Super Reggae & Soul Hits in Bloomington, MN

Dennis Brown
was only 15 when he recorded 1973's
Super Reggae and Soul Hits
for producer
Derrick Harriott
, and while the young Jamaican singer would go on to bigger and better things, this early LP has an easy charm that spotlights
Brown
's nascent songwriting and his trademark smooth, unhurried vocal style. The original LP included a classic
original,
"Concentration,"
which opened the set, as well as a bouncing cover of
the Rays
'
"Silhouettes"
that was a huge island hit, and covers of songs like
Jimmy Webb
's
"Wichita Lineman"
which were, in hindsight, probably more interesting than they were successful, and a near definitive version of
Van McCoy
"Let Me Down Easy,"
all filled out with superb and soulful backing tracks. Here
Trojan
has reissued the entire original album with an additional seven bonus tracks consisting of some of those backing tracks with the vocals removed, some
dub
variations, and the intriguing
"Dock of the Bay"
by
Big Youth
, which features
Youth
's restructuring of the
Otis Redding
hit done over the rhythm
Harriott
fashioned for
's version of
"Silhouettes,"
which aptly demonstrates the Jamaican penchant for recycling rhythms and tracks into new, different, and surprising shapes.
went on to work with countless producers and had many big Jamaican hits, but he was never quite as innocent sounding as he was on these tracks, and
's production gives them all a timeless insularity. ~ Steve Leggett