After the massive interest we received from our first post on The Naturalites, "Picture On The Wall", we have decided to follow up with the groups second album, the even rarer, "Marvellous" of 1987.
The Naturalites were formed in Nottingham, England in 1982 by the vocal trio of Ossie 'Gad' Samms, Percy 'Jah P' McLeod and Neil Foster.
The group were musically backed by The Realistics, a massive twelve piece out-fit consisting of Alton 'Issachar' Rickets and Chester Marzink on drums, Lenroy 'Bassie' Guiste on bass guitar, Paul 'Bimmus I' Prince on lead guitar, Marcus 'Naphtali' Hodges and Winnie Williams on keys, and Wilford Fearon and Johnny White on percussion.
The amazing horn section were made up of Albert 'Eitiko' Barnes on trumpet, Vic Middleton on Tenor/Alto Sax, Hughie 'Joseph' Duffus on Alto Sax and Junior Lindo on Tenor Sax.
The group arrived on the scene as Britain was enjoying a run of successful homegrown Reggae groups such as Aswad, Steel Pulse, UB40 and Black Roots.
In 1983 The Naturalites released, what would become their biggest and most remembered song, "Picture On The Wall" which hit the top spot in the UK Reggae chart.
The song was released on the bands own 'Realistic Records' label but it wasn't long before the band signed with major label CSA.
The band received extensive coverage on deejay Mikey Dread's popular Rockers Road Show and appeared twice on John Peel's BBC Radio One show in the UK.
In 1984 the band began recording songs for their debut album "Picture On The Wall" which CSA Records released in 1985.
The album combines the styles of Roots Reggae with Lover's Rock, both of which were popular in the UK during the early 1980's and the album sold well.
Additional singles were issued to promote the album including "Lion Inna Jungle" and "Love and Understanding" which continued to sell well and The Naturalites extensive touring helped establish the group as one of the biggest UK Reggae bands.
"Picture On The Wall" was produced by Johnny White. The recording was done predominantly at the groups local Sin City studio in Nottingham with some other tracks being cut at Easy Street studios and Mark Angelos studios in London. The album was sent off to be mixed in Jamaica at the famous Aquarius Studio in Kingston.
The Naturalites went on to record two more albums in their short career including "Marvellous" released in 1987 and their final album "Naturalites In Ites" which came out in 1989.
It is the second album that we have on showcase right here, "Marvellous", released in 1987 on CSA Records. It also can be found on the groups own Realistic label.
A brilliant follow up containing the songs "Rasta Youth", "Sweeter Than Wine", "Cry For You" and "What About The Africans?".
Produced by Fitzroy "Wizard" Blake, Wilfred Fearon and Johnny White, Mixed by Chris Daley it was recorded at The Marcus Garvey Studio in Nottingham and once again mixed in Jamaica at Aquarius Studios.
By the time of recording "Marvellous" the Naturalites line-up had changed slightly. Neil Foster had left the group leaving Percy McLeod and Ossie Gad as lead vocalists alongside the Realistics band which now included Dennis Cole on drums and Wilfred Fearon adding percussion.
The album almost picks up exactly where "Picture On The Wall" ended, once again mixing excellent roots rockers material with the laid back lover's style, the band sound awesome and the horn section give it that authentic Naturalites / Realistics sound that made them so popular on their debut.
The group would continue with their third album release "Naturalites In Ites" which came out in 1989 but it never achieved the success of the groups first two albums and signs began to show that the group was coming to an end.
By 1990 the band decided to go their seperate ways with lead singers Ossie 'Gad' Samms and Percy 'Jah P' McLeod both going on to enjoy solo careers.
The Naturalites "Marvellous" is a wonderful album, it is ... in a word ... MARVELLOUS! and definitely worth a second listen.
Enjoy!
The Naturalites - Marvellous (1987)
1) The Way I Feel
2) Back To Lovers
3) Cry For You
4) Last Days
5) Rasta Youth
6) Jah Is Marvellous
7) Lately
8) Sweeter Than Wine
9) Someone Else
10) I Love Jah
11) What About The Africans?
