Gorgan Riddim – Justice Records

By 1988, Justice Records had this one moving in a lean, rootsy direction: a stern one-drop feel, deep bass, and skanking guitar tucked under voices that keep the mood devotional even when the subject matter turns sly. Cornel Campbell opens the set with the title cut, while U Roy’s “Gorgan Wise” closes it out in deejay style, and the middle stretch brings a useful contrast from Frankie Paul, Luciano, Michael Rose, and Tony Curtis. The tracklist reads like a small cross-section of late-’80s reggae, with Horace Andy’s “Better Collie” and the dub take “Collie Dub” sitting beside the more overtly spiritual cuts. It’s a compact 10-track run, but the arrangement stays disciplined throughout, with the bass line carrying the weight and the rhythm settling into a steady mid-tempo pull.