Freddie Mcgregor - Bobby Babylon
Artist : Freddie Mcgregor
Album : Bobby Babylon
Year : 2006
Genre : Reggae
Source : CDDA
Label : heartbeat
CatNr : 7815-2
URL : n/a
Date : 19-05-2006
Quality : VBR
Size : 96,2 MB
Time : 69:12 min
01 bandulo 02:12
02 we need more love 02:36
03 what difference does it make 02:51
04 go away pretty girl 02:33
05 tomorrow is like today 03:30
06 bobby babylon 02:27
07 wine of violence 03:23
08 gonna take over now 02:22
09 rastaman camp 04:38
10 i am a revolutionist 03:35
11 freddie 03:05
12 homeward bound 02:53
13 little girl 02:26
14 when im ready,jacklyn(freddie and lone rang 07:19
15 come now sister 07:55
16 i man a rasta 03:24
17 rastaman camp(extended mix) 05:16
18 bobby babylon,one step beyond(freddie and j 06:47
Although Freddie McGregor began recording for Studio One in the '60s,
first as a member of the Clarendonians and subsequently as a solo artist
throughout the next decade, producer Coxsone Dodd didn't get around to
giving the singer a full-length until 1980. But it was well worth the
wait, for Bobby Bobylon was a classic. Half the album updates old
singles to great effect and the rest is new, in the Jamaican sense of
the word, for the numbers resurrected a clutch of Studio One gems that
were revised and given new lyrics. The island's rather unique publishing
laws ensured a musical free for all, and a new generation of
up-and-coming producers was gleefully and legally plundering the label's
archives. Dodd began hitting back in 1979, releasing a stream of
exceptional albums built on the back of his old rhythms, Bobby included.
The title track is an anthemic masterpiece, so infectious it's amazing
that Babylon itself survived its onslaught. "Rastaman Camp" was an equal
classic (as was the recut overseen by Niney Holness that McGregor
recorded for his eponymous album the year before). The sweet sermon on
"Wine of Violence" is nearly as magnificent, as is the sultry "I Am a
Revolutionist." The cover of the Ethiopians' "Gonna Take Over Now" is
phenomenal, the vocals as sweet and warm as cocoa, the bouncy backing
irresistible, while the emotive "Go Away Pretty Girl" is the standout
among the lovers numbers. Jamaicans couldn't resist these stellar
reworkings of old faves from the rocksteady and early reggae age.
McGregor's fabulous sense of melody, rich vocals, and emotive
performances both enhanced the lushness of the original melodies and
were enhanced by them, the perfect combination. No wonder this album was
a hit, and how wonderful that Heartbeat has now reissued it on CD