Rating:
Genre:
Reggae
Release Date: 07/16/2002
As the
roots and culture period of the 1970s was slowly giving way to the
dancehall juggernaut that would dominate
reggae music for the next two decades, there were few producers quite as influential as
Linval Thompson. In a real sense, he presided over the
roots-to-
dancehall transition, overseeing crucial recordings of the period by such artists as
Gregory Isaacs,
Johnny Osbourne,
Sugar Minott, and the young
Barrington Levy.
Can't Stop Us Now is a handy document of that phase in
reggae history, presenting 20 tracks by all the artists mentioned as well as many more; more than half of these songs have not been previously available on CD. Unfortunately, a few of them (notably
Levy's
"Sensimilla" and a
Don Carlos tune called
"Sweet Africa") suffer from sound quality that is awful even by
reggae standards. But for the most part, this is truly great stuff -- the extended mix of
Freddie McGregor's
"Jah Help the People" benefits from the mixing genius of
Scientist,
Isaacs'
"Tenement Yard" is an excellent pre-
dancehall sufferer's anthem, and
Johnny Clarke is at his sweet-voiced best on
"They Can't Stop Me." Through it all,
the Roots Radics and
Revolutionaries bands provide grooves that are solid but supple. Highly recommended.
~Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
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