Trinity

Blood and Fire resurrects another classic album from obscurity. Trinity first came on the scene in the mid-'70s, in the wake of articulate DJs like Big Youth. Yabby You was at the controls for this one and as such the album is a dark, dubby, Rasta-focussed piece of work. This album comes from the same smoky space as Jah Lion's Columbia Colly and Prince Jazzbo's Ital Corner. However, if you are a Blood and Fire fan, as all true reggae lovers should be, you've heard these Yabby You rhythms five or six different ways scattered throughout their catalogue. Perhaps they have been drawing from the same well too often... Unfortunately, this lessens the overall impact of Shanty Town Determination. While Trinity is a wicked DJ, the rhythms aren't given extra-special dub treatments that would make these versions definitive. The CD reissue adds five more tracks; these bonus cuts are more up-tempo than the originals and illustrate the roots of dancehall evident in Trinity's style. Keith Hudson's production of "Z90" is a standout, with his multi-layered dub attack propelling Trinity's ode to his favourite motorbike.