For Hire And Removal Riddim – Volcano Productions

A lean, bass-heavy early-’80s roots cut is what you get here, the kind of Volcano production that sits deep in the rhythm and lets the vocal character do the talking. For Hire And Removal Riddim was cut in 1982, with Henry “Junjo” Lawes at the controls and the Roots Radics version tucked underneath Eek-A-Mouse’s title tune. The track count is short, but the pairing is sharp: Eek’s off-kilter phrasing and sly delivery give the riddim its personality, while Michigan and Smiley’s “Lu Be Lu” pushes the same groove into a lighter, more playful corner. That contrast is the point of the release, with Junjo’s sound system-era polish keeping everything taut and spare. Eek-A-Mouse’s “For Hire And Removal” is the one that lingers.