Specialist Presents Alborosie & Friends [Deluxe Edition]

by Alborosie

Overview

Familiar to the reggae faithful but a certifiably "slept on" artist otherwise, this 2014 set from VP rounds up a bunch of collaborative tracks and collaborative singles from Alborosie, a Sicilian-born, Jamaican-bred singer/producer with a fat stack of reggae hits behind him. Even with just these "& friends" cuts as examples, his name should really be "household," especially when "Presented" by Clifton "Specialist" Dillon, the management man who made Shabba Ranks and Mad Cobra worldwide reggae stars in the '90s. The set makes catching up a hit-filled experience, kicking off with the vital weed anthem "Waan the Herb" with Black Uhuru's Michael Rose, before Gentleman's "Celebration" offers Euro-reggae at its finest. The two opening cuts display how pleasingly free the set plays it as "Herb" is an Alborosie cut featuring Rose, while the Gentleman number is vice versa, then later, the great "Tribal War" comes from a recording where singer Luciano was credited as a solo artist, although Alborosie's production and background vocals warrant its inclusion here. Then there's the singer's take on "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," which "features" Black Uhuru via sampling, but with the beautiful "Blessings" with Etana, the cute and punky "Informa" with Lady Ann, and the gangsta anthem "Murderer" with Busy Signal, disc two ends up just as packed with highlights as disc one, because here, the grooves are as loose as the rules. What's important to know is that some truly vital solo hits like "Kingston Town" aren't included, but the hip-hop industry could learn something from reggae's love of the collaborative comp, as the full Alborosie picture becomes clearer thanks to this fantastic set. ~ David Jeffries

Product Details

Release Date:	06/24/2014
Label:	Greensleeves Records / Vp Records
UPC:	0054645701624
Rank:	135905

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Waan the Herb
2. Celebration
3. Stepping Out
4. I Surrender to Your Love
5. Money
6. Tribal War
7. Burnin' and Lootin'
8. One Sound
9. Is This Love
10. Meditation
11. Precious
12. Natural Mystic

Disc 2

13. Guess Who's Coming
14. Marathon
15. Outernational Herb
16. Mama She Don't Like You
17. Can't Let You Go
18. Callin'
19. Life
20. Blessings
21. Informa
22. I Can't Stand It
23. Murderer
24. Streets

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Alborosie   Primary Artist,Percussion,Vocals (Background),Bass,Guitar
Lady Ann   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Sizzla   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Black Uhuru   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Busy Signal   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Jah Cure   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
The Tamlins   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Horace Andy   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Ranking Joe   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
I.Eye   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Nikki Burt   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist,Vocals (Background)
Michael Rose   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Etana   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
SpiRitual   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Ky-Mani Marley   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Gentleman   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
David Hinds   Primary Artist,Vocoder,Featured Artist
Luciano   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Zoe   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist,Featured Artist
Junior "Chico" Chinn   Horn Section
Jah Son   Featured Artist
Lion Man   Chant
Sly Dunbar   Drums
Robbie Shakespeare   Bass
Dennis Brown   Vocals,Featured Artist
Gramps Morgan   Vocals,Featured Artist
Gitzy   Guitar
Conroy Walker   Keyboards
Fitzroy Green   Drums
Alex Soresini   Drums
Joel "Joekeys" Anderson   Keyboards
Ronald Robinson   Horn Section
Daynea Deacon   Vocals (Background)
Squidly Cole   Drums
Spiritual   Vocals,Featured Artist
Everton Gayle   Trombone,Saxophone
Mykal Rose   Featured Artist
Steel Pulse   Featured Artist
Steven "Lenky" Marsden   Keyboards
Dean Fraser   Horn,Saxophone,Horn Section

Technical Credits

Alborosie   Mixing,Instrumentation
Frenchie   Arranger,Composer,Producer
Herb Powers   Mastering
Jon Baker   Executive Producer
Robert Mendez   Mixing
Anthony Cameron   Composer
Alberto D'Ascola   A&R,Composer,Producer,Executive Producer
Sly Dunbar   Composer
Christopher Birch   Mixing,Composer,Producer
Clifton "Specialist" Dillon   A&R,Composer,Producer,Executive Producer
Lynford "Fatta" Marshall   Mixing
Robbie Shakespeare   Composer
Noel Davey   Composer
Dennis Brown   Composer
Rohan Dwyer   Mixing,Mastering
Deron D. James   Design,Art Direction
Siccaturie Alcock   Composer
Vincent Grant   Producer
Cat Marley   Composer
Dane Thompson   Illustrations
Love Faya Riddim   Inspiration
Soul Vybz Music   Producer
Zoe Schneider   Composer
Nikki Burt   Composer
Michael Rose   Composer
Winston "Niney" Holness   Composer
Paul Shields   Editing,Mastering
Ky-Mani Marley   Composer
David Hinds   Composer
Jimmy Douglass   Mixing