Bun And Cheese Riddim – Blue Mountain Records

Admiral Tibett sets the tone on Bun And Cheese Riddim with “Precious Land So Far Away, ” and that opening is a good clue to the whole set: late-’80s dancehall with enough melody and message to keep the bassline from doing all the talking. Blue Mountain’s 1989 production runs through 15 cuts, moving from Bunny General’s warning-shot “Put Down Yuh Gun Put Down Yuh Knife” to the title piece from Clement Irie and Robert French, plus a neat little posse cut in “Friends” with Copper Ranking, Sixy Morris, Mark Wonder and Johnny Lee. Dean Fraser’s version piece adds a cleaner instrumental lift, while Johnny Osbourne, Johnny P and Pad Anthony keep the pace in that easy, streetwise zone the era knew so well. But it’s Sugar Minott closing things out on “Love Is A Thing” that leaves the sweetest mark.