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Music On Vinyl and Sly & Robbie's legendary TAXI label are proud to collaborate on Record Store Day with a 4-track EP of brand new, previously unavailable material from two of Reggae's best singers: Bitty McLean and Bunny Rugs from Third World.
Bitty McLean has been recording and touring with Sly & Robbie for more than a decade. The Riddim Twins view Bitty as a direct musical heir to greats like Gregory Isaacs and Dennis Brown: unmistakable voice, great lyrics and a smooth as silk style. For this release, Bitty recorded "War is over" over a brand new "riddim" (Jamaican term for instrumental) that only Sly & Robbie can put out: four to the beat, thumping bassline and bare arrangements leave ample room for Bitty's unique voice. On "Let Me Go Bar Bell Stylee" Bitty covers his hit over a riddim built using a loop from a 1975 Barbell production (Barbell was Robbie Shakespeare's label before he joined forces with Sly Dunbar and created TAXI).
Side B features the late great Bunny Rugs, one of Jamaica's most recognizable voices, better known as the lead singer of mega group Third World. Rugs never stopped recording solo material and had the most stringent work ethic. During days off on tours with Third World, he would book studio time to record new songs and in 2009, stopped by in Paris to work with producer and Sly & Robbie associate Guillaume Bougard on a new solo album produced with Sly & Robbie. A huge fan and good friends of Gregory Isaacs, Rugs wanted to cover Gregory in his own inimitable style. This release features a poignant and soulful cover of "Rumours", one of Gregory's biggest hits. Mixed by the sound wizard Godwin Logie, the song is followed by a earth shaking remix by Bitty McLean who mashes Bunny's vocals with a riddim built from a loop of Sly & Robbie's "Guess who's coming to dinner" instrumental they had originally made for Black Uhuru in 1978. That song had been sitting in the TAXI vaults until now and we are happy to introduce it to the public at last.
Track listing:
Side A
Side B
