Gregory Isaacs
Gregory Isaacs is unstoppable. At a time when his lengthy career could reasonably be expected to slow down he has elevated himself once more right to the top of the tree, being numbered among the greatest of contemporary Jamaican vocalists.
His two latest albums 'Absent' and 'Unlocked' consolidate that position. He is eternally the 'Lonely Lover', the 'Cool Ruler'. Go ahead, spread your rumours, talk doesn't bother him. With the patience of Job and the voice of a crooning angel he is, as his song suggests, "one man against the world", yet he cannot fail.
It is hard to know where his confidence stems from. As a ghetto youth growing up in West Kingston in the Sixties the prospects for him seemed slim; the reggae business offering the only way out bar emigration to England or America. His aching tones duly appeared on his debut recording voiced in 1969 and entitled 'Another Heartache' and soon after he joined a trio called the Concords who failed to stir public interest despite two fine releases. In 1970 he joined producer Rupie Edwards, with 'Too Late' gaining him his first UK release that year, although 'Lonely Man' was the closest to being a hit of his six records voiced for Edwards over the course of some 15 months. It was not a particularly auspicious start.
Work with percussionist Uziah 'Sticky' Thompson brought him finally to the attention of Lee Perry, and Gregory and Sticky cut 'You Are My Sunshine' for him in 1971, followed by an Isaacs solo outing 'A Little Bit Lighter', generally credited as his first roots protest song. Neither was a hit. With Prince Buster he cut 'Dancing Floor' and then moved on to his own African Museum label, originally begun in partnership with fellow singer Errol Dunkley. Two self-produced hits ensued, 'Look Before You Leap' and 'My Only Lover'.
As is usual in the reggae business Isaacs recorded for other producers as well as himself. The Glen Brown production 'One One Cocoa' from 1973 pretty much summed up his stance; Gregory was lean, fit and ready for when his time arrived, which it inevitably would. Tunes for Phil Pratt ('All I Have Is Love') and Randy's ('Lonely Soldier') in that year gave him a female following that has not deserted him to this day; not only is he one man against the world, but he is the only lover worthy of the world's attention. Curiously in person, Isaacs is usually impeccably polite and free of swell-headedness.
1974 brought about a series of massive hits for the GG's label; 'Innocent People Cry', 'Love Is Overdue', 'Don't Go', and 'Sweeter The Victory'. His first LP, produced by GG's and issued in 1975 'In Person' proved itself a best-seller over a long period. The best of his GG's material is collated on 'The Best Of' and 'The Best Of Vol. 2'. 1975 also produced 'Bad Da' for Niney The Observer and the self-productions 'Warriors', 'My Religion' and 'Babylon Too Rough' - all a mile removed from the love songs with which he had made his name.
1976 and 1977 delivered the 'All I Have Is Love' album and hits with 'Mr Cop' (co-produced by Isaacs and Perry), 'Extra Classic', 'Thief A Man', 'Rasta Business', 'Black A Kill Black', 'Set The Captives Free', 'Slave Master', 'Let's Dance', 'Promise', 'Something Nice', 'Storm'.. Isaacs compiled the best of these and licensed them to Micron for the 'Extra Classic' LP in 1977. Also issued that year was 'Mr Isaacs' on the same label. Unbelievably, Isaacs was also working as a panel-beater at the time!
The next year saw the arrival of his new Cash and Carry label and distribution business, innumerable singles and two dub albums, 'Leggo Dub' and 'Slum'. By now he was too big for the small labels in the UK and an outlet arrived via Virgin, who put out the 'Cool Ruler' LP and followed it in 1979 with 'Soon Forward'. A showcase LP for Sly and Robbie's Taxi label scored heavily, as did a memorable cameo in the film 'Rockers'. Isaacs moved to Charisma's Pre label for the 'Lonely Lover' (1981) and 'More Gregory' (1982). The inevitable arrival of Island Records came in 1982 with the massive hit 'Night Nurse' and an album of the same title. 1983's 'Out Deh' seemed to confirm Mr Isaacs' pre-eminence, but then he was busted on a gun charge.
