Late contender for reissue of the year here from Berlin based Sound Metaphor's Miss You imprint. If you already know about this album then you'll understand why I'm so excited about this release and if you don't know about it then you're in for a real treat...
This is the last album (released posthumously in 1997) from legendary keyboardist Jackie Mittoo, one of the most important, prolific and influential musicians in reggae's history. Recorded in Accra with local Ghanaian musicians whilst Jackie was on tour with Musical Youth in 1985 the recordings were then brought back to the UK where they were mixed to perfection by dub maestro Paul 'Groucho' Smykle. The results are nothing short of spectacular - a potent mix of Mittoo's keyboard genius, West African vibrancy and UK dubwise experimentation. A very special record...
The stature and reputation of this record has been steadily growing over the last few years where it has moved from 'undiscovered gem' to 'highly coveted Discogs trophy' (with an associated rarity and price tag that goes with that) making this reissue more welcome than ever.
It's also a really good example of how to do a reissue the right way in that it actually improves on the original release by this time spreading the tracks helpfully in an uncluttered fashion across two pieces of vinyl and also including for the first time on vinyl four additional remixes that were previously only ever available on the CD version.
Thank you Sound Metaphors - Christmas has come early!
Tracklist
A1 Play For The Prisoners
A2 Gaffer With Cedis
A3 Major T-BAY Loves Girls
B1 Shake a Leg High Life
B2 One Touch
B3 African Thriller
B4 Lonely Nights of Lome
C1 All Night in Accra
C2 Jah Bless Africa
C3 No Show in Togo
D1 Thrilla (Night of the Assasin) (Remix)
D2 Midnight in Accra (Remix)
D3 No Show in Togo (Remix)
D4 Where Did Major Go (Remix)