Hunts Bay Riddim – Prince Jammy

A dark, jailhouse-steeped reggae cut runs through this one, all stern bass and clipped digital-era edge, with Prince Jammy’s hand leaving that unmistakable Channel One/Tubby-era sheen on the Hunts Bay rhythm. Junior Reid is the thread that really locks it in, cutting three tunes here — “Hunts Bay, ” “Jail House, ” and “Woman Change Your Ways” — and his voice sits naturally against the riddim’s hard, lock-up imagery, especially beside Nicodemus’ “Life In A Jail House” and Yellowman’s DJ spin on “Rose Marie. ” Jammy’s own “Conspiracy On Neptune” and “The Crowning Of Prince Jammy” push the set a little further out into his trademark futuristic zone, which is half the fun of digging through this 1982 session, anyway.