Horace Andy released Midnight Rocker earlier this year. I liked it. Just he did with Lee "Scratch" Perry a couple years ago, Adrian Sherwood took those tracks and did the dub. And, just like I far preferred Heavy Rain to Rainford, I'm more impressed by the reworked set than by the original.

Horace Andy Midnight Scorchers (On-U Sound)

An aged reggae voice has a charm all its own, so that's not the reason for my preference. I think I just like the more complex music on the remixes (I'm using that term very loosely, of course). Sherwood has a way of finding the key elements of each song and giving those moments a larger canvas. In a way, each track is playing the "greatest hits" of the grooves in the original and fleshing them out with a more diverse instrumental array.

If reggae is more your thing, then Rocker is definitely the way to go. Those who like to hear what a deft producer can do with a set of minimalist songs will probably (like me) gravitate to Scorchers. Listening to both is also an intriguing pleasure.

This album is no afterthought; its existence was intentional from the beginning of the Midnight project. Perry's success with the Rain albums was no doubt key to this undertaking, and this one succeeds as well. These albums are an interesting analogy to the Rick Rubin Johnny Cash albums: back to roots while pushing older artists to find new heights in their talent. Andy still has plenty to say and a willingness to try new things. Getting old this way means never actually getting old. I'm down with that.

Jon Worley