JOHNNY OSBOURNE

JOHNNY OSBOURNE
NIGHTFALL SHOWCASE (1997)
320 KBPS

Nightfall was originally issued in Jamaica in 1981. It was a solid winner for two reasons: the excellent production of Lynval Thompson, and the absolutely watertight reggae grooves provided by Roots Radics, then the leading studio band in Jamaica. Osbourne's lyrics and singing were good, but neither was quite up to the standard he had set a few years previously on the epochal Truth And Rights album. This CD reissue presents the original Nightfall in "showcase" style, meaning that several tracks are followed by dub versions and one is presented in an extended "discomix." The label has sweetened the package by adding five bonus tracks, one of them a fine DJ version of Osbourne's "Turn Me On" -- on it, producer Thompson comes to the mic to show off his toasting skills and turns the track into an herb anthem titled "Marijuana Tree." This is a fine and well-packaged document of early dancehall reggae.

1. Back off Ringcraft
2. Ringcraft Dub
3. Kiss Somebody
4. Kiss Kiss Dub
5. Reach the Top
6. Rude Boy
7. Nightfall
8. Nightfall Dubbing
9. Love Comes and Goes
10. Girl of My Complexion
11. Little Lover
12. Turn Me On
13. Marijuana Tree
14. Qua She
15. Qua She Take Over
16. Come Along
17. Qua She Dub