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Jazzie B presents
School Days
released: 9th June 2008
label: Trojan
Review by: Paul Clarke (Taken from www.bbc.co.uk)
17 June 2008
We can't say whether Jazzie B's schoolteachers ever berated the young Funki Dred as he fell to sleep at the back of the class with the words, ''You'll never get anywhere mucking around with that soundsystem instead of doing your homework''. But if they did they couldn't have been more wrong. It was revising his knowledge of the essential elements of roots, dub and reggae rather than the periodic table that got Jazzie B where he is today, which is as a proud owner of the OBE he received in the last Queen's Honours List. School Days is the soundtrack to his first steps on the road to Buckingham Palace, a journey which would also, via Soul II Soul, change the whole course of British black music. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, whilst still at school in North London, Jazzie B was a lynchpin of the Jah Rico soundsystem, the predecessor to Soul II Soul whose staple anthems are collected here. It's nice, if slightly fanciful, to imagine that the inclusion of Tenor Saw's Ring The Alarm - probably the most famous track here - could symbolise the end of the school day and the moment when Jazzie turned from pupil to teacher. For through his selections, Jazzie does indeed provide a fairly comprehensive education in lover's rock and the more soulful side of reggae which would clearly be a formative influence on the sound of Soul II Soul. Take Matumbi's Point Of View, whose almost doo-wop vocal backing is as catchy as the ''however do you want me'' intro to Back To Life, or the gorgeous singalong qualities of Barrington Levy and Jah Thomas' Shine Eye Girl. It's a fairly laidback selection for the most part, with tracks like Dennis Brown's Love Has Found Its Way perfect for both skanking and romancing, although Admiral Bailey's Jump Up adds some bounce. They do say your school days are the best of your life and whilst Jazzie has gone on to greater achievements since the charm of this compilation comes from its rosy glow of musical nostalgia and memories of long hot summers, even if they're not your own. (Taken from www.bbc.co.uk)
