Geoffrey Morrison

Throwback Review: Great reggae versions: a lovingly specific appreciation

Reggae covers add zest to American and British pop songs. By Geoffrey Morrison   The period from the early 60s to the early 70s has always been my favorite in Jamaican popular music. It has something to do with the hesitant inception of new forms, tenuous, breakable rules, experimentation, vitality, and mess. Ah, the holy, incorruptible mess: once the production values get really good around 1971  my interest sort of wanes. Not only did Jamaica come into its own as a nation in this decade (gaining independence in 1962), but so did the incendiary three-stage radio rocket that is ska,…

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