“By the time Black Uhuru had linked with producer JoJo Hookim they had already released their debut album, cut for Prince Jammy. Within, the group covered Bob Marley’s ‘Natural Mystic,’ which was subsequently spun off as a single. It was not a great success, as Jammy’s bright, melodic productions, while enjoyable, did not really suit the group’s vision. Hookim now had the group tackle a second Marley-penned song, ‘Sun Is Shining,’ to much more effect. The producer had a sparser sound, much less reliant on melody, which in a way, foreshadowed Sly & Robbie’s later even more militant productions with Uhuru. While both producers used the Revolutionaries as their backing band, Hookim placed the rhythm section upfront in the mix, and the taut beats, clopping percussion, and a fat bass line all power the single. A riffing guitar reverberates in the background, a lush organ slinks through with a haunting passage, a piano enters this bleak vista and plays a few bars. Stepping into this melancholy landscape Black Uhuru, or more accurately, Black Sounds Uhuru, as they were then known, give a performance that owed nothing to the Wailers, but does pay subtle homage to Motown. ‘Sun’ was one of a number of Black Uhuru songs which provided the template for the Waterhouse singing style, as Michael Rose forgoes pitch for passion. Behind him Ducky Simpson and Errol Nelson re-create the harmonies of the ’60s. It was a startling convergence of roots and pop, and while this 1979 single was only marginally more successful than their ones with Jammy, it signposted the way to their future sound and status.”
allmusic
YouTube: Sun Is Shining, Sun Is Shining Version 7″, Bob Marley – Sun Is Shining
Road Foggy 