sugar Minott, as well as lesser-known reggae singers Jimmy Riley, the Rolands, the Tamlins, and the Wailing Souls. As a consequence, this doesn't really have the kind of unified sound expected of single-artist compilations, though roughly speaking a solid, thick bass sound, crunching percussion, and percolating electronics are constant. Because a bunch of big names are here and because Sly & Robbie were top-notch producers, this does serve as a reasonable sampler of reggae in general in the first half of the 1980s, particularly on the best material, like Dennis Brown's "Hold on to What You Got" and the Wailing Souls' "Sweet Sugar Plum Plum." Less kindly, it also charts the beginning of reggae's move from its roots sound of the 1970s into a slicker, more programmed vibe, and the three Sly & Robbie tracks veer closer to disco and urban contemporary dance-pop than to the reggae that gave them their foundation.
© Richie Unterberger /TiVo
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Lister, Producer, Executive Producer - Sly Dunbar, Producer, Executive Producer - Michael Rose, ComposerLyricist - Black Uhuru, MainArtist - Robbie Shakespeare, Producer, Executive Producer
℗ 1980 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Sly Dunbar, Producer - Dennis Brown, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Robbie Shakespeare, Producer
℗ 1986 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Sly Dunbar, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Robbie Shakespeare, Producer
℗ 1982 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Sly Dunbar, Producer - Gregory Isaacs, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Robbie Shakespeare, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Lowell Dunbar, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1981 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Sly Dunbar, Producer - Junior Delgado, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Robbie Shakespeare, Producer
℗ 1980 UMG Recordings, Inc.
U Brown, ComposerLyricist - JACKIE MITTOO, ComposerLyricist - The Mighty Diamonds, MainArtist - Ogilvie Fitzroy Simpson, ComposerLyricist - Leroy Sibbles, ComposerLyricist - Robert Lyn, ComposerLyricist - Lloyd Anthony Ferguson, ComposerLyricist - Headley Bennett, ComposerLyricist - Augustus "Gussie" Clarke, Producer
℗ 1982 Island Records, a division of Universal Music Operations Limited
Sly Dunbar, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Sugar Minott, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Robbie Shakespeare, Producer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1984 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Steven Stanley, Editor, StudioPersonnel - Curtis Mayfield, ComposerLyricist - Sly Dunbar, Producer, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Sky Juice, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Chico Hamilton, Horn, AssociatedPerformer - Ansel Collins, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Dean Frazer, Horn, AssociatedPerformer - Jimmy Riley, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Clive Hunt, Horn, AssociatedPerformer - Mikey Chung, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Robbie Shakespeare, Producer - The Tamlins, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Lyn, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Dennis Halliburton, StudioPersonnel, Assistant Editor - Lancelot McKenzie, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Robert Shakespeare, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Ossie Hibbert, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Rad Bryan, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Ronald Robinson, Horn, AssociatedPerformer - Cedrica Hamilton, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ernest Hookim, Mixer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1981 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Unknown, ComposerLyricist - The Rolands, MainArtist - Big Tanka, Producer
℗ 1982 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Sly Dunbar, ComposerLyricist - Sly & Robbie, MainArtist - Bill Laswell, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Bernie Worrell, ComposerLyricist - Robbie Shakespeare, ComposerLyricist - Aasim Khaylan Bambaata, ComposerLyricist - Material, Producer
℗ 1985 UMG Recordings, Inc.
William Earl Collins, ComposerLyricist - Sly Dunbar, ComposerLyricist - Sly & Robbie, MainArtist - Jason Corsaro, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Bill Laswell, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Shinehead, FeaturedArtist, ComposerLyricist - Robbie Shakespeare, ComposerLyricist - Robert Musso, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1987 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Leroy Bonner, ComposerLyricist - Marshall Jones, ComposerLyricist - Ralph Middlebrooks, ComposerLyricist - Marvin Pierce, ComposerLyricist - Clarence Satchell, ComposerLyricist - William Beck, ComposerLyricist - Sly & Robbie, MainArtist - Bill Laswell, Producer - Jim Williams, ComposerLyricist - Material, Producer
℗ 1987 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Sly Dunbar, Producer - Barrett Strong, ComposerLyricist - Norman Whitfield, ComposerLyricist - Robbie Shakespeare, Producer - The Tamlins, MainArtist
℗ 1980 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Sly Dunbar, Producer - Wailing Souls, MainArtist - Robbie Shakespeare, Producer - Winston Matthews, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1981 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Album review
Like all of the Island releases in the "an introduction to" series covering artists that actually did some-to-much non-Island recording, this isn't a complete career survey, but an extraction of highlights from the artist's Island catalog. In Sly & Robbie's case, that means 14 tracks from the late '70s to the mid-'80s, only three of which are actually billed to Sly & Robbie (though another is billed to Sly Dunbar as a soloist). For this rhythm section were and are more known as session musicians and a production team, and this also features ten Sly & Robbie productions of other artists, including tracks by reggae stars Black Uhuru, Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, Junior Delgado, the Mighty Diamonds, and Sugar Minott, as well as lesser-known reggae singers Jimmy Riley, the Rolands, the Tamlins, and the Wailing Souls. As a consequence, this doesn't really have the kind of unified sound expected of single-artist compilations, though roughly speaking a solid, thick bass sound, crunching percussion, and percolating electronics are constant. Because a bunch of big names are here and because Sly & Robbie were top-notch producers, this does serve as a reasonable sampler of reggae in general in the first half of the 1980s, particularly on the best material, like Dennis Brown's "Hold on to What You Got" and the Wailing Souls' "Sweet Sugar Plum Plum." Less kindly, it also charts the beginning of reggae's move from its roots sound of the 1970s into a slicker, more programmed vibe, and the three Sly & Robbie tracks veer closer to disco and urban contemporary dance-pop than to the reggae that gave them their foundation.
© Richie Unterberger /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 14 track(s)
- Total length: 01:05:27
- Main artists: Sly & Robbie
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: UMC (Universal Music Catalogue)
- Genre: Pop/Rock Pop
© 2003 Universal Music Operations ℗ 2003 Universal Music Operations
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