The Techniques – Little Did You Know

Release Info

The Techniques – Little Did You Know

Label: Cherry Red Records/Doctor Bird | Format: CD | Street date: March 13, 2020 | Website label | Facebook label

Duke Reid

It was in the autumn of 1965 when Duke Reid bought the studio equipment from Lindo Pottinger and established his own Treasure Isle studio on top of his liquor store at 33 Bond Street. Duke Reid had already started recording in 1962, scoring ska hits galore with the likes of Stranger Cole, Justin Hinds, Eric ‘Monty’ Morris, The Skatalites, and Don Drummond. When the pace of ska gradually slowed down and transformed into rocksteady Duke Reid and his studio crew created an impressive body of work. Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, the hits poured out of his Treasure Isle studio, situated above his Orange Street liquor store.

The Techniques

The late Winston Riley formed the Techniques in 1962. The other members were Slim Smith, Franklyn White, and Frederick Waite. Artists like Curtis Mayfield, The Neville Brothers, and Otis Redding influenced the vocal style of the group. They hit the top of the charts two years later with the splendid Little Did You Know, a jumpy ska tune, for Duke Reid’s esteemed Treasure Isle label. The year 1966 saw the departure of Slim Smith who embarked on a successful solo career, but also Franklyn White and Frederick Waite decided to go separate ways. Winston Riley recruited Junior Mentz and Bruce Ruffin and the trio scored with hits like Queenn Majesty, an awesome adaptation of Curtis Mayfield’s Minstrel And Queen, My Girl, I’m In The Mood (For Love) and Love Is Not A Gamble.

Junior Mentz left Jamaica for a new life overseas and he was replaced by Johnny Johnson who can be heard on yet another Techniques’ classic Travelling Man. The line up changed once more when Pat Kelly joined the group. With his soulful falsetto he sang on several classic tunes like You Don’t Care, There Comes A Time, Man Of The World and The Time Has Come. The Techniques left Treasure Isle in 1968 and that was the end of the group. Winston Riley, with his brother Buster, borrowed enough money from his mother to start his record label, for which he used the group’s name. He would become one of the most successful producers of all time and is the only Jamaican producer ever to have #1 hits in the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s & ’90s. In 2011 he was murdered in Kingston.

Reissue

Doctor Bird Records, a division of Cherry Red Records, specializes in vintage Jamaican sounds licensed from the legendary catalog of Trojan Records. More than 50 years after it’s original issue, the now extremely rare LP, showcasing some of The Techniques’ best-known recordings gets an expanded reissue. According to some sources, the LP was released in 1966, but we’re not sure. In a business driven by 7″ singles, an LP dedicated to one singer/group was unprecedented and that’s the reason why the original album features instrumental tunes by the well-known Baba Brooks & His Band. These tunes are not included on this cd! But don’t worry, an incredible 21 tracks are added to the seven featured on the Treasure Isle album, and highlight the entirety of the Techniques’ recorded output for Duke Reid’s label. The package comes complete with very interesting liner notes by Harry Hacks.

Little Did You Know

The cd is presented with the original front and back sleeves. As said before, the tunes by Baba Brooks & His band are not included on this cd, they have been replaced with all the songs The Techniques recorded for Duke Reid. Anyone who calls himself a reggae fan will know and love most of the tunes on the cd. There’s a bunch of scintillating ska performances, but the majority of the songs are rocksteady tunes, mostly dealing with affairs of the heart.

There are so many goodies on this disc! The Impressions’ cover Queen Majesty was one of their best tunes and it became a best seller in the mid-1970s when The Jayes & Ranking Trevor released a magnificent recut of the tune. The fantastic You Don’t Care, yet another Curtis Mayfield song, became the blueprint for many versions in the history of reggae music. The same goes for the very enjoyable I’m In The Mood (For Love). In the late 1980s, Winston Riley used the riddim for some of his productions, while Sugar Roy lined up several artists for voicing the riddim in the early 2000s. Winston Riley’s self-penned scorcher Love Is Not A Gamble was used by U Roy for the massive hit Rule The Nation and Dennis Alcapone also released a splendid deejay version!
Well, there’s really nothing more to say, the music speaks for itself!