Everything I Own: The Definitive Collection

Often referred to as the Jamaican Otis Redding, Ken Boothe probably came closer than any other Jamaican singer of his generation (Toots Hibbert aside) to re-creating an island version of Memphis soul, and his gritty and nuanced vocals on his frequent covers of American R&B hits often brought refreshing new dimensions to the songs. This two-disc, 53-track collection spans Boothe's work from 1962 to 1995 and establishes the obvious fact that he has been a very consistent, intriguing and top-notch singer through the years. Like most veteran Jamaican musicians, Boothe has tracked sides with several producers along the way, including Duke Reid, Clement Dodd, Sonia Pottinger, Leslie Kong, Lloyd Charmers, Niney Holness and Bunny Lee and he has done outstanding work with all of them. This set captures the highlights of most of those associations. From Kong we get the resilient "Freedom Street" and "Drums of Freedom." Boothe's productive stay with Charmers yields impressive covers of Syl Johnson's "Is It Because I'm Black," Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" and Bread's "Everything I Own," along with the original composition "Crying over You." Niney Holness produced the influential "Silver Words" while Bunny Lee helmed the impressive remake of "You're No Good," first cut by Boothe in the late '60s for Clement Dodd. What keeps this sweeping compilation from being ideal is the failure to license and include any of Boothe's sides from Studio One with Dodd, which means the absence of the original versions of "You're No Good" and "The Train Is Coming" (which featured background harmonies by the Wailers — the version included in this set is a 1995 remake with Shaggy) and his solid covers of "Puppet on a String" and "Mustang Sally." This is still a very solid set, and the most expansive introduction to Boothe currently on the market, but the absence of any of the Studio One material leaves an obvious hole.