About

Dennis was the third Jamaican teenage singing sensation (after Delroy Wilson and Errol Dunkley), but this collection skips his earliest work.

…country and doo-wop covers Let Me Down Easy and Silhouette, and the hypnotic self-penned self-help anthem Concentration. From there we move to his crisp, scratchy sides for the underrated Phil Pratt, including one of the definitive revisits to Peter Green’s Black Magic Woman. After the clattering, flute-swept At the Foot of the Mountain, and a spiky, eerie Heptones collaboration, Satisfaction Feeling (both bearing the sound blemishes of past 45 reissues), we travel through the rockers era to the early 1980s when Dennis was increasingly producing himself and visiting the UK. Results include the haunting anti-violence stepper (Don’t) Want to Be No General and his immortal pairing with Aswad, Promised Land – covered recently by Nas and Damian Marley.

…The sheer number of producers (each with their distinctive styles) for whom Dennis recorded – across roots, dancehall and lovers rock as the market demanded – can leave the casual listener unsure of where to begin. This collection, while inevitably missing the odd classic, should help. – BBC