
HORACE ANDY
Midnight Rocker (On-U Sound)
It might come as a surprise that reggae legend and Massive Attack contributor Horace Andy has not made an album with On-U Sound boss and producer Adrian Sherwood until now. Midnight Rocker ends that wait, with Andy’s brittle voice placed very much at the forefront of the 10 featured songs; Sherwood keeps the sound subtle yet precise throughout, foregoing any trademark On-U dub distortion which might distract the listener from the emotional power of Andy’s voice. (There are echoes here of Sherwood’s late-90s work with singer Bim Sherman.)
Midnight Rocker features both new material and pristine new versions of robust classics such as This Must Be Hell – which captures the difficult times of now and the horrific worldwide events unfolding daily, as does new track Try Love. A revisitation of Studio One-era cut Mr Bassie brings the vocalist full circle – and then there’s Andy’s triumphant cover of Massive Attack’s Safe From Harm. As a whole, Midnight Rocker is truly astounding.
words DAVID NOBAKHT

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