Horace Andy – In the Light/In the Light Dub (1995)

“Regarded as one of reggae’s most distinctive voices, vocalist Horace Andy had wild success early on with his career-defining single ‘Skylarking’ as well as a host of other hits. As far as full-length statements are concerned, Andy’s 1977 album In the Light may be his strongest. The album’s ten tracks found Andy’s quivering vocals floating in a dreamlike tension above tightly wound rocksteady rhythms, looming darkly on pensive tracks like ‘Problems’ (a tune that revisits the burning bassline from one of Andy’s earlier hits, ‘Mr. Bassie’), exploding on fun jaunts like ‘Do You Love My Music,’ and lingering meditatively on the lighthearted anthem of self-awareness and cultural pride that is the title track. Understated synthesizers and a simmering rock & roll-minded production denote the evolution roots reggae was undergoing year to year by the late ’70s, showing up on the especially swaggering ‘Collie Herb. … Skillfully remastered and even stronger with both originals and dubs occupying the same space, In the Light/In the Light Dub is a triumph of roots reggae and a necessary chapter for anyone even remotely enthusiastic about Jamaican music and culture, especially at this critical point of reggae’s evolution in the late ’70s.”
allmusic
“Now re-released some 18 years after their initial pressing on the late Everton DaSilva’s Hungry Town label and having been unavilable for well over a decade, these two albums are truly forgotten classics of the reggae music. At the time they were recorded, Horace was 27 years old and had just relocated to New York, where DaSilva was also based. Undoubtedly he was at the peak of his career, having debuted for producer Phil Pratt in 1966 before exploding onto the scene with a string of unforgettable tunes for the likes of Studio One, Derrick Harriot, Leonard ‘Santic’ Chin, Keith Hudson and of course Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee among others. Despite residing in America Horace was still freelancing and recording at Channel One in Kingston on a regular basis, and these sessions feature some of Jamaica’s finest musicians in the shape of Augustus Pablo, Leroy ‘Horsemouth’ Wallace and Former Heptone Leroy Sibbles. The overall sound is rich and dense, the crunching rhythms enhanced by magnificent sprays of horns and occasionaly (as on the opening ‘Do You Love My Music) biting lead guitar. …”
Blood and Fire
Spotify
YouTube: In The Light + Dub, Prince Jammy – Government Dub, Government Land + Dub, Rome, Do You Love My Music

Bim Sherman meets Horace Andy and U black – In A Rub A Dub Style (1979)

“Originally released in 1982, this killer slab combines the talents of two of reggae’s greatest male vocalists: the smoking DJ and producer Jah Whoosh, and Prince Jammy at Studio 1 and King Tubby’s. Not that any other recommendation is necessary, but while we’re at it, all of the tracks are eerie and atmospheric in soulful dub style, played by Leroy Wallace, Sly Dunbar, Errol Flabba Holt, Bingy Bunny, Ansel Collins, and others. Of the ten tracks here, six feature the A-sides with the combined dub flipsides tacked onto the ends. It works like a charm. A clear standout is Bim Sherman’s opener, ‘It Must Be a Dream,’ with the dubwise elements added after his extended vocal, including a killer trombone solo by Vincent Gordon. Horace Andy’s babymaker ‘Tonight’ is the dub version, but there’s enough of his utterly sensual vocal to make the dread elements of dub come through in the track’s eroticism. ‘Dread Pan Some’ and its dub feature U. Black and Andy interweaving their vocals together. Black’s DJ toasting style is not as radically in your face as some of his predecessors, though it’s just as effective in this context. This collection culls some rare tracks, and places them in a sequence that maximizes the dubwise trance elements and possesses true dread force. Recommended.”
allmusic
Discogs
YouTube: Bim Sherman meets Horace Andy and U black – In A Rub A Dub Style

Horace Andy – Slave Drive (1975)

