Desmond Dekker – …In Memoriam 1941 – 2006 (CD)
Sound: B Music: B
Before
his passing, the Reggae pioneer Desmond Dekker recorded his last album, which
is ironically a collection of his best-known songs. 007
(Shanty Town) was a huge hit in 1967 and Israelites was popular enough to be a U.S., Top Ten hit in
1969. What might have seemed like
anomalies then for a genre that was considered to ethnic to ever succeed
worldwide and for decades after the fact are now landmark successes still often only known among serious
music fans. Desmond Dekker – …In Memoriam 1941 – 2006 became the title of the
last untitled album by the man who might now be Reggae’s best-kept secret.
Cut in
January, 2004, the tracks are as follows:
- 007 (Shanty Town)
- Don't Blame Me
- Hippopotamus
- Intensified
- Israelites
- It Mek
- Jamaica Ska
- Nincompoop
- Opportunity
- Pickney Gal
- Pretty Africa
- Problems
- Rudy Got Soul
- Sabotage
- Sing A Little Song
- The More You Live
- You Can Get It If You Really Want
- Unity
- Where Did It Go
- Wise Man
Though he
had been on many record labels in his long career (Uni, Trojan, Stiff, Rhino),
Secret Records landed this final album and the performances are really
strong. So is the sound, here in PCM
16bit/44.1kHz 2.0 Stereo so strong, that it seems only this format is holding
it back. It also shows that Dekker was
still in his prime. That makes it a
must-have Reggae work, though even if you are not a fan, you will still want to
give it a listen because it gives a strong new presence to the genre that is
often still thought of as only a phenomenon of the 1960s and 1970s.
Also, the
booklet with its tech information and great essay on Dekker is a
must-read. He was still in peak form and
if he had not passed on when he did, the music here also poses the possibility
that he could have made another comeback.
- Nicholas Sheffo
