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U-Roy
Three From The Frontline

Album FR 1991 on Virgin Records Ltd. label
Reggae (Roots Reggae, Rocksteady)

The 3 PACK includes three U Roy releases: NATTY REBEL (1976), RASTA AMBASSADOR (1977) and VERSION OF WISDOM (1990).Personnel includes: U Roy (vocals); Robbie Shakespeare (bass); Sly Dunbar (drums); The Gladiators.NATTY REBEL:Producer: Tony Robinson.Compilation producer: Trevor Herman.RASTA AMBASSADOR:Producer: Tony Robinson.Compilation producers: Trevor Herman, Steve Pritchard.VERSION OF WISDOM.Compilation producer: Trevor Herman.Includes liner notes by Tevor Herman.Personnel: U-Roy (vocals); Albert Griffiths (vocals, guitar); Naggo Morris, Wayne Jarrett (vocals); Ranchie, Rad Bryan (guitar); Ansel Collins, Richard Ace (piano); Earl Lindo (synthesizer); Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace, Sly Dunbar (drums); Scully (congas); Flip Wilson, Judy Mowatt, Ken Boothe, Lloyd Parks, The Gladiators, Barrington Spence (background vocals).Audio Mixer: Michael Dan.Recording information: Harry J Studios; Joe Gibbs Studio; Lyceum, London, England; Treasure Isle Studios, Jamaica; Trojan Records, England.Photographer: Dennis Morris .This three-CD box set is sure to baffle the uninformed/unwary and infuriate the purists, but that said, it's still a collection to be reckoned with, packaging up three of U-Roy's best Frontline albums. Disc one contains in its entirety Version of Wisdom, but this will only make hardcore fans seethe. That album bundled up, most, but not all, of two of the DJ's '70s records, Version Galore, originally released on the U.K. Trojan label back in 1971, and Frontline's own With Words of Wisdom, which appeared in 1979. In the process of compilation, two tracks were dropped from each of the original albums, and infuriatingly none of the four are appended here. Both those records were actually culled from the 32 songs U-Roy recorded for producer Duke Reid between 1969 and 1970. Hardcore fans of this period in the DJ's career should seek out Trojan's Ace From Space which slaps 30 of the cuts onto CD. However, true trainspotters need both because Version includes "What Is Catty," which is missing from the Ace compilation. And then it just gets worse. Although the back of the box suggests Natty Rebel is included, a quick look at the track listing proves otherwise. In actuality, this is the Natty Rebel -- Extra Version album, which is compiled from three separate records. Six tracks are culled from 1976's Natty Rebel album itself, five are taken from 1978's Jah Son of Africa album, while the final four reproduce in its entirety the Live at the Lyceum EP. The EP almost makes up for the album cullings, and was recorded at a spectacular show in London in 1976, with a blistering Sly & Robbie-led Revolutionaries in tow. Interestingly combining the tracks from Natty Rebel and Jah actually works well, even though chronologically a third album separated them. This was 1977's Rasta Ambassador, which gets a disc of its own, and a bonus track, a second version of the Wailers' "Small Axe." All in all, Three does hit most of the highpoints of U-Roy's 1970s output, excluding the excellent Dread Inna Babylon album, of course. ~ Jo-Ann Greene.

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U-Roy voc, *1942 JM album by

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