To Be A Lover Riddim – Dee Jay

To Be A Lover Riddim comes from Dee Jay in 1973 and is tied to production work by Ainsley Folder, Jah Lloyd, Jah Mikey and Lee Scratch Perry. This 10-track selection brings together Augustus Pablo and King Tubby’s Pablo’s Mercy, Delroy Wilson’s Have Some Mercy, George Faith’s To Be A Lover, Jah Lloyd’s Ganja Crop, Shenley Duffus’s version of the title cut, and the Upsetters’ Lover Version, so it moves between roots vocals, deejay cuts and a strong instrumental side. George Faith’s To Be A Lover later resurfaced as a 1977 cut, which fits the way this rhythm kept circulating through Perry’s orbit. The release has a warm Black Ark-era feel and closes on a dubby, version-heavy mood that gives it a loose but focused vintage reggae flow.