Marcia Aitken & June Lodge – Reggae Impact / First Time Around

As romantic Reggae goes these are two of the best albums ever. This includes 22 tracks new to CD and is the CD debut of Marcia Aitken’s collectable 1981 album. Few female Jamaican artists proved more popular than the two feature on this 2 CD collection and due to the popularity of their work, Kingston-based producer Joe Gibbs released the two long players that provide the focus of this collection. We take a look at these albums and a selection of the bonus tracks that come with both discs.

DISC ONE : MARCIA AITKEN – REGGAE IMPACT

1: CAN’T YOU LOVE ME. This lilting slice of Lover’s Reggae comes with classic vocals from a much-underrated artist. It has tones of “The Greatest Love Of All” recorded by Whitney Houston and many other artists. A chorus comes in from time-to-time and the mid-way trombone playing is classy. 2: ONCE IN MY LIFE. This is a fast-moving, catchy number on which Marcia seems to glide through the vocal. More chorus work on the punchy rhythm track. 3: JUST ONE LOOK. This is not a version of another recording, for example Doris Troy. More of the same on the vocal and classy percussion mid-way and towards the finish. Sweet sounding chorus and we end up listening to a classic Lover’s Reggae recording. 4: MY MAN (aka My Girl). Written by Winston Riley and Bruce Ruffin it is a mid-tempo slice of classic Reggae. With Marcia and chorus we end up with a top-notch track. 5: REGGAE MUSIC. A slower number on which Marcia shares the vocal with the chorus. The rhythm track is lilting and it is a song about, yes you’ve guessed it Reggae music and its attributes. Catchy number overall. 6: GIVE ME YOUR LOVE. A faster recording with Marcia giving her all with a full-on vocal. Parts of this sound are familiar, not sure from where and it is a punchy rhythm track. 7: (SINGING) MY SONG. Another punchy rhythm track on a fast-moving number, again it comes with a full-on vocal. Percussion in the backing mid-way and another overall spot-on Lover’s Reggae recording. 8: I’M STILL IN LOVE WITH YOU. This will be familiar to most Jamaican music fans and it has the rhythm track from “Uptown Top Ranking”, a big hit for Althea & Donna in the UK charts. Written by and recorded by Alton Ellis it has been recorded by a host of Jamaican artists. This finishes the original album tracks, and what a way to do it.

BONUS TRACKS

9: WHEN I NEED LOVE (aka When I Need You). This cover of the Leo Sayer hit comes with an instrumental intro before Marcia comes along with a vocal that lends itself to the song. Mid-way we have some fine sax playing and overall this is a competent Lover’s Reggae sound and keeps up the high standard on this collection. 11: THE CLOSER I GET TO YOU by Rudy Thomas & Marcia Aitken. This mid-tempo number has two of the finest Lover’s Reggae artists on vocal, Ruddy Thomas who duets with Marcia. Together they bring the listener a smooth sound that has a tinkling piano on a cool rhythm track. 13: SHE DON’T LOVE YOU (aka She Will Break Your Heart 12″mix). This song co-written by Curtis Mayfield and recorded by many artists is mid-tempo with Marcia giving a highly-rated vocal. Marcia is joined by a female chorus throughout. Being a 12″ mix it comes with a talk-over towards the end. 15 EMOTION (12″mix) by Marcia Aitken & Ruddy Thomas. This number was penned by Barry & Robin Gibb of Bee Gees fame. The vocalists combine to give the listener a classic Jamaican version of a classic song. 17: I’M STILL IN LOVE WITH YOU / THREE PIECE SUITE by Marcia Aitken & Trinity. Finishing the tracks on this disc we have the same song focus on track 8 along with a number on which Trinity are heard doing a talk-over with Marcia still singing the original song. It sounds more like “Uptown Top Ranking” on this track.

