Haunted Riddim (1996) – Xtra Large/Madhouse Records

Haunted Riddim comes out of Dave Kelly’s Madhouse/Xtra Large camp in 1996, right in the period when the label was turning out some of the sharpest dancehall of the decade. Kelly’s productions were known for clean, hard digital drums and basslines that left plenty of space for vocals, and this one follows that formula with a tense, propulsive swing and a dark, wiry pulse that matches the title. It feels lean and unsettled rather than glossy, which gives the singers and deejays room to sharpen their delivery.

The lineup is a strong mid-’90s cross-section: Baby Cham on “Break Up And Make Up, ” Bounty Killer on “Worthless Bwoy, ” Lady Saw on “Woman Mi Name, ” Richie Stephens on “Bull Ina Pen, ” Spragga Benz on “Dolly House, ” Textra on “H. O. T, ” and Wayne Wonder on “The Best. ” Cham was still early in his run, and that cut catches him in his youthful, melodic mode. Bounty Killer brings the kind of rough-edged authority that made him one of the era’s defining voices. Lady Saw turns the riddim into a confrontation, using its clipped drive for one of the project’s fiercest cuts. Wayne Wonder’s “The Best” gives the set a smoother finish, while Spragga Benz and Richie Stephens keep the juggling moving with strong, memorable performances.

The riddim sits comfortably among the label’s important 1990s work and sounds like a snapshot of Madhouse at full strength: street-level, melodic where it needs to be, and built for sound system play.