Original Guerilla Music (The Great JA Recordings)

Junior Delgado never achieved the instant name recognition of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh or even Dennis Brown, but one listen to his rough-hewn voice and piercing political insights places him immediately within that small club of Jamaican singers. Opening with the Lee Perry-produced "Son of Slaves" makes it clear that the listener is in store for, as John Masouri says in the liner notes, "the epitome of word, sound, and power." Perry helms several other cuts, but during the period covered here (roughly 1976-1986), Delgado works with an impressive cast of producers. Niney the Observer, Prince Jammy, Augustus Pablo, Sly & Robbie, the Wailers/Aggrovators guitarist Earl "Chinna" Smith and Delgado himself all make appearances as producers. Chinna only produced one track here, but it was a breakthrough for Delgado, as "Tichion" became the first of many hits the singer would score. Other than the obvious appeal of his soulful sandpaper howl, Delgado has a remarkable ability to turn conventionally worn and occasionally trite Jamaican roots topics like trench town poverty and corrupt politics on their ear, making them sound fresh and immediate. And, more than anything, this is what stands out on Original Guerilla Music. As he bounces from producer to producer, he also moves quite fluidly from gut level roots reggae to dancehall and ragga, with each song as potent as the last. This is a welcome retrospective and highly recommended to fans of roots sounds and ragga alike. ~ Wade Kergan|