“Now here’s something you don’t see every day. Although Horace Andy did record in the Gibbs’ studio every now and then, not much of the result ended up on any of the studio’s imprints. The great foundation singer’s releases on Gibbs are few and far between, but definitely worth checking out. If anything, Slave Drive(r) is ample proof of that. After the fierce countdown, Slave Drive immediately bursts into a mean, driving and well heavy roots version of Alton Ellis’ Rocksteady. Obviously, Horace Andy’s singing is sublime and perfectly balances out the backingtrack’s harshness. A track, by the way, that stands out through its use of the ‘flying cymbals’ style. This way of drumming, with the emphasis on the open hi-hat, was invented by fellow producer Bunny Lee in 1974. Although ‘invented’ may be an exaggeration, as Striker was clearly influenced by the US Philly disco sound and thought it would fit well in his Aggrovators sound too. And indeed it did, as the new style would rapidly become the new craze and everybody started copying it. Horace Andy sang quite a few flying cymbal driven (hit)songs for Bunny Lee, so perhaps that’s why Gibbs decided to go for this approach on Slave Drive as well. It sounds familiar and clearly it works, but he didn’t revisit it much thereafter. …”
Pressure Beat

YouTube: Slave Drive, Slave Drive + Dub

Horace Andy – Got To Get You (1976)

YouTube: Got To Get You

Horace Andy – Won’t you come home + Version (1978)

YouTube: Won’t you come home + Version

Horace Andy’s Dub Box: Rare Dubs 1973-1976

“Considering the high quality of Horace Andy’s canon, to speak of any one period as his best is absurd, yet still the songs the singer cut for Bunny Lee in the mid-’70s are undeniably superb, and remain fan favorites. Many of these singles were re-recordings of Andy’s earlier Studio One hits, among them ‘Skylarking,’ ‘Money Is the Root of All Evil’ (it’s title shortened to ‘Money Money’), and ‘Just Say Who,’ all now driven by the fiery backings of the Aggrovators. During this period, Lee was making ample use of the talents of King Tubby, handing the remixer a plethora of platters to work his magic on, including, of course, Andy’s. Fourteen of the resulting simmering, sizzling versions are gathered up here on Rare Dubs. The dubmaster’s work is phenomenal, while his acolytes Prince Jammy, Scientist, and Prince Philip Smart, who occasionally took a hand at the controls, are already showing their skills. Vast, booming beats, thundering basslines, vocals and chords echoing into the distance, guitars and keyboards slicing through the thick, dense atmospheres, all merging into the ether to make this album dub at its mightiest. A spectacular set of riddims deconstructed and rebuilt into fiercesome aural assaults, a tribute to all involved.”
amazon

YouTube: Dub say who, Zion dub, Skylarking Dub, Dub Money, Dub Angel, Dub guidance

Horace Andy Meets Naggo Morris/Wayne Jarrett — Mini Showcase (2002)

“This intriguing reissue (packaged to look like a vintage Jamaican dub plate) brings together two samplers of 12″ singles from Lloyd ‘Bullwackie’ Barnes’ New York-based Wackies label, both of which were originally released in 1983. The first sampler (originally called Wayne Jarrett-Mini Showcase) features five tracks by Wayne Jarrett, along with dubs of three of the songs, while the second (originally entitled Horace Andy Meets Naggo Morris) offers two songs each (and their corresponding dubs) from Horace Andy and Naggo Morris. Spliced together like this, the resulting album has a tremendous cohesion, and feels very much like a single integrated project, with each track and dub exhibiting the trademark Wackies stripped-down, gritty roots approach to recording and mixing. Each of the singers turns in solid vocals, particularly the criminally under-recorded Morris on ‘You Rest on My Mind.'”
allmusic

YouTube: Satta Dread, Bubble Up, Magic in the air, Brimstone & Fire, Every Tongue Shall tell, Holy Mount Zion

Horace Andy – Every tongue shall tell & dub (1972)

YouTube: Every tongue shall tell & dub

Horace Andy – Dance Hall Style (1982)

“By modern standards, a six-song set barely qualifies as a single, never mind as a full-length album, but with each stellar song featured in its extended form, Dance Hall Style doesn’t merely pass muster as an album, but as a masterpiece. As with all the Wackies sets from this era, it’s the riddims and arrangements that inspire absolute awe, but as Horace Andy gives each of them his all, this album is as notable for his performances as for Lloyd Barnes’ sensational production and his studio band’s phenomenal musicianship. Incidentally, Andy himself provided bass, rhythm, and lead guitar on the album. …”
allmusic

YouTube:Money money, Lonely woman, Cous cous, Stop the fuss, Spying Glass, Let’s Live in Love