Straight To Inglan's Head: An Introduction To Linton Kwesi Johnson CD - Import

This concise compilation provides an excellent overview of the finest work by reggae veteran Linton Kwesi Johnson. Tracks include "Bass Culture," "Iron Bar Dub," and "Reggae Fi Peach."

This single-disc, 13-song compilation is taken from Linton Kwesi Johnson's four 1979-1984 Island albums -- the same body of material, as it happens, that was the foundation of the far more extensive two-CD 1998 collection Independant Intavenshan: The Island Anthology. So the previous compilation is a sounder investment if you're heavily into the man, particularly as it has all but two of the tracks ("Action Line" and "Straight to Madray's Head," both of which are instrumentals) on Straight to Inglan's Head, and includes a good number of more dub-oriented selections. But this shallower scoop still does a decent job of presenting highlights of Johnson's Island catalog to listeners not inclined to spend so much time or money. Some of his most forceful works are here, like "Di Black Petty Booshwah," "Inglan Is a Bitch," "Time Come," "Sonny's Lettah (Anti-Sus Poem)," and "Reggae Fi Peach." All of these reflect various sociopolitical features of the Jamaican-English experience, and in "Wat About Di Workin' Claas?," the commentary is more universal, set to perhaps his most accessible backing track, with its toe-tapping jazz-reggae groove. But "Loraine" proves Johnson could wax romantic, as well, almost as a hip Barry White. The musical backings are also admirably varied in their liberal injections of ska and dub, and the largely spoken "New Crass Massahkah" puts Johnson's pure poetry skills to the fore. It's odd, though, that a disc purporting to serve as the intro to a performer known primarily as a poet chooses to lead off with a purely instrumental track, "Action Line." ~ Richie Unterberger

Subtitled - An Introduction To Linton Kwesi Johnson. A 13-track compilation of some of Linton's finest moments recorded for Island & released to tie in with his performance as part of Lee 'Scratch' Perry's Meltdown Festival on London's South Bank. 2003.

Remastered edition.