Various
Artists
Jonny Greenwood is the controller
As
part of legendary reggae label Trojan’s 40th anniversary
celebrations, they have collected a series of popular musicians
to offer up their selection from the Trojan vaults.
Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood describes the opportunity as
‘an honour’, which is a given considering that when
selecting from Trojan’s back catalogue you really can’t
fail to put your name to an inspirational compilation.
Greenwood’s selection, whilst missing some of the pivotal
early ska sounds, covers the depth and breadth of Jamaican music.
As ‘controller’ Greenwood illustrates the sounds that
have reverberated world-wide, consistently changing the sound
of music.
The real beauty of this release (and undoubtedly the other ‘controller’
releases to come) is that this is not just ‘another’
reggae collection, but a mix picking classics and obscurities
to express what has influenced the compiler.
Although, this release will not offer anything new to collectors
of the genre or Trojan it is a great introduction to the wealth
of great reggae sounds, and should turn Radiohead fans onto a
whole new musical universe.
The ground-breaking sonic manipulation of the dub pioneers is
heavily represented (would some of the sounds heard on Radiohead’s
more experimental work been possible without it?), the pick being
Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s mesmerising and strangely
soulful ‘Bionic Rats’. The works of Gregory Isaacs,
and Scientist and Jammy confirm the influence of dub on modern
music.
Mainstream reggae sounds are represented on opener ‘Dread
are the controller’ by Linval Thompson and the 12”
version of the wonderful ‘I’m Still In Love’
by Marcia Aitken (known by most as the basis for Donna & Althea's
80s smash-hit ‘Uptown Top Ranking’).
The brilliant rocksteady flow of ‘Beautiful & Dangerous’
by Desmond Dekkar & The Aces, is Jamaican music at its most
melodic and accessible, while the reggae re-working of ‘Fever’
by Junior Byles shows how Jamaican artists have always been able
to take classic tracks and turn them on their heads with amazing
results.
Jonny Greenwood is the controller captures the many faces of Trojan
records over their illustrious 40 year life, and in representing
the sounds of one islands insanely great musical output is a grand
addition to any record collection.
by
Chris Marks
