Freddie McGregor, FM (CD)

Special limited-edition one off pressing cyan coloured vinyl edition

FM showcases the talents of Freddie McGregor and The Soul Syndicate like no other album!

This album has been fully remastered on high-quality vinyl pressing, presented in the original artwork, and is also available for the first time ever on CD, housed in gatefold-style card sleeve.

TRACKLIST 

1. Natural Collie

2. Revolutionist

3. Mission Impossible

4. Strange Things

5. Mark Of The Beast

6. Sergeant Brown

7. Leave Yah

8. Love Ballad

DESCRIPTION

First released in 1992, out of print for over 30 years and extremely hard to find original copies, FM remains one of the key releases from legendary singer Freddie McGregor. Worth its weight in gold for the inclusion of the all-time classic anthem 'Natural Collie’.

‘FM’ is an absolutely stunning collection of tracks by Freddie McGregor, recorded between 1977 and 1982, originally released as singles on Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith’s High Times label in Jamaica. Freddie McGregor is accompanied on the album by the Soul Syndicate band, one of the most important and defining roots reggae session groups, who worked regularly with many of the major producers in Kingston in the 1970s and 1980s.

What is amazing about this album is that ‘Natural Collie’, the most well-known cut of this set, is simply the first in a line of KILLER tunes as Freddie McGregor and the Soul Syndicate drop stunning original tunes as well as playful recuts, re-versioning classic cuts and generally have a great time. The music is a startlingly fresh set of late 1970s/early 1980s funky, soulful and righteous roots reggae tunes that include ‘Mission Impossible’, ‘Strange Things’, ‘Revolutionist’, ‘Leave Yah’ and ‘Mark of the Beast’.

A number of the tunes here are McGregor’s stunningly soulful renditions of American R&B classic tunes. The classic ‘Natural Collie’ is McGregor’s Rastafarian-inspired cover of the soul and jazz artist Norman Connor’s ‘You Are My Starship’, released two years prior. ‘Love Ballad’ was written by Skip Scarborough for the USA soul group L.T.D. (featuring Jeffrey Osborne). Here McGregor also versions his own ‘I’m A Revolutionist’, originally cut for the Studio One label, The Intern’s ‘Nothing is Impossible’ (as ‘Mission Impossible’) and John Holt’s classic ‘Strange Things’.

Freddie McGregor was born in Clarendon, Jamaica in 1956 and began his singing career as a child at Studio One, signing to the label when he was just seven years old, alongside Fitzroy ‘Ernest’ Wilson and Peter Austin, in the group The Clarendonians. Converting to Rastafari in 1975, his music took on a strong socially conscious tone, with classic songs such as ‘Bobby Babylon’, and ‘I Am A Revolutionist’, recorded for Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd, becoming a key part of Studio One’s resurgence in the 1970s and ‘80s.

In this same prolific period McGregor also recorded a stunning set of single releases for producer Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith’ on his High Times label. Collected here, these songs show Freddie McGregor at the top of his game and height of his powers. On all these tunes, McGregor is backed by the Soul Syndicate – Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith, Carlton ‘Santa’ Davis, George ‘Fully’ Fullwood, Tony Chin and Bernard Harvey. This much in-demand session group recorded for many A-class producers including Keith Hudson, Niney the Observer (as ‘The Observers’), Duke Reid and Smith. They created the famous ‘Stalag 17’ rhythm (used for Tenor Saw’s ‘Ring the Alarm’, Sister Nancy’s ‘Bam Bam’ and many more) for producer Winston Riley and were also an integral part of The Aggrovators, who recorded extensively for Bunny Lee.