Love Wont Come Easy Riddim (1992) – Xterminator Records

Six cuts deep, Love Wont Come Easy Riddim leans on a sharp little 1992 Xterminator lineup that pairs Beres Hammond, Tony Rebel and Sugar Minott on “Where Is The Love” with strong solo turns from Cocoa Tea, Little John and Sanchez. The pull here is the cast, but the riddim itself has that lean, rootsy early-’90s pulse Xterminator was so good at shaping under Philip “Fatis” Burrell, with the singers riding it in a way that keeps the arrangements open and the hooks front and center. “Africa Here I Come” gives Cocoa Tea a particularly graceful lane, while Sugar Minott returns later with “Don’t Burn Your Bridges, ” and Little John’s “Blood Ina Mi Eye” shows up twice in the listing as “Blood In A Mi Eye” and “Blood Ina Mi Eye. ” The tracklist closes with Sanchez’s “Boom Boom Bye Bye, ” making this a tidy six-track snapshot of the label’s sound in 1992.