Ken Boothe – Mr. Rock Steady LP
Used vinyl (Disc: G+ Cover: VG/G+). A classic rocksteady album featuring Ken Booth favorites including “I Don’t Want to See You Cry”, “Puppet On a String”, and “The Girl I Left Behind”, “My Heart Is Gone”, and many more. This copy has certainly seen better days, but honestly the worn sound completely matches the dusty vibe of Coxsone Dodd’s production!
Ken Boothe, “Mr. Rock Steady” himself, continues to prove himself as one of the guiding staples of Jamaica’s rocksteady genre. Ken Boothe’s singing and musicianship has zest, vitality, and vibrance. Classics like “Puppet on a String,” “Artibella,” “When I Fall in Love,” and countless others can be found on this essential collection.
“Ken Boothe was about 20 years old when this, his full-length debut, was recorded. Listeners familiar with other Coxsone Dodd rocksteady productions should know what to expect here: muddy production, poorly pressed vinyl, and incredibly soulful music. Boothe is often called the Jamaican Wilson Pickett, and while much of that influence is in evidence here, his delivery still sounds too bright-eyed and vulnerable to really get at the core of the Memphis soul sound. It would be a couple of years before he would develop the gravelly voice and confident swagger by which most people recognize him. For whatever reason, this coincided with the end of his association with Dodd and the Studio One label. Still, any way you look at it, Mr. Rock Steady is a great set of early reggae. It holds an important place — along with some of the best work by Alton Ellis, Delroy Wilson, or Slim Smith — as a classic example of the American soul influence on Jamaican vocalists.”