**Back In Stock**Yes, yes, yes! A very welcome reissue here from Melodies International of probably the rarest and most in demand of all the excellent compilations to emerge from Mad Professor's legendary Ariwa label over the years. Even if you're willing to splash the cash you'll have problems finding an OG copy of this (there hasn't been one for sale on Discogs for a while...)
Originally dating back to 1984 it contains an all killer no filler selection of early Ariwa productions from between 1979 and 1981 produced on a 4-track in Mad Professor's sitting room in Thornton Heath, south London. As with many of the other excellent Ariwa comps what makes this so special is that all the tracks on here are (to the best of my knowledge) exclusive to this release. Even Ranking Ann's excellent 'Moonlight Lover' features as a different version to the one that appears on her A Slice Of English Toast LP.
The biggest pull here is probably Deborah Glasgow's 'My Thing' which is pure lovers rock perfection and has appeared more and more in mixes and radio shows in recent years (and actually is the only track I think you can find on other subsequent reissues). However, as amazing as this track is, it's really worth stressing that this is most definitely not a one track comp. The whole thing is an absolute delight to listen to from start to finish and you can hear the roots of both the Prof's trademark dub and lovers rock sounds in these early productions and the slightly lo-fi production on it just adds to it's overall charm. Big tip!
Tracklist
A1 Errol Sly – Love In Your Heart
A2 Ranking Ann – Moonlight Lover
A3 Sergeant Pepper – It's You
A4 Deborah Glasgow – My Thing
B1 Victor Cross – Make Up
B2 Sergeant Pepper - Special Brew
B3 Rock A Way & Sister Audrey – It's A Shame
B4 Mad Professor & Sane Inmates – Sitting Room Dub