Gregory
Isaacs
SNWMF 2001
Photo by Diane 'Livonn' Adam
One of Jamaica's most beloved
vocalists who is as pertinent in dancehalls as he is in
bedrooms, Gregory Isaacs' career has stretched over 30 years.
From the heady days of reggae through lovers rock, a genre he
virtually invented, his talent reached into the modern age. Born
in the Fletcher's Land area of Kingston, Jamaica, on July 15,
1951, Isaacs arrived in the music business via the talent show
circuit, a tried and true formula for many of the island's
budding singing stars. Byron Lee was the first in the industry
to spot his talent and brought him and Winston Sinclair into the
studio to record the duet "Another Heartbreak" in 1968. Sadly,
it went nowhere, and Isaacs decided to try his fortunes with a
new vocal trio, the Concords. They set up home at Rupie Edwards'
Success label and over the next couple of years, released a
number of singles, including one with Prince Buster, but none
caught the attention of the Jamaican public.
In 1970, the Concords folded and Isaacs struggled on alone. His
initial self-productions were similarly unsuccessful, while
further cuts with Edwards did no better. Regardless of this poor
track record, in 1973 Isaacs set up his own record store and
label, African Museum, in partnership with Errol Dunkley, a
young singer with a string of hits to his own name. Apparently
some of Dunkley's own magic wore off and one of the label's
first releases, Isaacs' own self-produced "My Only Lover," was
an immediate hit and the floodgates opened wide. Besides African
Museums' offerings, Isaacs helped keep the label solvent by
recording with virtually every producer on the island for a
stream of hits that showed no sign of abating.
Between 1973 and 1976 alone, the singer released more material
than most artists do in a lifetime, virtually all of it timeless
classics. Isaacs' early albums inevitably gathered up strings of
these hits, while usually also including a few new songs. 1975's
In Person, for example, features a heavy hitting collection of
successes for producer Alvin Ranglin and was followed up in 1977
by Best of, Vol. 1 and Best of, Vol. 2 in 1981. (The Heartbeat
label would bundle up this material across three CDs for the
U.S. market: My Number One, Love Is Overdue, and The Best of,
Vol. 1 and 2). Similarly, 1976's All I Have Is Love includes a
hit-filled package of Sidney Crooks productions. Extra Classic,
co-produced by Isaacs, Pete Weston, and Lee Perry, is also
stuffed with chartbusters and showcases the singer's deepest
roots material. The latter album appeared on African Museum cut
with a diverse range of producers, across three volumes titled
Over the Years.
In 1977, the U.K. was treated to an equally dread experience via
Mr. Isaacs, released on Dennis Brown's DEB label. (Turn about is
fair play and Brown had released several classic albums of his
own on African Museum). By this time, the two polar sides of
Isaacs were apparent: the roots singer, whose emotive sufferer's
songs and cultural numbers were filled with fire, and the
crooning lover, whose passionate declarations of devotion
quivered with emotion. Eventually, the vocalist's ties to the
lovers rock scene saw his reputation as the Cool Ruler
overshadow the equally impassioned roots performer, but his work
in the latter half of the '70s shows his heart was true to both.
Isaacs was quick to take advantage of the rise of the DJs;
producer Ranglin paired him with a string of cutting-edge
toasters for another flood of hits, beginning in 1978. It was at
this time that he first hooked up with DJ Trinity, a partnership
maintained into the next decade across a stream of seminal
singles.
By now, Isaacs was too big a talent to ignore and in 1978, he
signed with Virgin's Front Line label. That same year, the
singer had a featured role in the classic Rockers movie.
Inexplicably, however, as Isaacs was poised on the brink of
international success, he failed to set the rest of the world
alight. His debut Frontline album, the excellent Cool Ruler,
barely ruffled a feather outside Jamaica. It did, however,
provide most of the material for Slum: Gregory Isaacs in Dub,
which boasted fat rhythms by the Revolutionaries, keyboardist
Ansel Collins with Prince Jammy, and Isaacs himself behind the
mixing board. Cool Ruler's follow-up, 1979's Soon Forward, was
filled with hits soon-to-become classics, but also did not make
the slightest dent on the world beyond Jamaica. The latter's
title-track was produced by Sly & Robbie and gave the pair's new
Taxi label its first hit. Isaacs cut several more great singles
with the team, which were brought together for 1980's Showcase
album. Even with Frontline out of the picture, Isaacs continued
going from strength to strength. Inking a U.K. deal with the Pre
label and with his fortunes secure in Jamaica, the artist
continued turning out hit after hit. His Pre debut, The Lonely
Lover, and its follow-up, 1981's More Gregory, both boast the
Roots Radics and a host of Jamaican hits that range from lovers
rock to deep roots and on to the emerging dancehall sound. No
wonder the singer was a hands-down success at the first Reggae
Sunsplash. It was at this point that Island stepped up to the
plate and signed the singer to their Mango imprint.
Virgin label head Richard Branson must have cursed his own
stupidity, as Isaacs immediately repaid his new label's faith
with his biggest hit of all, "Night Nurse." The song titled his
Mango debut, another masterpiece, and again featured the
steaming Roots Radics. Amazingly, as the song spread around the
world, the singer sat whiling his time away in a Jamaican jail
as the result of a drug arrest. He was released later in 1982
and immediately entered the studio to record Out Deh with
producers Errol Brown and Flabba Holt. Once again able to take
the stage, Isaacs played a series of awe-inspiring shows over
the next year, captured on both 1983's Live at Reggae Sunsplash
and the following year's Live at the Academy Brixton albums.
