Name: Swing Low
Brand: The Heptones

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

BSRCD915

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Colour

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

With Bonus Track.

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Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2019-04-26

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

Tax rate GB

UPC / Barcode

5036436119721

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Total Cap

1 / CD / Extended format: No / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

Artist

The Heptones

Genre GB

Reggae / Dub

Label GB

Burning Sounds

Record Store Day 2019

This is a Record Store Day 2019 item. It will be available to purchase from our stores from 8am 13th April. Remaining stock will be available to purchase from this page at 00.01 20th April.

The Heptones were one of Jamaica's premier vocal trios, but when lead singer, bassist and main songwriter Leroy Sibbles left the group in 1977, the Heptones (Barry Llewellyn, Earl Morgan and new member Naggo Morris) began to suffer from inconsistency, and their post-Sibbles work is equal parts marvelous and bland, depending on the song and / or the production approach. Which is why Swing Low, originally released in 1985, is such a delight, coming off as charming, confident and subtly innovative from start to finish. The opener, Swing Low, blends the spiritual Swing Low Sweet Chariot with the traditional Jamaican Key Man melody and a don't-hurry nyahbinghi rhythm to produce an impressive synthesis. Llewellyn's original, Down Comes the Rain, is simple and direct, sounding a little like a great lost Temptations single. Another highlight is the dub-sounding So Long, which sets the stage for the final (and most striking) track on the album, an all-the-bells-and-whistles version of Curtis Mayfield's I'm So Proud that does a good job of approximating the watery, mysterious feel of a Lee "Scratch" Perry Black Ark production. Swing Low sounds relaxed and certain, and while it reaches a bit, it never over-reaches, making it easily one of the better Heptones albums - with or without Sibbles.

2LP - 180 Gram Vinyl plus bonus 12” single, featuring extensive sleevenotes. 

Swing Low

Music GB