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A fine set here from another unsung hero of Reggae music, Mr Roman Stewart. Despite having a massive body of work that began in the late sixties and continued right up to his untimely death in 2004 he remains largely unknown outside of Reggae circles.
Roman Stewart was born in 1957, the younger brother of Tinga Stewart (who also went on to become a popular Reggae singer). They grew up in Kingston, Jamaica and attended the Aloysius Boys School and then the Trench Town Comprehensive.
By their early teens the brothers had decided to try and make a living in the growing Jamaican music industry but as so many young Jamaicans were also trying to do the same it proved difficult.
Roman cut his first ever single in the late 1960's at age 11 entitled "Walking Down The Street" for producer Duke Reid, released under the name Romeo Stewart, the youngster failed to maintain any popularity.
The young Roman would spend many hours down at Victoria Pier singing interpretations of Mario Lanza songs to the passing tourists for loose change.
By the very late '60's he began hanging out on Orange Street with other up and coming singers including Dennis Brown, Freddie McGregor and Jacob Miller, all waiting for a chance to hit the recording studio.
In the early 1970's Roman cut the single "Never Too Young To Learn" for producer Glen Brown, a quality record that proved a hit on the local scene. He went on to record singles for Duke Reid and Derrick Harriott and recorded the song "Changing Times" with friend Dennis Brown.
In 1974 Roman's biggest break came when his single "Hooray Festival" won the Jamaican Song Festival competition. The song was written by his brother Tinga who had also won the competition the previous year and was slowly making a name for himself on the Reggae scene.
Roman would then cut singles for a number of Jamaica's top producers of the time including Tommy Cowan, Phil Pratt, Linval Thompson, Everton Da Silva, Augustus Pablo, Tony Robinson and Lee "Scratch" Perry.
A handful of these singles were credited to Roman Scotland, most likely a direction given by Lee Perry who would often release singles using alternative names.
His next big hit came in 1976, funnily enough it was entitled "Natty Sing A Hit Song", it was quickly followed up with another popular record called "Rice And Peas".
Using the money he had made from the huge number of singles he had recorded between 1974 and 1976 Roman moved to New York, USA.
In 1978 the first full album release by Roman came out entitled "Running Away From Love", released on the 'Island In The Sun' label, it was produced by Byron Whitely and arranged by legendary musician Jackie Mittoo.
It is a fine album aimed at the growing 'Lover's Rock' market with some great tracks including "Money Worries", "Live And Learn" and of course the title track that stands as one of Roman's greatest singles.
Roman's live concerts were always highly praised as he would give energetic performances and with his friendly, polite personality he gained the nickname 'Mr. Special' among fans and friends.
In 1979 a second album was released in Jamaica entitled "How Can I Love Someone" on the unknown LP Music label. Production credits are given to Lloydie Soul Combo and the backing Soul Syndicate band. It credits Treasure Isle, Dynamics and Randy's as recording studios.
The album is made up predominantly of older singles recorded before Roman left Jamaica for New York including "Hit Song", "Tears On My Pillow", "Remember" and his wonderful cover of "Wolverton Mountain".
Roman would regularly return to Jamaica to record singles which would appear on labels such as Greensleeves, GG's, Micron and Trojan.
By late 1979 he recorded a number of disco 12" singles in collaboration with deejay Trinity including the hits "Why You Acting So?" and "Baby Come Back".
In 1984 Roman and his brother Tinga recorded the duet album "Break Down The Barrier", produced by Tinga and mixed by Peter Chemist, it was recorded at Aquarius Studios with musicians including the dynamic duo Sly And Robbie, David Madden, Glen Da Costa and Roman's cousin Owen Fox Stewart on keys and synths.
The album is a solid piece of roots containing the songs "We Are Brothers", "Love Is Here To Get" and the popular single "Coodeh". It came out on Errol Scorcher's 'Scorcher Entertainment' label.
Roman was a quality singer and crossed over easily into the 1980's digital scene, competing well with many more singles appearing throughout the decade.
