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The Uniques - Absolutely Rock Steady
The Uniques - Absolutely Rock Steady
Classic collection from one of Rock Steady's best vocal groups.
Sampler
This album harks back to a time when things seemed a bit more innocent as the Uniques sing songs mainly about the highs and lows of love, before reggae really took over and songs of sufferation became more prominent. Just a quick glimpse at the track list should be enough, with titles such as Give Me A Love, Blinded By Love, Love & Devotion and Let Me Go Girl, telling you what you're going to be getting lyrically. The Uniques, formed in 1967, originally consisted of Slim Smith, Roy Shirley, and Franklyn White, with Jimmy Riley and Lloyd Charmers replacing Shirley and White the following year. To many the '60s incarnation of The Uniques is regarded as one of the greatest of all vocal groups of the Rock Steady period and the enduring harmonies of this trio, in whichever guise, lift what could have been just another selection of run of the mill love songs into what are sublime and soulful classics.
Many of the songs have been available through various compilations, but this is the first time their work has been brought together since Sanctuary Records released 'Best of Slim Smith & The Uniques 1967-1969' in 2003. The tracks between both do vary somewhat, with the loss of songs like the Impressions cover Gypsy Woman and Girls Like Dirt, but they are more than ably made up for by the inclusion of Build My World and the rather rootsy Stand Up And Fight, but whether it is to stand up and fight for rights or for love you'll have to decide. So with this in mind if you do already own the Sanctuary album I think you'll see there is still plenty more to be found here.
The original production on these songs was mainly down to the then up and coming Bunny 'Striker' Lee, but they now have a very clean and crisp sound which suggests they have had some form of enhancement to bring them up to the quality of the 21st century recordings. However this has been done delicately and has not over sanitised them and with nice bass tones the songs still retain that certain warmth and richness that make this set a real listening pleasure.
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