RECENT UK REGGAE RELEASES
Reviews of Recent Releases from Vincent Nap, Nereus Joseph, Donna Marie, and Nucleus Roots
by Norman Darwen

Classic reggae has gone underground again recently in England but it
continues to thrive in its own individual way. In Britain Aswad have a much lower profile than in days of yore and so Vincent Nap has now taken on the mantle of the Roots band with whom he worked as Master Of Ceremonies back in their (and his) early days. For his debut set Good Things Come (First Time Records FTCD 01- distributed by Jet Star) Vincent has the support of luminaries such as saxman Mike 'Bammi' Rose and veteran trombonist Rico Rodriguez but more particularly keyboardsman Clifton 'Bigga' Morrison, who also produced this set. Vincent has a fiery delivery on such strong tracks as 'Wallawa' and 'I Am A Musician' but mellows on the likes of 'Who Goes There', making for a varied and exciting Roots set. (www.tftrecords.com/)

The same can be said of St Lucian-born but long-time UK based singer Nereus Joseph with his latest release Hope, Faith & Love (Ruff Cut RCCD 006), as accomplished a piece of UK Roots as you are likely to find anywhere these days. Echoes of Dennis Brown, Bunny Wailer, and former Black Uhuru frontman Michael Rose in the vocals and writing but this is a very distinctive, confident and self-assured set, with backing courtesy of a variety of top-notch London and Yard based musicians. 'Hope Faith & Love' reminds the listener that digital Reggae can also be conscious and positive. (www.ruffcut.co.uk)

Donna Marie is a beautiful singer best known as one of Britain's Lover's Rock queens but who has just released her second Reggae-gospel set Now Is The Time (Gospel Times 0911 - via Jet Star) with the catalogue number betraying the motivation behind this CD and particularly the title track which draws on the Bible chapter Ecclesiasticus. Elsewhere she can turn to Ska arrangements and classic Studio One rhythms and there is some subtle use of acoustic guitar, plus plenty of original songs with melodies that won't leave your head once they are in there. It also contains the track 'Master Plan' which was a hit for Donna on the UK reggae charts towards the end of 2002. Certainly worthy of your attention. (www.jetstar.co.uk/)

The long standing Manchester (England) based collective Nucleus Roots - a particular favourite at the famed Band On The Wall club and now extremely popular in France - has a deep, deep Reggae sound partly in step with the current Dub movement (Johnno, one of the band's singers, toured and recorded with Zion Train in 2003) but owing much more to classic seventies Roots music - they are frequently called upon to work for the Twelve Tribes Of Israel in Manchester. This outfit's third CD Universal Love (PMP CD001) presents the cream of Manchester's reggae talent (the likes of Country Culture, Kuntri Ranks, and Don Hartley) supported by the trio's speaker busting bass and some inventive instrumental arrangements, plus several of their own showcases. An eighteen tracker as the group could not decide which
numbers to omit - it is to the listener's benefit that they did not drop any as the writing is of an exceptionally high standard, whilst the performances themselves are as good as it gets. Highly recommended!
(www.nucleusroots.com) - Norman Darwen