Maytones, The
Creation Time
Fantastic compilation of extended 12" mixes by Jamaican rocksteady and roots reggae legends The Maytones. Featuring vocal contributions from Prince Far I, Trinity and Lone Ranger. After a brief period as a trio, The Maytones became a duo of lead singer Vern Buckley and backing vocalist Gladstone 'Son' Grant. The pair were neighbors in May Pen, a rural market town, a background that deeply influenced their vocal style. In 1968 the group recorded a handful of singles, all self-produced by Buckley, credited to his name alone, and released mostly by the VB pre-label. None was successful, and Alvin Ranglin decided to step in as their manager and producer. In 1968, Ranglin relaunched the GG's label, and with it The Maytones. The new-look duo debuted with 'Billy Goat', which proved popular, but it was 'Loving Reggae' that gave them their first hit that same year. Both singles were issued in Europe by Trojan Records on their Blue Cat sublabel. Buckley excelled at taking simple sentiments, cultural or romantic, and distilling them down to their lyrical essence, relying on his emotional honesty to give his words resonance. And it did. The duo's simple low/high harmony style may have been unsophisticated but equally resonated with Jamaican audiences. This LP compiles various 12" mixes recorded between 1976-1978 at Channel One & Joe Gibbs studio's. Backing tracks were laid by the G.G. All Stars and The Revolutionaries. 'Africa We Want To Go' was only issued as a 7"-release, but this LP includes another stronger take of the song with horns. 'Money Worries' was issued as a 12'' but including I-Roy as DJ. Instead of a DJ you can now enjoy of a wicked dub-version of the track which was never used as a 12"- release. All tracks have been remastered from the original analogue master tapes. The LP comes in a gatefold cover and includes very extensive liner notes and pictures.