Most Wanted

Liner Note Author: Donald Clive Davidson.
Photographers: Cleveland "Clevie" Browne; Donald Clive Davidson; Hiroshi Nirei.
Clever and charismatic, dancehall singer Tiger influenced countless followers with his never-take-a-breath "vocal drumming" style of singing, but decent compilations of his work are few and far between. VP's 2011 set Most Wanted is the first heavyweight contender since 1997's RAS Portraits and the two sets are almost complementary, seeing as how Tiger divided his big hits between the two labels. Here, the big numbers include "Bam Bam," "Boombastic," and "Ram Dance Hall." Break a sweat with those and the second line of material is nearly as strong, ranging from minimal productions from the new jack ragga era ("Tempo" being the strongest) to extended versions Tiger cut with other vocalists (check the Gregory Isaacs vehicle "Hic Up" for Tiger in a lovers rock style). Shame that the compilers skipped "Jungle Move" off the Ram Dance Hall album, but all other omissions -- "Me Name Tiger," "No Wanga Gut," and "Puppy Love" -- are due to licensing and can be found on the RAS set. That's fine, because if you're a fan of early dancehall, your collection certainly has room for two Tiger compilations. ~ David Jeffries