Judge Heavy Manners Riddim – Bunny Lee

Just two cuts here, but that’s all this Bunny Lee set needs: Derrick Morgan’s “Judge Heavy Manners” and the Aggravators’ “Full A Manners” circle the same 1976 riddim from two angles. Morgan sounds sharp and a little sly on the vocal side, riding the tune with that seasoned, conversational phrasing he’d long made his own, while the Aggravators keep the instrumental version lean and muscular, all forward motion and studio bounce. Bunny Lee’s hand is all over it, and the connection makes sense — Morgan and Lee were longtime collaborators, with this one issued through Third World Music in the middle of the ’70s roots-to-dancehall shift. It’s a tiny release, but it captures a very specific moment in Jamaican reggae when a good riddim could carry both a singer’s bite and a band’s version in equal measure.