Yellowman

While there are as many Yellowman compilations as stars in the night sky, most fall far short of anything resembling a "best of” collection. This latest hits package, however, does an admirable job of making sense of the vast amount of material Yellowman recorded in his heyday (1982 to 1987), mostly with famed producer Harry Junjo Lawes. Included are essentials such as "Mr. Chin” and "Who Can Make the Dance Ram,” with several tracks appearing in their extended twelve-inch versions, giving you a chance to hear the full might of the backing band, usually the Roots Radics. Other tracks, "Morning Ride” and "Yellowman Getting Married,” in particular, are strong additions to the album but in my opinion, there are better versions of each out there. Personally, I’ve never seen the appeal (other than novelty) of "Blueberry Hill” and the addition of "Mr.Wong,” essentially a weaker version of "Mr. Chin,” is just plain odd. However, the majority of the material here is exemplary of Yellowman in all his self-depreciating, sex advocating, big up boasting, rhyme and toasting best.