This World

Emotive vocalist Horace Andy was born Horace Hinds, the younger cousin of another Jamaican treasure, Justin Hinds. Like seemingly every other performer on the island, Andy found his first success at Coxsone Dodd's Studio One before leaving and becoming an active freelancer, working with numerous producers, including Niney Holness, Bunny Lee, Joe Gibbs, and Augustus Pablo. Andy's one-of-a-kind falsetto, which soared over the highest tenor, had a tangible, vulnerable quality to it, and a spooky, angelic eeriness marks most of his vocals. Given his tendency to re-record his songs time and time again with different producers, always with new elements added, it is difficult to even decide on the best version of a song like "Skylarking," Andy's signature tune. This set contains tracks recorded between 1973 and 1975 for Bunny Lee, which were then partially remixed by Mafia & Fluxy, and they have appeared several times under different titles and in different configurations over the years. The bottom line here is that Andy's one-of-a-kind high tenor is always worth hearing, and in Lee he was working with a producer who truly understood that voice. Highlights include "Skylarking" (which was yet another remake of Andy's first big hit at Studio One), "Zion Gate," and a cover of Tapper Zukie's "Better Collie," plus a marvelous version of Leroy Sibbles' "My Guiding Star." ~ Steve Leggett|