By 1987 he released his next solo album entitled "Ruling And Controlling" on the '195 Park Heights' label.
The album was produced by Raphael and P. Smart with executive producers Delroy and Flavia Francis and Roman is backed by the Taxi Crew.
It was another nice record which included the tracks "Black Me Black", "Modellers" and "Doing Fine" although it has since become rather hard to locate a copy and is now unfortunately out of print.
As Reggae music headed into the '90's Roman again crossed-over well, his vocal ability seemingly fitting into whatever style was taking over the scene.
In 1991 he released the album "Diplomat" on Shelly's Records with producer 'Count' Shelly Barrett. An album with that distinctive 1990's sound it included a number of well chosen covers such as Bob Marley's "War", Dennis Brown's "Silhouette" and Bob Dylan's "Man In Me".
It also includes updated versions of his own "How Can I Love Someone" and "Breaking Down The Barrier".
The album was re-issued in 2005 as "Continually" on the 'TP Records' label for some reason alongside Errol Dunkley's "Sit And Cry Over You" album which dates from much earlier.
Roman would often re-cut earlier hits in an updated style and this was the case with songs such as "Coodeh", "Rice And Peas", "Cheater" and "Baby Why".
In the mid-90's Roman returned to the studio with his brother Tinga to record a second duet album entitled "Brother To Brother" released on the 'Jamhill Records' label, produced once again by Tinga.
The recording was split between Scorpio studio with backing from Scorpio Sounds and Heavybeat Studio with backing from the Heavybeat Crew. Another high quality album featuring the songs "Reggae Music Comes From Yard", "Amor", "Doorbell" and the updated "Coodeh".
The album was re-issued on the 'Emperor Records' label in the US in 1998 and is available on iTunes.
In 2001 Roman began working with producer Gussie P and released a number of excellent singles on the 'Sip-A-Cup' label. Returning to the roots rockers style in which he had started his career these singles include "Shashamane Land", "True Colors", "No Peace In The City" and "Praise Jah". An album surfaced called "Wisdom Of Solomon" which is an amazing roots record definitely worth tracking down.
In 2010 a posthumous 'Greatest Hits' was released on the 'Sergent Major Company' label containing 13 not particularly well chosen tunes entitled "Roman Stewart - The Best Of Collection".
In New York Roman would frequent local Reggae studios, occasionally recording material. He would often perform at local Reggae festivals, charity events and would support visiting Jamaican artists such as Dennis Brown and Freddie McGregor.
It was whilst coming out to perform some songs after a Freddie McGregor concert in New York that Roman felt ill, complaining of chest pains he was taken to hospital where he slipped into a coma.
He had been struggling with drink and drug abuse for some time and had vowed to clean up his act but it proved too late. Roman died in his coma in January 2004 aged just 47.
Who knows just what Roman may have gone on to achieve had he survived and cleaned up his lifestyle?
What is known is that he has left us an amazing body of work, some of the greatest roots reggae and a voice like no other in reggae music.
Rest In Peace, Roman Stewart, A Man Of Dignity.
Man Of Dignity: The Very Best Of Roman Stewart (Deluxe Edition)
Disc One:
1) Walking Down The Street {Romeo Stewart}
2) Hooray Festival
3) Changing Times (With Dennis Brown)
4) Never Too Young To Learn
5) Try Me
6) Why
7) Fire At Your Heel
8) Only Fay
9) Never Again
10) If I Didn't Love You
11) One Broken Heart
12) Seasons In The Sun
13) Bad Minded People
14) Arab & Israelite
15) Daughter Like It Hot
16) In The Chapel
17) Jean
18) Wolverton Mountain
19) Wolverton Version
20) Loving Arms
21) Remember
22) I Was Lonely
23) Tears On My Pillow
24) Peace In The Valley
25) Man Of Dignity
Disc Two:
1) Pretty Blue Eyes
2) In The Morning
3) Your Arms
4) You Belong To Me
5) Money Worries
6) Running Away From Love
7) Live And Learn
8) You'll Lose A Good Thing
9) Do Right
10) Jealousy
11) Hit Song
12) Love Is Here To Stay
13) Doing Fine
14) Doing Fine (Version) 15) Babylon
16) Nattie Grove
17) Herbalist
18) Feel Good
19) If I Had A Hammer
20) Praise Jah
21) Casanova
22) No Peace Until (With Barrington Spence)
23) Rice And Peas
24) Today
25) What You Wanna Do?
