Search - Blackbeard & Friends :: Too Much Iron in the Fire: Anthology

A-LIST MEETS B-LIST

Locks Lion | Blue Mountain Peak | 10/19/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"TOO MUCH IRON IN THE FIRE: While many Jamaican music producers and studio engineers have enjoyed fame - and occasionally fortune - comparable to that of the island's musicians themselves, Roderick "Blackbeard" Sinclair was, and remains, a distinctly low-key operator. As a producer, he's no King Tubby, or Bunny Lee, or Lee Scratch Perry, as this solid, rather unspectacular collection confirms. It's interesting to note that there aren't many original rhythms here; most are clearly overdubbed versions of sides recorded for other producers, and then presumably re-worked at Blackbeard's Portmore studio. For instance, the title track is actually WOOD FOR THE FIRE by Black Uhuru (originally recorded for Dennis Brown and Ranking Joe, I believe), with Trinity's vocal overdubbed at a later date. It's not that this is a particularly unusual practice - Jamaica's vibrant music scene was built on begged, borrowed and sometimes stolen rhythms - and in fact, Blackbeard pulls off some neat re-versions, touching up the original recordings with subtle reverb and echoing vocal splices.



Apparently, the producer's B-list status wasn't enough to dissuade a whole heap of A-list stars from releasing material on his Mr. Tipsy label; Horace Andy, Johnny Clarke, The Mighty Diamonds, and Trinity are all well represented on this collection, as are the newer (ie. early 80s) talents, like Barry Brown and Wayne Jarrett. There are also a handful of dub versions credited to Blackbeard All Stars, although I seem to remember that the producer's studio band more often went by the name of The Ring Craft Posse (see the ST. CATHERINE"S IN DUB collection, released earlier this year by the Moll-Selekta label). As I said, this is simply a solid collection, with a few standout selections (Ronnie Davis's INNA DIS YAH TIME; Barry Brown's LIFE IS FUNNY; Horace Andy's RANKING HAVING FUN, a remake of his definitive PURE RANKING). It's nicely packaged, and more than reasonable valuable for money, and therefore I have to give TOO MUCH IRON IN THE FIRE a firm thumbs-up.

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