Strong Like Sampson Various 1980s

Rough, waist-high bass and a clipped roots groove give Strong Like Sampson its muscle, with Barrington Levy cutting through twice on “She Rob And Gorn” and “Wicker In Tension, ” while Sugar Minott, Al Campbell and Barry Brown keep the pressure on with lean, hard-edged vocal turns. The sequence runs straight through eight cuts, no filler, so it plays like a compact 1980s showcase of the same rhythm handled by different voices, and Anthony Johnson’s “Hey Mr Rich – Man” sits neatly in the middle of that run. Linval Thompson’s Strong Like Sampson imprint is the name behind the session, a label he used during that early-’80s stretch when his productions were leaning into tougher roots and early dancehall styles. Eight tracks, seven artists.