Behind the scenes, Isaacs joined the shadowy conspiracy of
vocalists determined to return vocalists to their rightful place
in the market by flooding the shops with music. An all-star cast
of veteran singers joined the plot, including Dennis Brown, John
Holt, Delroy Wilson, and many more, but none would reach the
prolificacy of the determined Isaacs.
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It's been estimated
that the singer has released up to 500 albums (including
compilations) in Jamaica, the U.K., and the U.S. combined. The
singer recorded with anyone and everyone and was just as quick
to revise his old songs as create fresh ones. Although none of
these are entirely disposable, inevitably the quality of Isaacs
full-length work began to decline in the mid-'80s. The Ted
Dawson-produced Easy and All I Have Is Love Love Love, for
example, certainly have their charms, but are hardly crucial.
But that didn't mean the hits had dried up. Those 500 records
are albums only, not singles, and the shops (and charts)
continued to overflow with Isaacs' 45s. And the rise of ragga
just added hot new producers to the singer's packed recording
diary.
In 1984, producer Prince Jammy, equally intrigued with the
changing sounds of dancehall, brought Isaacs into the studio for
the superb Let's Go Dancing, while also pairing the singer with
Dennis Brown for Two Bad Superstars Meet. The latter proved so
popular that a second set, Judge Not, appeared the next year.
The two singers dueted again on a track on Isaacs' 1995 solo
album, Private Beach Party, which also boasted an exquisite
"Feeling Irie," which paired him with Carlene Davis. The album
was produced by Gussie Clarke, a man with the determined goal of
creating an international crossover sound, via his own one-stop
operation à la Motown. He hadn't quite succeeded yet, but
Private Beach Party helped lay the groundwork.
1987 then brought a collaboration with the equally sweet-singing
DJ Sugar Minott for the Double Dose album. Isaacs swiftly found
himself a dancehall hero. It was during this period that Isaacs
also recorded an album for King Tubby. Warning boasts the
magnificent rhythms of the Firehouse Crew, and a dark atmosphere
of foreboding slinks through the entire set. It was not released
at the time and only came to light after the great man's murder
in 1989. By then, Isaacs had already stormed the world, digital
or otherwise, with the 1988 Gussie Clarke-produced "Rumours"
(whose rhythm would launch scores of further version hits,
including J.C. Lodge's "Telephone Love," an even bigger smash).
The masterful Red Rose for Gregory boasts a clutch of hits
beside equally sublime non-45 tracks, all cut for Clarke. The
pair's follow-up, 1989's IOU, is arguably an even stronger
album. That same year, Clarke reunited Isaacs and Brown for the
No Contest album. Isaacs continued to cut seminal singles with
Clarke, while also recording with a host of other producers. In
1990, the singer joined forces with Niney Holness for the
excellent On the Dance Floor album. The next year saw Fatis at
the controls for Call Me Collect, which boasts Sly & Robbie and
Clevie, while Bobby Digital adds his unique production sound to
1991's Set Me Free. And having inked a deal with RAS in the
U.S., that label's head, Dr. Dread, oversaw 1992's memorable
Pardon Me. Philip Burrell was in the producer's chair for 1994's
Midnight Confidential album.
But there was a slew of lesser titles as well; while Isaacs
seemed able to always hit the mark with singles, albums required
more effort than he was often willing, or able, to give. No
Intention and Boom Shot, both from 1991, are workaday records,
with the singer on autopilot. Past and Future sounds promising
and features such illustrious guests as Sly & Robbie, J.C.
Lodge, Winston Riley, and Boris Gardiner on material both new
and old, but it's obvious that no one's heart is really in it,
Isaacs' least of all. The patchy Rudie Boo (released by
Heartbeat in the U.S. as My Poor Heart) suffers from a similar
lack of interest on the singer's part. At least 1993's Unlocked
featured a stronger set of songs, but much of Isaacs' releases
throughout the '90s were hit-and-miss affairs. Midnight
Confidential, for example, is totally disposable, except for the
magnificent "Not Because I Smile." Most of the albums frequently
revisit older hits, which even at their worst tend to stand out
from the newer fare. Younger or less-experienced producers were
in particular danger and as the years progressed, it was only
the toughest and most innovative producers who could coax the
best from the singer. Alvin Ranglin, for example, wrung an
exquisite set of emotionally riven songs from Isaacs for 1995's
Dreaming. Mafia & Fluxy's fat, dubby rhythms inspired one of the
singer's best performances in ages for Hold Tight two years
later. The wisest course in negotiating one's way through the
minefield of latter-day Isaacs is to look at the production
credits. If you like the slick production that's the trademark
of Bunny Gemini, chances are you'll appreciate 1996's Mr. Cool.
Junior Reid likes diversity, and thus, Not a One Man Thing has
that in spades, from the slacker-themed "Big Up Chest" to a
remodeled "Don't Dis the Dance Hall." Steely & Clevie laid down
the rhythms for 1998's Hardcore Hits; if you're not a fan of
their digitized dancehall mayhem, choose another album. King
Jammy is let loose on 1999's Turn Down the Lights, and while not
up to the standards of Let's Go Dancing, it's still an enjoyable
ride. Joe Gibbs, Errol Thompson, and Sidney Crooks lent their
expertise to So Much Love, another one of Isaacs better later
offerings. The singer showed in the new millennium with aplomb
on Father and Son, which true to the title features Isaacs and
his son Kevin. The duets are gorgeous, while the younger Isaacs
is given plenty of room to prove that his talent is equal to his
dad's. The next year, I Found Love marked the second time the
two worked together. In between times, the singer continues to
impress audiences live, and his prodigious output shows no sign
of slowing; the legend of Gregory Isaacs continues to be
written. ~ Jo-Ann Greene,
All Music Guide
Gregory Isaacs Links: |
