Essential material from the toasting originator! Version Galore is the debut album from Ewart Beckford aka U-Roy. His rapping style of singing—or toasting—quickly took over the Jamaican scene in the early 1970s, and combined with rhythms and beats he created, U-Roy laid down a foundation for what was to come after him: hence the moniker, The Originator. This style of deejaying obviously existed in dancehall before, but U-Roy's laidback but exciting, fresh & idiosyncratic rants over the riddims on this LP (some top notch stuff from Duke Reid's Treasure Isle label) is something else. "Tide Is High" is probably the most familiar track for people, but also check out "Wear You to the Ball" with original vocals by John Holt, or the lighthearted shouts on "Rock Away."

• 180g gold colored vinyl
• individually stamped + numbered
• limited edition of 750
• original release year: 1970
• music label: Music On Vinyl 2023

reviewed by singing in japanese 08/2019