Big Youth - The Chanting Dread Inna Fine Style

What we have here is the CD reissue of an American collection from 1982 of Big Youth, toaster extraordinaire, and his A-sides issued on his Negusa Negast. As best as I can tell, it's the Soul Syndicate backing him on most of these cuts, with drop-ins from the likes of Augustus Pablo, Carlton Barrett, and Dougie Bryan. I don't know if you can call this a greatest hits, per se, but it's pretty hot. I love the original cover art from the 1982 Heartbeat release; why they redesigned it, and gave it that darker, 90s look, is beyond me.

This was one of those $3 Goodwill finds that I picked up at 50% off sticker after it'd sat on the shelves for several weeks. I love it when I come across these things; it's boggling to me that something like this could still be there, two months after going into the store. There aren't a lot of joys in this world right now, but turning up a cool record like this, long out of print, is one of the ones I have left.

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