Just a Dream

Slim Smith's high, plaintive vocals and his haunting, almost fragile delivery made him one of Jamaica's finest singers in the late 1960s and early '70s, both during his tenure with the Uniques and the Techniques and his subsequent solo career. The Bunny Lee-produced tracks collected here were originally released as an LP on Brad Osborne's New York-based Clocktower Records in 1972 and reissues of the album pop up every few years on CD, most (if not all) of which are drawn directly from vinyl sources. Osborne was famous for subtly remixing material he received from Jamaican producers, and that is probably the case here, although the star in any Smith mix is always going to be that incredible voice, and these mixes are no exception. Smith shines on covers of Curtis Mayfield's "Gypsy Woman," Sam Cooke's "Send Me Some" and Jimmy Cliff's "Keep Walking," and the whole set is quite haunting, if a bit brief by CD standards. ~ Steve Leggett