Black Uhuru

Most of the songs on this live LP date back to Black Uhuru's early days and, as a result, may
not be familiar to American fans who discovered the group via its most recent studio albums
on Island. "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," for example, is a version of a tune that was a hit
for lead singer Michael Rose in 1976, and "King Selassie" dates back to 1977. Black Uhuru's
present lineup of Rose, Puma and Duckie Simpson joined forces with the preemi... More >

Third album's awful soon for a live one, you might think, and then notice that only one of the eight titles is on Red or Sinsemilla. That's because six of them can be found--in clearer, denser, trickier, scarier, longer versions--on 1979's Showcase, available as a Joe Gibbs import. "Abortion" is anti, natch, and Jah knows where they can stick it, but you'd never guess from these remakes how effective it and all Uhuru's early songs can be. Here in Babylon we call this kind of thing a scam. (Grade: C-)