Various Artists - The SANTIC Collection (CD 2000)

The 'Lovers Rock' reggae sound of Santic Records and producer Leonard Chin from late 70's early 80's.

The sound was a very romantic contrast to the heavy dub and roots sound coming out of Jamaica and the Jamaican Sound Systems. Based in the UK, it is said that the lovers sound kept a lot of the UK sound systems going at a time where the Jamaican sound generally ruled. Both types of reggae were popular side-by-side in the UK.

Many of the Lovers Rock singers and fans were both young and female and this is reflected on this CD.

There are two tracks on this CD that are absolutely essential: 'I'm So Sorry' by Carroll Thompson was at the top of the reggae charts for many weeks and remains the perfect example of UK Lovers Rock - heartfelt lyrics and a great rythmn.

The second is 'Paradise' by Jean Adebambo and the vocals and rythmn just float -outstanding!

The rest of the CD is not up to this standard but there are still some great tunes including 'It's True' by Donna Rhoden who was very young at the time of recording and this shows in the vocals that are full of character but short on quality. That said, there are some stinkers here too (e.g. 'I just can't forget about you baby' - as bad as some of the others are good!)

So, buy it if you haven't got the standout tracks - 5/5 for them and good - poor for the rest.