Gregory Isaacs: Mr. Isaacs Vinyl LP

Why you'll love it

VP's remastered reissue restores the original artwork and labels of an album first pressed on Ossie Hibbert's Earthquake label. It holds "Slave Master," which Isaacs performed in the film Rockers, and "Storm," whose riddim was later versioned by Tappa Zukie, Tristan Palma and Pinchers.

This edition

Remastered
Original artwork restored

About the album

The New York Times once called Gregory Isaacs the most exquisite vocalist in reggae, and Mr. Isaacs makes the case without raising its voice. Isaacs was already the Cool Ruler of lovers rock by the late 1970s, but this album, first pressed under the title The Greatest, leans towards roots: tough Channel One rhythms, mixed at Joe Gibbs, with Ossie Hibbert producing.

"Slave Master" is the centrepiece, a slow, steely song he later sang in the film Rockers. "Set the Captive Free" carries the same conviction, while "Storm" rides a riddim so strong that other singers kept coming back to it for years. Between them sit the softer moments he was famous for: "Storybook Children," "Smile" and "Get Ready," sung in that unhurried, silky tenor that makes every line sound like a confidence. In Jamaica the album also turned up on the Cash and Carry label he ran with Trevor "Leggo" Douglas.

VP brought it back in 2019 for the label's 40th anniversary, alongside the companion dub album Leggo Dub. Isaacs had a way of singing about hard times as though he were offering you a seat; we suggest you take it.

Also at Kops: more Gregory Isaacs on vinyl · browse Reggae & Caribbean