Still recording with producer Tony Robinson, with whom U-Roy cut 1975's Dread Inna Babylon album, for the follow-up Natty Rebel, the DJ enlisted the services of bassist/backing vocalist Lloyd Parks, drummer Sly Dunbar, and singers Barrington Spence and Flip Wilson. As one would expect, Parks and Dunbar filled the album with deep, rootsy rhythms, with the latter clicking away like a human metronome on "Badie Boo." Robinson was particularly adept at turning rocksteady classics on their head; his studio trick of fading the vocals out in a stutter of reverb gave these oldies a fresh, dubby feel that was further accented by the rhythm section. But around these rootsy beats and style, U-Roy created a kaleidoscope of moods and styles with the help of a heap of backing tracks. Compared to the more radicalized Dread, Rebel has a jauntier, easygoing air that permeates virtually the whole disc. It's particularly noticeable on "Do You Remember," where the DJ launches into the track, and chatters along non-stop, as light and breezy as a spring day. Yet, U- Roy has total control of the rhythms, never misplacing a single syllable, whilst sounding so relaxed as to make you believe he recorded this impromptu in one take. The album's most talked about song was inevitably the title track, a version of the Wailers' "Soul Rebel." In truth, though, the original is so powerful that U-Roy does little more than echo the lyrics. Perhaps Robinson should have stripped off the vocals and given the DJ more room to maneuver. The highpoint, then, belongs to the exuberant "Babylon Burning," a song loosely based on "Proud Mary," which in a burst of inspiration the DJ resurrected in a Rastafarian mode and gained another deserved hit single.
© Jo-Ann Greene /TiVo