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This
is a worthy tribute to the mighty roots singer Oscar
Delgado Hibbert (nephew of Studio One’s Lennie
Hibbert) who died
in London, England on 11th April 2005 at the age of fifty. ‘Jux’ had
been at reggae’s cutting edge for more than thirty years,
having first recorded as a member of the group Time Unlimited for Lee Perry in 1973 - the group split two years later and Delgado’s solo career took off almost immediately.
The time-span of this set covers the years 1975 to 1988, and the
album opens with two items from the group, ‘Africa We Are Going
Home’ and ‘Run Bald Head’. The music then ranges
across his dee-jay material (as ‘El Cisco Delgado’ and ‘Juks
Dread’) through the impassioned, heavweight roots reggae anthems
for which he was perhaps most well-known (exemplified here by the
likes of the 12 inch mix of the title track and of course, his big
hit for Dennis Brown’s DEB label ‘Tition’), on
to the digital sound of the late eighties and items such as the cover
of Winston Francis’ ‘Mr. Fix It’ and ‘Lady’,
where the smooth R&B vocal style with which Jux had begun so
many years before is plainly evident. The 20 songs featured on this
CD are produced by Perry, Rupie Edwards, Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith and Delgado himself.
Though not represented here, Junior went on to continue updating
his music, recording drum and bass material and experimenting with
a more ‘progressive’ sound in the following decade, working
with the likes of Adrian Sherwood. Jux always kept his integrity
and relevance throughout his career; he is sadly missed. Due to the
absence of the truly awesome Sly & Robbie production ‘Fort
Augustus’ and a lack of any of his material for Augustus
Pablo,
this cannot be the ultimate Junior Delgado collection - but it is
one that will not disappoint any of his fans, old or new. -
Norman Darwen
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