Number three in a series from
Soul Jazz Records
that also included the fantastic
100%
and
200%
,
300% Dynamite!
continues the exploration into the heart of Jamaican music. Compiled by
the Soul Jazz Sound System
, the set seamlessly blends musical eras across its 15 tracks. Therefore,
Wayne Smith
's vibrant, electronic-based hit
"Under Me Sleng Teng"
from 1985 is found sandwiched between the
roots
music of
Shark Wilson & the Basement Heaters
'
"Make It Reggae"
Toots & the Maytals
"Broadway Jungle."
The former weds a rugged
reggae
scratch to
hard soul
; the latter lays down an equally formidable groove and a series of junglistic animal imitations. Also included are Jamaican music kings
Lee "Scratch" Perry
Johnny Clarke
Jackie Mittoo
, and
Augustus Pablo
. For its diversity of production techniques, not to mention the sure gusto of its attack,
300%
is a window into a unique musical history. Drawing on American
soul
(
"Make It Reggae,"
Al Brown
's
"Here I Am"
), pop culture/mythology (
Randy's Allstars
' version of the
Mission: Impossible
theme,
Prince Buster
's hilarious
"Cincinatti Kid"
), and Jamaica's own
rocksteady
urban
slang, the music emits a unique combination of playfulness, cool, naivete, toughness, and fire. Given the obscurity of some of the material here, more extensive liner notes would be helpful (track information is nonexistent). Still, being forced to focus exclusively on the wonders of the music at hand is hardly a bad thing. In an age when reissues are continually uncovering every last obscurity,
Soul Jazz
has managed to point the way to further, under-explored terrain. ~ Nathan Bush