Best Of Horace Andy

Emotive vocalist Horace Andy was born Horace Hinds, the younger cousin of another Jamaican treasure, Justin Hinds. Like seemingly every other performer on the island, Andy found his first success at Coxsone Dodd's Studio One before leaving and becoming an active freelancer, working with numerous producers, including Niney Holness, Bunny Lee, Joe Gibbs, and Augustus Pablo. Andy's one-of-a-kind falsetto, which soared over the highest tenor, had a tangible, vulnerable quality to it, and a spooky, angelic eeriness marks most of his vocals. Given his tendency to re-record his songs time and time again with different producers, always with new elements added, it is difficult to even decide on the best version of a song like "Skylarking," let alone compile a single-disc greatest hits. On this collection, he tackles Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" along with versions of several of his best-known songs, including "Skylarking," "Zion Gate," and a fine cover, with a dub feel, of Bob Marley's "Natural Mystic." Horace Andy's distinctive voice makes all his albums -- even collections -- seem like a coherent whole. ~ Steve Leggett, Rovi