Yard Style Christmas – Mic Productions

Christmas-dub warmth, with a sly local twist, runs through Yard Style Christmas, Mic Productions’ 1981 seasonal set that turns familiar carols into yard-ready reggae business. Barrington Levy and Trinity set the tone with “Flash Your Dread” and “I Saw Mommy Kiss a Dreadlocks, ” while Carlene Davis teams with Trinity on “Santa Claus Do You Ever Come to the Ghetto, ” a cut that leans into the album’s streetwise humour. The rest of the lineup keeps the mood moving between rootsier touches and novelty charm, from Jah Irie Chorus featuring Dean Fraser on “Sensimilla” to the Tamlins and Trinity closing with “Silent Night. ” Trinity’s presence threads the whole thing together, but it’s Levy’s double shot that leaves the sharpest mark.