26) Breaking Up
Disc Three:
1) Mr. Officer
2) Peace Talk (With Ricky Grant)
3) Problems
4) Since You're Gone (With Trinity)
5) Why You Acting So? (With Trinity)
6) Baby Come Back (With Trinity)
7) True Colours
8) My Heart
9) Jamaican People
10) Dancing Time
11) Same Folks (With Tinga Stewart)
12) Break Down The Barrier (With Tinga Stewart)
13) Break Down The Barrier (Dub)
14) Coodeh (With Tinga Stewart)
15) We Are Brothers (With Tinga Stewart)
16) Love Is Here To Get (With Tinga Stewart)
17) Love Is Here To Get (Dub)
18) Heart Break Girl (With Tinga Stewart)
19) Starting All Over Again (With Tinga Stewart)
20) Listen Is To Learn (With Tinga Stewart)
21) Holy Place (Mount Zion)
22) Modellers
23) Ruling And Controlling
24) Black Me Black
25) Breaking Down The Barrier
Disc Four:
1) Diplomat
2) Jail House Rock
3) Man In Me
4) Silhouette
5) Make Them Talk (With Bobo General)
6) Love Is Amazing
7) Unchained
8) War
9) How Can I Love Someone
10) Baby Why
11) There's No Me Without You
12) My Love
13) Love And Hate (With Reggie Stepper)
14) Doorbell (With Tinga Stewart)
15) Reggae Come From Yard (With Tinga Stewart)
16) Amor (With Tinga Stewart)
17) Soul Power
18) Rice And Peas (90's Re-Cut)
19) Wisdom Of Solomon
20) Mount Zion
21) Shashamane Land
22) Shashamane Dub
23) No Peace In The City
24) Cheater
25) Wars (Rumors Of Wars)
Man Of Dignity (Deluxe Edition)
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Another amazing compilation of work from yet another true legend of Caribbean music. Mr Shervington.
Ram Goat Liver: The Very Best Of Pluto Shervington showcases some of his classic songs alongside album cuts, b-sides and rare singles.
Pluto was born Leighton Shervington in Kingston, Jamaica on the 13th August 1950.
His musical career began in the late 1960's through early 1970's as a member of the psychedelic reggae group Tomorrow's Children. The group included John Jones, Ken Lazarus and Richard Daley, the latter would later become the bassist of massive international reggae group Third World.
Tomorrow's Children were reasonably popular in Jamaica, releasing a number of fine singles, predominantly covers of American R'n'B and Psychedelic numbers including Edwin Starr's "War" and Mungo Jerry's "In The Summertime". One of the groups most popular covers was the Nancy Sinatra favourite "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" which was released as a single in the late 1960's.
The groups debut album was released in 1970 and was entitled "The Going's Great With Tomorrow's Children", it included covers of "It's All In The Game", "You Keep Me Hanging On" and "Wild World".
It also included Pluto's self-penned track "Bend Down", which he would later re-record as a solo artist. Their second album "The Thoroughbred Sound" included the popular single "Merci Cherie" of 1971.
Their final album entitled "Today" included covers of "Dock Of The Bay" and "Lady Madonna", released in 1972.
Tomorrow's Children eventually disbanded around 1973 and Pluto joined the short-lived group The Escorts who released the single "Sixpence".
Inspired by his good friend Ernie Smith, who had scored a fairly decent hit with "Duppy Or Gunman" which was sung in heavy patois, Pluto decided to embark on a solo career.
Pluto joined up with producer Paul Khouri, the son of Ken Khouri (who had been a pioneer on the Jamaican music scene). Paul had been working with legendary guitarist Ernest Ranglin as well as the groups The Gaylettes and Now Generation.
