Mission Impossible Riddim (1998) – Studio One

Studio One dusts off one of its sharpest keyboard sketches here, turning Jackie Mittoo’s “Mission Impossible” into a late-’90s dancehall juggling with deep roots in the label’s older catalogue. Coxsone Dodd’s imprint had already spent decades treating its vault like a living archive, and this release sits squarely in that tradition: an old-school instrumental idea revived through a 1998 dancehall frame, with the original writer and session architect still at the center of it. Mittoo, a founding Skatalites member and Studio One’s musical director in its classic era, is one of the key figures behind the label’s whole sound.

The rhythm itself has that unmistakable Studio One snap: bright organ phrases, tight bass weight, and a choppy, forward-moving feel that keeps things dancing without getting cluttered. It’s more sly than aggressive, with enough space in the groove for voices to ride it cleanly. Nardo Ranks’ “Joker” is the modern cut that gives the riddim its dancehall edge, his patter sitting neatly against the vintage swing. The Freedom Singers’ “Lovers Trains” brings a different temperature, softening the project with a more melodic, harmony-leaning approach.

That mix of old Studio One musicianship and later dancehall voicing is the appeal here. Rather than sounding like a museum piece, “Mission Impossible” feels like a small but pointed reminder of how durable Coxsone Dodd’s catalog remained in the 1990s, especially when the right voices were dropped on the right rhythm.