DISC TWO : JUNE LODGE – SOMEONE LOVES YOU HONEY

1: THE LOVE YOU NEVER HAD. Starting off this disc we hear June Lodge on a mid-tempo slice of top-notch Lover’s Reggae, helped-out by backing singers. The rhythm track comes without any percussion and it makes for a catchy opener. 2: GIVE ME YOUR LOVE. This track was part of the recordings on disc one and now is given a vocal by June Lodge. It is a faster number again with a chorus behind the main vocal and has a small amount of percussion. Overall a pleasant sound. 3: BABY I’M YOURS. This is a song written by Van McCoy of “The Hustle” fame and originally recorded by Barbara Lewis along with many artists over the years. June’s version stands up to any of them and lends itself to this interpretation. 4: MORE THAN I CAN SAY (aka More Than Words Can Say). This will probably be familiar with a host of Jamaican music fans as it was taken high into the UK charts by Leo Sayer. June’s voice lends itself well to the song and with a punchy rhythm track it is a classic Lover’s Reggae sound. 5: IT’S HEAVEN TO ME. This is faster number than previously and comes with a female chorus helping-out from time-to-time throughout. Classy percussion work on the rhythm track and a top recording from the original album. 6: SOMEONE LOVES YOU HONEY. This song has been recorded by many artists over the years and this recording has a faster tempo and the vocal floats over the rhythm track. It comes again with a chorus from time-to-time and is another top Lover’s Reggae number adding more class to this collection and the original album. 7: PUSH OVER. Punchy rhythm track on this mid-tempo number and June is helped-out by the female chorus at various times throughout. The vocal floats over the rhythm track and gets the feet-taping, a top-rated recording. 8: STAY IN TONIGHT. The instrumental intro leads the listener into a mid-tempo cool sound. The vocal is top-rated once again and the chorus comes in and out throughout. The rhythm track is another punchy one and we end up with a top track.

BONUS TRACKS

9: DO THAT TO ME ONE TIME (aka Do It To Me Just One More Time). This song was a No.7 UK chart hit in 1980 and was recorded by Captain & Tennille, written by Toni Tennille. This Lover’s Reggae version stands up alongside the original and may be a better version. It has a punchy rhythm track and with superb vocal from a highly-rated artist it is another fine recording out of Joe Gibbs Studio in downtown Kingston, Jamaica. 11: DOES MY RING HURT YOUR FINGER (12″ mix). Another punchy rhythm track on a slower number that was originally recorded by Country artist Charlie Pride in 1967. This version takes the song on a top-rated vocal journey with some fine percussion mid-way through. A pleasant change from the previous tracks. 14: LOVER MAN SKANK (More Than Words Can Say Dub) by Joe Gibbs & The Professionals. Not too sure why this has been included but it comes as a change from the previous tracks if there needs to be one. The Dub style is not always associated with Lover’s Reggae but it works in this case with June Lodge coming in at various times with the original vocal. A catchy toe-tapper this one. 15: SOMEONE LOVES YOU HONEY / ONE TIME DAUGHTER (12″ mix) by June Lodge & Prince Mohammed. This is not dissimilar to the recording on track 6 until mid-way through we hear the skanking Prince Mohammed. It is a surprise how well the skanking comes over and is a pleasant overall sound. 16: DON’T FEEL LEFT OUT (Someone Loves You Dub) by Joe Gibbs & The Professionals. Finishing off this disc we have a classic Dub sound along with the original vocal from Miss Lodge. The Dub sound may not be for everyone but this is a good one.

To sum up this 2 CD collection, one has to say that if you are into Lover’s Reggae then this is a classic collection from two top artists in this area of Jamaican music. Much praise has to go to the team who put this collection together and include 22 tracks unavailable on any format since their original release. Once again it comes with the usual 8 page booklet featuring in-depth information and pictures that many will not have come across before. At £12 99p it is not much to pay for a classic collection of top-rated Lover’s Reggae recordings.

June Lodge – More Than I Can Say