Pluto's early singles didn't prove remarkably successful, such as "Mocking Bird Song" and "Message To The People" but that was all to change when he released "Ram Goat Liver" in 1974. The song is a comical story about a bus hitting a goat and the passengers deciding to cook up various dishes with it's remains.
Pluto sings in heavy patois throughout, with almost a calypso style to his vocals and the song today remains one of the classic reggae singles of the early 70's.
Other singles followed including "Letter From Miami" and "Never Ending Song Of Love" before the release of his debut album "Ramgoat" released in 1974 on the Wildflower label.
The album included some nicely chosen covers including "Jambalaya", "Rock The Boat", "Kung Fu Fighting" and two Bob Marley cuts, "Knotty Dread" and "I Shot The Sheriff".
Later that same year Pluto scored big again with another cracking single, "Dat", the story of a down-on-his-luck Rasta who can only afford to buy pork despite it being against his religous views.
The song has also been viewed as having a double meaning whereby the butcher in the story is actually selling marijuana of various strengths.
The song was a massive hit in Jamaica and it quickly became a cross-over smash, breaking into the UK singles chart and climbing as high as number 6.
The UK based Trojan Records decided to capitalise on the success by re-issuing "Ram Goat Liver" which also entered the chart.
Back in Jamaica Pluto continued to release some excellent singles including "I Man Bitter" and the superb "Your Honour", another comical story of a man pleading with a judge over a case of mis-identity.
Another song, "Boogie Bump", appeared on the compilation album "Reggae Disco Hits" released on the Cactus label in 1975.
Pluto also began working in various other roles behind the microphone, he was an accomplished guitar and keyboard player but also worked as a studio engineer and songwriter.
In 1974 he recieved an engineer credit on Little Roy's classic LP "Tafari Earth Uprising", he also helped Paul Davidson on his massive hit single "Midnight Rider" (a cover of the Allman Brothers song), produced the single "Hooray Festival" for Roman Stewart and wrote "Let Go" for Ken Boothe.
A self-titled second album appeared in Jamaica in 1975, again on the Wildflower label and produced by Paul Khouri.
"Pluto" contained some great songs such as "Your Kiss Is Sweet", "Ride 'em Cowboy", "Laughter In The Rain" and "Doctor's Orders".
The UK version was released on Opal Records in early 1976, although still entitled "Pluto" the tracklisting was essentially a mix of tracks from "Ramgoat" and the Jamaican edition of "Pluto".
In 1976 more excellent singles appeared including "I Man Born Ya", another massive hit in Jamaica as well as the cuts "Head Above The Water", "What Da ...?", "Reggae Tonight" and "Dancing Mood".
Shortly after Pluto released his third Jamaican album entitled "Greatest Reggae Hits", once again on the Wildflower label with Paul Khouri on production.
The album has Pluto taking on some of the biggest hits from recent times including The Heptones' "Book Of Rules", Ken Boothe's "Everything I Own", Dennis Brown's "Cassandra" and George Faith's "Have Some Mercy".
The biggest hits however continued to appear as singles including the mega-hit "Dis Ya Hard Time (Can't Last)", "Screwface (Can't Frighten Blindman)" and the calypso flavoured "Gimme" / "We Kind Of Music" which appeared between 1976 and 1979.
In 1981 Wildflower released a compilation album of instrumentals entitled "Song Of The Sea" which credits Pluto for his guitar contributions.
By the early 1980's however Pluto decided to emigrate, moving to Miami, Florida, USA. This didn't seem to stop his musical ambitions though and he continued to perform and record new material.
In 1981 Pluto released the album "Ire Mass Rockers Carnival" on the Top Ranking International label, the album contained six new songs (four of which are 8 minutes or more long and feature an uncredited Toaster).
Also in 1981 the UK based KR label released "Your Honour" as a single in Europe, it had previously been unreleased overseas with only exported Jamaican 7 inches reaching the UK.
The song did very well reaching number 19 and prompting the BBC to book Pluto for an appearance on Top Of The Pops.
