The Fittest by Earl Sixteen - DeepRiffs

ALBUM

Serious roots reggae fans of a certain age will recognize Earl Sixteen's name immediately: though never a truly major star, over the past four decades he has made significant recordings with such top-ranked producers as Derrick Harriott and Lee "Scratch" Perry. Now in his fifties, he seems to be at the peak of his powers. The Fittest finds him teamed up with a solid group of Dutch session musicians and the production team of Manu Genius and Marc Baronner; the grooves they provide are strictly rootswise, the production style clean but not overly slick, and the songs are uniformly very good. (Maybe a bit too uniformly; a certain sameyness creeps in by about two-thirds of the way through the album, but luckily it's a very attractive sameyness.) Earl himself is in absolutely excellent voice; he sounds very much the way he did in the '70s, his crooning tenor voice a thing of beauty. Best of all, the songs are all presented in "showcase" style: each vocal version segues seamlessly into a dub mix, one of them offering the added bonus of a DJ performance by the legendary U-Roy. The cover lists each version as a separate track, but there is no audible separation between each pair. It's hard to identify highlights, but "Modern Slavery" and his smoky version of William DeVaughn's R&B classic "Big Car" are both especially good.
© Rick Anderson /TiVo

1. Masterplan

by Earl Sixteen

Primary Artist: Earl Sixteen; Main Performer
Composer: Linval Thompson
Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Composer
Mixing Engineer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Music Director: Ras Denco; Production
Producer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Composer Lyricist: Linval Thompson
Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Other

2. Master Version

by Earl Sixteen

Primary Artist: Earl Sixteen; Main Performer
Composer: Linval Thompson
Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Composer
Mixing Engineer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Music Director: Ras Denco; Production
Producer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Composer Lyricist: Linval Thompson
Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Other

3. Rise Up

by Earl Sixteen

Primary Artist: Earl Sixteen; Main Performer
Composer: Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Composer
Mixing Engineer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Music Director: Ras Denco; Production
Producer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Composer Lyricist: Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Other

4. Rise up Version

by Earl Sixteen

Primary Artist: Earl Sixteen; Main Performer
Composer: Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Composer
Mixing Engineer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Music Director: Ras Denco; Production
Producer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Composer Lyricist: Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Other

5. Modern Slavery

by Earl Sixteen

Primary Artist: Earl Sixteen; Main Performer
Composer: Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Composer
Mixing Engineer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Music Director: Ras Denco; Production
Producer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Composer Lyricist: Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Other

6. Slavery Version

by Earl Sixteen

Primary Artist: Earl Sixteen; Main Performer
Composer: Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Composer
Mixing Engineer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Music Director: Ras Denco; Production
Producer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Composer Lyricist: Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Other

7. Sinner Man

by Earl Sixteen

Primary Artist: Earl Sixteen; Main Performer
Composer: Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
R. Storm
Menno Van Der Gaag; Composer
Mixing Engineer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Music Director: Ras Denco; Production
Producer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Composer Lyricist: Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
R. Storm
Menno Van Der Gaag; Other

8. Wicked Man

by Earl Sixteen

Primary Artist: Earl Sixteen; Main Performer
Composer: Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
R. Storm
Menno Van Der Gaag; Composer
Mixing Engineer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Music Director: Ras Denco; Production
Producer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Composer Lyricist: Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
R. Storm
Menno Van Der Gaag; Other

9. This Yah Business

by Earl Sixteen

Primary Artist: Earl Sixteen; Main Performer
Composer: Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Composer
Mixing Engineer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Music Director: Ras Denco; Production
Producer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Composer Lyricist: Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Other

10. 12 Inch Rockers Version

by Earl Sixteen, U-roy

Featured Artist: U-roy; Main Performer
Primary Artist: Earl Sixteen; Main Performer
Composer: E. Beckford
Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Composer
Mixing Engineer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Music Director: Ras Denco; Production
Producer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Composer Lyricist: E. Beckford
Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Other

11. Stay Together

by Earl Sixteen

Primary Artist: Earl Sixteen; Main Performer
Composer: Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Composer
Mixing Engineer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Music Director: Ras Denco; Production
Producer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Composer Lyricist: Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Other

12. Together Version

by Earl Sixteen

Primary Artist: Earl Sixteen; Main Performer
Composer: Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Composer
Mixing Engineer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Music Director: Ras Denco; Production
Producer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Composer Lyricist: Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Other

13. Big Car

by Earl Sixteen

Primary Artist: Earl Sixteen; Main Performer
Composer: W. Devaughn
Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Composer
Mixing Engineer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Music Director: Ras Denco; Production
Producer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Composer Lyricist: W. Devaughn
Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Other

14. Big Car Version

by Earl Sixteen

Primary Artist: Earl Sixteen; Main Performer
Composer: W. Devaughn
Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Composer
Mixing Engineer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Music Director: Ras Denco; Production
Producer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Composer Lyricist: W. Devaughn
Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Other

15. Fittest of the Fittest

by Earl Sixteen

Primary Artist: Earl Sixteen; Main Performer
Composer: Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Composer
Mixing Engineer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Music Director: Ras Denco; Production
Producer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Composer Lyricist: Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Other

16. Fittest Version

by Earl Sixteen

Primary Artist: Earl Sixteen; Main Performer
Composer: Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Composer
Mixing Engineer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Music Director: Ras Denco; Production
Producer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Composer Lyricist: Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Other

17. Changing Times

by Earl Sixteen

Primary Artist: Earl Sixteen; Main Performer
Composer: D. Robinson
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Composer
Mixing Engineer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Music Director: Ras Denco; Production
Producer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Composer Lyricist: D. Robinson
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Other

18. The Key (Jahsolidrock Reprise)

by Earl Sixteen

Primary Artist: Earl Sixteen; Main Performer
Composer: Earl Daley
Joost Jellema
Kenneth Linger
D. Jagjhoorsingh; Composer
Mixing Engineer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Music Director: Ras Denco; Production
Producer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Composer Lyricist: Earl Daley
Joost Jellema
Kenneth Linger
D. Jagjhoorsingh; Other

19. The Key Version

by Earl Sixteen

Primary Artist: Earl Sixteen; Main Performer
Composer: Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Composer
Mixing Engineer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Music Director: Ras Denco; Production
Producer: Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Production
Composer Lyricist: Earl Daley
Marc Baronner
Menno Van Der Gaag; Other

Technical Specifications

Volume

1 volume only

Tracks

19 tracks available

Type

ALBUM

Format

Digital Media

Duration

1 hour, 2 minutes and 18 seconds

Explicit

None

Coverart

Available and up to 1600x1600 px

Booklet

Not available

Max Quality

CD Quality (Lossless)

16bit / 44.1 kHz

Stereo

Audio Extension

Lossless: FLAC, M4A, WAV, WV, AIFF

Lossy: AAC, MP3, M4A, MP4, OGA, OGG, OPUS, WMA

Archive Format

Available in these formats: ZIP, TAR, RAR

Lyrics

2/19 tracks have lyrics

Synchronized Lyrics

No synced lyrics found

Genres

Pop, International Pop, Reggae, Worldwide

Label

JahSolidRock Music

Music Distribution Service

Unknown

Country

Netherlands

Language

English (United States)

Popularity

Release Date

May 24, 2011

Track Preview

Available

Delivery Charge

Free

Delivery Method

Digital download link via Email or Personal Dashboard on this site

UPC

8713762206642