One thing leads to another. Writing about ska and reggae last week got me thinking about a couple of other Jamaican icons: drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare. I’m pretty sure I came across them for the first time when I heard Grace Jones’ album “Warm Leatherette” in 1980. A year later they teamed up with Grace again for the “Nightclubbing” album, which I promptly added to my collection and listened to with fascination. Then yet again with “Living My Life” in 1982, which I also really liked. Grace is not everybody’s cup of tea, but when she put disco behind her it worked well for me.
I have a very strong memory of driving through the endless stream of traffic lights on the old E4 in Uppsala in 1993, when Chaka Demus and Pliers’ “Tease Me” came on the radio. That got me hopping in my seat and the memory still gives me goosebumps. This album was innovative in many ways, not least because of Sly and Robbie’s minimalist rhythms. Though it’s also crammed with strong songs of course. I just looked that album up on Wiki and saw that it reached No. 1 in the UK charts in 1994. And I thought I was the only one that owned it!
Sly and Robbie’s list of collaborations (both production and playing) is very long and includes, apart from all the Jamaican greats, many of the biggest stars on the planet, like McCartney and the Stones. The odd thing is that though I admired their playing so much, I was never inspired to play the bass like Robbie Shakespeare and I’ve never even tried.
If you like reggae (I know, not everybody does) and haven’t heard this album – give it a spin on your favourite streaming site. The album might be 26 years old it but feels timeless and has so much more to offer than just the hits.