It seemed certain the law would put him away one way or another. Hardly a month went by without news of some attempted bust or vile rumour regarding his private life. Nothing stuck: Gregory may as well have been Teflon-coated. More worrying was the unevenness of his recordings after 1984's excellent 'Judge Not' album with Dennis Brown. 1985's 'Easy' was disappointing. 'Private Beach Party' from the same year for Gussie was much better, but 1986's 'All I Have Is Love Love Love' and 'Talk Don't Bother Me' were poor. In 1987 he was nicked for cocaine possession and part of his sentence was to clean up his act at a drying-out clinic. This he achieved but by then the critics had dismissed him as a has-been, out-of-step with the time. At the start of 1988 his 'Hard Drugs' single should have given fair warning that the Cool Ruler was still around to do the business and in the summer of that year he issued the record that was to turn his career right around, changing the direction of reggae for some time to come.
'Rumours' was the first release from Gussie Clarke's new Music Works studio and was technologically light years ahead of the opposition. Stark, brutal and beautiful, it spawned numerous answer versions on the same rhythm (including the US hit 'Telephone Love' for June Lodge, a cut by raggamuffin hip-hop duo Daddy Freddy and Asher D and live versions by KRS1 from Boogie Down Productions). 'Music Works Showcase '88' - an album based on the 'Rumours' backing track - followed and elevated Gussie to the role of Jamaica's leading producer. Just to prove it was no fluke a second hit 'Roughneck' featuring the Mighty Diamonds again found Gregory on top form. The resultant album 'Red Rose For Gregory' dominated the Christmas reggae best-sellers and a third hit 'Mind Yuh Dis (Rude Boy)' also proved popular enough for Gussie to release a further ten versions as 'Music Works Showcase'89'.
As ever Gregory recorded for his own newly reactivated African Museum label and a slew of other producers including Skengdon, King Jammy, King Tubby and Everton Neill. The bulk of reggae's public saved their affections for 'Big All Around' however, a massive hit for him and Dennis Brown in the early summer of 1989, again for Gussie Clarke. It was followed by a high-tech combination LP between the two entitled 'No Contest', which garnered acclaim from such diverse sources as N.M.E. and Radio 2 as well as dominating the reggae charts. September 1989 delivered a soul ballad 'Too Good To Be True', the first in that style to register highly on the reggae charts and ultimately included on the 'I.O.U.' album, which also contained the ragga hit 'Report To Me'. Again Gussie was the producer concerned.
Adjectives big enough for Gregory have yet to be invented. He remains entirely his own man, with a totally personal style. He is reckoned to be hard to work with yet everyone in Jamaica queues up to get him behind the mike. In recent years his output has been greater than at any time since the '70's, although has not often merited serious attention from either the critics or public, mainly because his thinning vocal style has proved notoriously difficult to produce. The exceptions have included albums for both Black Scorpio ('Boom Shot' containing the menacing Gulf War tune 'Rude Boy Saddam") and Lambert Douglas alias Leggo, whose Orange Street studio was the setting for 1992's 'State Of Shock'. Singles for a variety of producers, including Britain's Mafia and Fluxy, Sugar Minott's Black Roots label and Bobby Digital - where he revisited the ever-popular 'Border' - heralded a slight return to form, also a new version of 'Mr Cop' for US label RAS, although the strength of his comeback was in question once he'd sang 'Puff The Magic Dragon' for their 1992 Christmas compilation and put out his own album 'I Am Gregory' (jointly produced with his wife June)!
In 1993 it's been a different story, Gregory returning to Gussie Clarke's newly-built Music Works 2 to voice an album which even now looks like being a classic. 'Absent' underlined his undiminished talents in no uncertain terms, suggesting that his former problems had more to do with the abilities of his producers rather than his own capacity in making hit records. First track out the starting gate was the compelling 'Don Man Girl', a hard driving love song quickly followed by an appealing ballad entitled simply 'Thank You'. On 'Don't Call Me Baldhead' he answered those who'd queried his decision to cut off his dreadlocks, showing customary self-awareness when faced with often unstinting criticism. The album also contained a reworking of his famous hit 'Night Nurse', to remarkable effect.
Just to prove that 'Absent' was no fluke another good album quickly appeared on its' heels, this time produced by former Te-Track member Carlton Hines who'd written 'Rumours' for Gregory five years earlier. One of the tracks 'Nah Left The Dance' had been issued as a single on Hines' own Artistic label two years previously but 'Ready We Ready' (featuring Dennis Brown), 'Let Me Love You' and the wistful 'Wish Me Luck' among others proved the Cool Ruler had lost none of his winning ways. Together these two albums have signified that his career is once again moving in an upward direction, leading fans both old and new to have high hopes for the future. The future is always to come.
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