★★★★★
Reggae compilations are a dime a dozen. Yet, with the arrival of a new 2-disc set covering an early and pivotal six-year period of Jamaican vocalist Barrington Levy's career, there are good reasons to pay attention. After all, it comes courtesy of VP Records and their spot-on Reggae Anthology series. Plus, if any label is going to do it right nowadays, it's the Chin family. Still, an arduous task awaited them...
- www.afropop.org
2013-04-02
★★★★★
"Sweet Reggae Music" is the latest multi-disc compilation of classic reggae artists to come out on VP Records 17 North Parade imprint. Previous entries in the Reggae Anthology series have focused on Gregory Isaacs, Sugar Minott, Junjo Lawes, Winston Riley, and Yellowman. The latest release is dedicated to the early years of dancehall artist Barrington Levy.Levy was discovered as a fourteen-year-old by producers Junjo Lawes and Hyman Wright...
- rapreviews.com
2013-01-15
★★★★★
Barrington Levy wasn't born the purveyor of his inimitable "skiddly woah" sound-system-friendly vocal signatures. This strong early-days compilation from VP's vintage division charts his progress from soaring-voiced roots-dancehall crooner to what some would later call singjay - beating the then dominant microphone talkers, or deejays, at their own game...
- www.bbc.co.uk
2013-04-23
★★★★★
Recorded at Channel One studio in Kingston in 1980 with the Roots Radics backup studio band, Levy was asked to come in and voice some tracks just as dub itself was about to fade out as a viable art form. This 10-track selection was mixed by the late, great King Tubby and reflected Jamaican popular tastes in local dancehalls, while overseas the major labels exploited roots reggae with crossover disco and funk remixes...
- www.hour.ca
2010-11-02
★★★★★
No text for this review; see http://robertchristgau.com/xg/bk-cg90/grades-90s.php.
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-07-10
★★★★★
It's okay to admit it: sometimes telling reggae artists apart is a challenge. But there's truly no substitute for Barrington Levy's distinctive voice and delivery. This 1979 set, newly reissued, establishes Levy's singing style right from the start. It also inaugurates his working relationship with producer Henry "Junjo" Lawes and the Roots Radics band. This new collection is packaged with the original 12-inch versions of "Englishman" and "Sister Carol...
- www.globalrhythm.com
2009-06-12
★★★★★
This collection brings together some of Barrington Levy's most significant (and enduring) early dancehall recordings of the late seventies and early eighties. Included are a number of rare; extended mixes of his biggest hits. Quite simply; Levy was a giant of the dancehall scene and Love Your Brother Man illustrates just why.
- www.forcedexposure.com
2009-06-08
★★★★★
Barrington Levy's earlier material doesn't have the sophisticated production of his recent releases, but was more lyrically varied and intense. This nine-track set presents Levy doing the rich, powerful, traditional reggae that made him a legend in the 1970s and early '80s. The menu includes the anguished "To Love Someone" and "Lonely Man," the prophetic title cut and the poignant "Jah Is With Me...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-27