Rating:
Genre:
Reggae
Release Date: 08/10/2004
A prolific
reggae vocalist who began recording singles in the late '50s and continued doing so for decades,
Owen Gray finally got a thorough anthologization in 2004 when
Trojan/
Sanctuary released the long-overdue
Shook, Shimmy & Shake. The double-disc, 50-song anthology is a wide-ranging reflection of the singer's best output.
Gray began as a
Bluebeat singer and later drifted toward
traditional reggae à la
Jimmy Cliff, passing through
ska,
rocksteady, and
roots reggae phases along the way. This evolution slowly takes shape across the 20-year span documented here, with some insightful and invaluable liner notes by
Michael de Koningh to shed light on that multifaceted evolution. While most every song here is of high quality, there are a few particularly novel inclusions, perhaps the most curious one being
Gray's
Chris Blackwell-produced cover of
the Rolling Stones'
"Tumbling Dice" (imagine that --
Exile on Main St. à la
rocksteady!). Granted, this isn't the
entire encapsulation of the high points of
Gray's long, fruitful career. He did continue recording into the '80s and '90s (this anthology spans 1959-1978), most notably recording a cover of
Marvin Gaye's
"Sexual Healing" for
Pama in 1982, but it's questionable whether those especially latter-day recordings are high points per se. And yes, there some real gems missing here, given the bottomless well of songs
Gray recorded over the decades for various labels. In any event, however,
Shook, Shimmy & Shake is a treasure trove, not only of
Gray's mostly out of print recording career but also of excellent
Bluebeat,
rocksteady, and
roots reggae music.
~Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
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