The single was also notable for it's b-side entitled "No Honour Among Tiefs" which instead of being the usual dub version was actually an instrumental take on Bob Marley And The Wailers' "Is This Love".
KR Records capitalised on the success of "Your Honour" in the UK by releasing the album "Pluto Again" in 1982.
The album is a collection of Pluto's biggest singles from 1974 to 1976, some of which had not recieved a UK release. The album also spread through the rest of Europe via the Edigsa label.
Back over in Florida at this time Pluto had recorded the album "Reggae Fever" for the Buck Ram label, the album is a mix of reggae, calypso and soca featuring such songs as "Obeah", "Soca Baby", "Rhumbo Fever" and "Lorraine".
In 1983 Pluto provided backing vocals on Bunny Maloney's classic album "On My Mind" released on the Moondisc label. A fantastic record, it's well worth tracking down a copy if you haven't already.
Pluto's next appearance on record wasn't until 1987 when he worked as a session musician (Guitar / Piano) on Eddie Lovette's album "A True Experience".
Throughout the 1990's Pluto continued to perform live in and around Miami, he also made periodic trips back to Jamaica and the surrounding Caribbean islands.
A number of greatest hits compilations were released on various labels, one of the finest being "Dat: The Best Of Pluto Shervington" on Trojan Records in the early 2000's.
In 2007 Pluto made a wonderful appearance at the St. Kitts Music Festival, headlining alongside contemporaries of modern reggae including Sean Paul and Steel Pulse.
Then in 2009 Pluto finally returned to the recording studio to put together his fantastic and appropriately named album "Second Wind", released on his own Pluto Shervington Music label.
A wonderful return to form featuring such musicians as Robbie Lyn, Moses Davidson, Nambo Robinson and Dean Fraser. It also features collaborations with calypso favourite Byron Lee, dancehall MC Tanto Metro and long-time friend Ernie Smith.
A truely wonderful artist Pluto Shervington continues to perform and record, he has dabbled in international success and has a back catalogue of material that any reggae or calpyso artist would be proud of.
This compilation showcases Pluto's classic hit singles alongside album cuts and rarities, from his early solo days of 1974 right up to his recent return to form in 2009.
Enjoy!
Ram Goat Liver: The Very Best Of Pluto Shervington
Disc One:
1) Ram Goat Liver
2) Sixpence
3) Letter From Miami
4) Rock The Boat
5) Jambalaya
6) I Shot The Sheriff
7) Never Ending Song Of Love
8) Here And Now
9) Kung Fu Fighting
10) Knotty Dread
11) Dat
12) Your Kiss Is Sweet
13) Doctor's Orders
14) Ride 'Em Cowboy
15) Your Honour
16) Rockin' Soul
17) Laughter In The Rain
18) Ms. Grace
19) I Man Bitter
20) Bend Down
21) Boogie Bump
22) Dancing Mood
23) I Man Born Ya
24) Head Above The Water
25) What Da ...?
26) Reggae Tonight
Disc Two:
1) Here I Am (Come And Take Me)
2) The Book Of Rules
3) No Joshua No
4) I Man Bitter (Album Version)
5) Cassandra
6) My Heart Don't Know When To Stop Breaking
7) Some Guys Have All The Luck
8) Everything I Own
9) Have Some Mercy
10) Mother Liza
11) Dis Ya Hard Time (Can't Last)
12) Screwface (Can't Frighten Blindman)
13) We Kind Of Music
14) Gimme
15) Winston Spree
16) Rass Mass
17) Charlene
18) Ethel
19) Making Love
20) Take You Time
21) Vampire Year
22) Sending Flowers
23) That's The Kind Of People We Are
24) Jamdown We Deh (With Ernie Smith)
25) Ivan (With Byron Lee and Tanto Metro)
26) Long-Blackwood
Bonus Versions:
1) Ram Goat Liver (Version)
2) Dat (Version)
3) I Man Bitter (Version)
Ram Goat Liver:
Please be aware that all download links are currently unavailable as of January 2023
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