Red

Performer: Black Uhuru
Artist: Sly Dunbar; Robbie Shakespeare
Engineer: Kendal Stubbs; Maxie; Solgie...
Producer: Sly Dunbar; Robbie Shakespeare...
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Black Uhuru: Michael Rose, Sandra "Puma" Jones, Derek "Duckie" Simpson (vocals). Additional personnel: Ranchie McLean, Mikey Chung, Dougie Bryan, Barry Reynolds (guitar); Robert "Robbie" Shakespeare (piano, bass); Robert Lyn, Keith Sterling (piano); Sly Dunbar (drums, elctronic drums); Sticky Thompson (percussion). Recorded at Channel One Studio, Kingston, Jamaica and Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas. Originally released on Mango (9625). Includes liner notes by David Katz. This is part of "Reggae Classics" series. Arguably Black Uhuru's finest offering, RED was the band's sophomore effort on Island's Mango subsidiary, and crystallized their unique combination of contemporary sounds (including synthesizers and electronic drums), traditional roots reggae, and male/female trio vocals (with lead singer Michael Rose backed by Sandra "Puma" Jones, and Derrick "Duckie" Simpson). For a sound centered primarily on rhythm grooves, Black Uhuru's music is remarkably complex, and manages to sound both stripped down and fully fleshed out (there is a battery of interlocking instrumental parts at any given moment on the album). RED is greatly shaped by producers/rhythm section Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, though their production here is considerably cleaner and more streamlined than on RED's predecessor, SINSEMILLA. (Assistance from executive producer Chris Blackwell--the man largely responsible for the crossover success of Bob Marley's CATCH A FIRE--probably helped). Whether on the infectious bounce of "Sponji Reggae," or the trance-like "Sistren," RED is accessible but never poppy; it's serious and challenging, yet given to bright irresistible grooves. Black Uhuru contends for the post-Marley reggae crown, and this album is possibly the best example of what they do.

Rolling Stone - #23 in Rolling Stone's "100 Best Albums Of The 80s" survey (11/89). Q (1/1/91) - 4 Stars - Excellent

Derrick "Ducky" Simpson formed reggae vocal trio Black Uhuru in the late 1970s. The group went through a few incarnations--one featuring the future solo star Michael Rose and the visually arresting singer/dancer Puma Jones--before being signed by the powerful Island label. Over the course of their next three albums, Black Uhuru endeavored to take roots reggae into the future with a militant style that informed their lyrics, music, and onstage presentation, transcending many of the genre's limitations in the process.

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