A gifted and versatile singer,
Max Romeo's first big hits ("Wet Dream," "Wine Her Goosie") played with slack themes, but as this two-disc anthology from Trojan shows, he grew into more mature and spiritual territory. High points here include his one-off with producer Willie Francis, "Maccabee Version," released in 1970, and three solid songs for producer Winston "Niney" Holmes, "The Coming of Jah," "Rasta Bandwagon," and "Beardman Feast." "Babylon's Burning," produced by
Lee "Scratch" Perry, is another high point here.
Romeo did his best work with
Perry, leading to the masterful album War ina Babylon, which was released in 1976 and falls just out of the reach of this anthology. Listeners curious about
Romeo should pick up that album first and then investigate this set, which traces the steps that led up to his masterpiece. ~ Steve Leggett