Earl Sixteen - Roots Foundation (JahSolidRock)

The basic tracks of this new album were recorded at Tuff Gong, with the so-called Tuff Gong All Stars: Kirk Bennett on drums, Jason Welsh on bass, Garth Forrester on guitar, and Andrew Matsh on keyboards. Dean Fraser also chimed in with some horn, and a whole host of European musicians, including Hornsman Coyote, adorned the Jamaican recordings with additional guitar, brass, and binghi parts. 

Even though he seems to have hardly aged over all these years, Earl Sixteen has always been a part of my reggae life. What other singer has recorded for Studio One, Lee Perry, Roy Cousins, Linval Thompson, and other prominent producers? In the 90s, Sixteen began his second career in the dub and dance scene, as a guest of Leftfield and Dreadzone. His voice also appeared in numerous new UK and European dubs, and he continued to tour as a solo artist all these years. This must be his 25th solo album in 45 years. 

The sound is vintage JahSolidRock. Crystal clear, perfectly mixed, but unmistakably roots. Ras artists like ‘Apple’ Gabriel (ex-Israel Vibration), Chezidek, Loyd De Meza, and Brinsley Forde (ex-Aswad) have all benefited from this, and Earl Sixteen himself released an excellent album on the sub-label Heartbeat Europe in 2011, ‘The Fittest’. 

‘Brave Enough’, an archetypal one-drop lovers tune, kicks off with a twinkling guitar that also dominates the blissful dub, along with the playful organ. Sixteen sings like the young, yearning wolf he has always been, his voice untouched by time. He also joins in the delicate chorus. 

‘Natty Dread A General’ is a new version of a hit that Sixteen once made for Mikey Dread. With classic, sing-along rasta lyrics and beautiful brass, once true trademarks of reggae. Brass, vocals, and echoes embellish the dub. In ‘No Love’, the singer tackles a song by soul singer Bobby Bland; Al Brown scored with it in the reggae version. 

In ‘Ghetto College’, Sixteen calls on politicians to take a look at the ghettos: “The ghetto is a college where we learn all the knowledge….”. Trenchtown, Waterhouse, Brooklyn, Bronx… In the ghetto you learn to fight and love, cook and work, even if you live in a shack with six children. The brass creatively reinforces the message and is delicately interwoven with the vocals in the dub once again. 

‘Amazing’ has the deepest and sturdiest riddim, perhaps because it resembles ‘He Prayed/Joe Frazier’. It’s about Sixteen’s princess, no, his queen, the woman who brings light and warmth to his life. Does she really exist? Next time, we’ll ask him. 

And then there’s ‘Every Nubian Is A Star’, a title variation on ‘Every N**** Is A Star’ by Big Youth. He can still use that word, we can’t anymore. This tune is actually a duet with Mutabaruka, and with his now gritty voice, he turns it into a true black manifesto: 

Take control of your destiny
Find your Nubian truth within
Shine bright
Don’t let them twist and turn your mind
Remember our glorious history
Get up off your big fat ass
… 

A glorious dub once more, with fine effects, echoes, and reverbs in a colourful mix.