6/28/09

Owner Fe De Yard : Ethiopians


This is a selection that's been in my permanent catalog for over ten years now. Another quality release from the Heartbeat label (1994) and a great compilation of classic roots with great sound quality. The Ethiopians are some of the old school reggae masters who made that transition from the sixties to seventies a legendary time in reggae culture. Clement Dodd and Leonard Dillon recorded these 15 tracks at Studio One and Randy's mostly in the mid-sixties and the seventies. My favorites on this one are: #1 (Owner Fe De Yard), #3 (One Heart), #4 (Bad to Worse), #5 (So You Look Pon It), and #10 (Fire Fire). The Ethiopians have a very gentle vocal delivery that softens these roots tracks. Like most Heartbeat discs, this has a decent booklet that comes with it. It discusses the early influences of church music and the first meetings with Bob, Bunny, and Peter. Also tracks notes on each song and an interview with Leonard Dillon round out the booklet and make this a quality representation of the prime Ethiopians tracks and a glimpse in to their background.

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