Prince Far I — The Trojan Album Collection
The two CDs appear in a slimline jewel case- this is nicely colorful with a red, yellow & purple color scheme. The set features a sixteen-page inlay booklet- this takes in a six-page write-up about these albums & Prince Far I career- we also get a host of press cuttings, event posters, photos, vinyl labels, studio notes, etc.
Prince Far I ( real name Michael James Williams) was born in 1944 in Spanish Town Jamaica. His first music-related activities were deejaying on the musical dragon Soundsystem, working as a security guard at reggae producers Joe Gibbs' studio, and later as a bouncer at one of Jamaica's most renowned record labels and recording studios Studio One. But his first sonic steps came with the recording of 1969’s "The Great Booga Wooga" for Bunny Lee , and then in 1970 he recorded with legendary producer Coxsone Dodd who was so impressed he release the resulting recordings, at this point he took on the mantle of Williams Prince Far I. He was a stanch & practicing Rastafarian, and lyrical he preached this faith as well as been critical of the Jamaican government. Sadly at the age of just 39 in 1983 he was shot & killed in a gone wrong burglary on his house.
The collection opens up with his 7th album Free From Sin- this appeared in 1979, and like all of the albums here it originally appeared on legendary reggae label Trojan. It takes in nine tracks, that featured Price Far I deep smoky often talky-to- chanting vocals over more straight-set reggae tracks with echo-chamber vocals, strutting & skanking guitars, snip-snapping percussion, and wailing horn tones. The musical backing & the songcraft is good enough, but it’s the vocals that make it stand out- with Price Far I's deep, gravely, smoky & at times downright rough vocals wailing out.
The second album here is 1980’s Jamaican Heroes- this takes in another nine tracks, along with a bonus track from the same time. For this album the production feels more detailed in it’s snapping, clicking, and echoing percussive detail- the vocals feel even closer & more hazed & crude, as he often takes on a layered (& of course) echo chambered beat poetry/ ragged proto rapping. Again the sound is leaning towards more standard reggae- though with a more dub & layered effects feel.
Moving onto the second disc and we have 1981’s Voice Of Thunder-this takes in ten tracks, and of the four albums here I’d say it’s the most consistent, interesting, and creatively dub focused. We move from pitter-patter to snapping- echoing- percussion, down & dirty strutting guitars, wondering organ work and smoky horn work of “Ten Commandants- all topped with the very gravely, at times shouty vocals laying-out Price Fa I’s take on the commandants. The lop-sided jaunty vibes & strutting tone, and loosely darting organ of “Hold The Fort”. The very stoned & smoke hazed echo chamber fed horn and detailed percussion snaps & chops of “Give I Strenght”. And the almost rough Avant clip-clop at times runway percussion & wailing gravely vocals of the albums final track “Skinhead”.
The final album of the collection is 1983’s Musical History- this takes in nine tracks, and these largely feel a lot more stripped back & barren in the sound with a lot of the tracks featuring a blend of popping, hissing & snaking percussion, Prince Far I chatty/ chanting vocals, stripped & tight bass/ guitar tones, with very occasional horn/ organ/ key embellishments. Again this album has a more focused dub feel to its production, with fairly biting to very hazed vocals on top.
It’s great to see Doctor Bird put out these four albums from this very distinctive voice in the dub & the generally wider reggae & side of roots music- and I’d say if you enjoyed the other reissues they put out in the last few years, this is a must-have item.