BUSTY BROWN Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Busty Brown's early reggae cover of the Temptations' smash hit "My Girl" from 1964 is presented here in all its glory. It's a glorious makeover that has soaring trumpets filled with optimism, deep cut drums that wriggle and rumble nonstop, as well as Brown's buttery, authentic vocals up top. Legendary dub outfit The Upsetters then take care of an instrumental on the flip side that goes a little slower and more purposefully about its business. It's not often that a cover outshines the original but in the case of this one, that might be what's happening here.

Review: The Upsetter compilation came on Trojan Records back in 1969 when Lee Scratch Perry's backing band was at the top of its game. It features mostly their own tunes as well as a Busty Brown version of 'To Love Somebody' which was originally written by Robin and Barry Gibb. As any fan will know, the sounds here are as good as reggae and dub gets. It's been reissued and repressed on various formats over the years and this latest one is on orange, high grade, heavy weight and numbered vinyl making it a real collector's piece.