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Good Thing Going (Heartbeat, 1988 [orig. released 1981])

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Sufferer's Choice (Heartbeat, 1988 [orig. released 1983]) 

And Youth Promotion (Rohit, 1988)

One of the more altruistic artists around, Sugar Minott set up Youth Promotion as an organization to foster the young musical talent in Jamaica's ghettos.  He helped to start the career of Yami Bolo, among others.  And Youth Promotion is more of a showcase of this talent than it is a Sugar Minott album, although he does contribute a few songs.  Minott introduces the album by singing the first 5 tracks, all typically solid dancehall, though not stellar.  Particularly nice are "Rough & Ready" and "Jah Will Work It Out."  Unfortunately, such quality is left by the wayside when the "youth" take over the reins.  Their 12 cuts are dominated by generic late '80s dancehall that is merely tolerable.  Nevertheless, the two best tunes on the entire album (including Minott's) are sung by a youth (what his name is, only Jah knows).  "Someone Somewhere" and "Good Loving" are great lovers cuts with firm melodies and backing music -- something missing from the other Youth Promotion songs.

Mr. Fix It (VP, 1990)

Sugar Minott is one of the original dancehall singers, and while he is a favorite within the reggae ranks, he doesn't seem to have reached that level of popularity he deserves.  A large reason for this is his penchant for distinctly non-mainstream material.  Despite the occasional hit (like "Good Thing Going"), Minott's songs often feature fairly nondescript dancehall or roots beats and subdued melodies, making him accessible mostly to hardcore reggae fans.  Mr. Fix It is no exception to the rule, with "Real Raggamuffin," "In Foreign Land," and "Can't Cross the Border" being solid dancehall cuts that aren't spectacular enough to be popular.  A couple of tracks that are spectacular enough are "Funkin' Sound" -- with its strong melody and rhythm -- and "Come on Home" -- a tender love song that usurps a version of the classic rhythm made popular on Horace Andy's "You Are My Angel."  These two songs show Minott's wide range, the first being a militant stand on popular music and the second being a sweet, romantic ditty.  Tragically, his range will sometimes (perhaps in an attempt to become more popular) include some lightweight fluff, as in "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" and the painfully pop/dance "The Power of Love."  "Soldier in Jah Army" is a tad annoying too, as it incorporates the "Be All That You Can Be" melody from the U.S. Army commercials -- perhaps a bit too much wacky weed for Sugar before he wrote that one.  He at least partially makes up for these with the lovely "Breaking Up" and a cover of the classic "Mr. Fix It."

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Showcase (Heartbeat, 1992 [orig. released 1979])

It takes some special material to make a short album into a good album. Unfortunately, the songs on Showcase aren't quite magical enough to do so. I like Sugar Minott, and this is an acclaimed album, but these tracks from early in his career lack the unique appeal of his later hits. "Roof Over My Head" is nice, but it adds little to the Mighty Diamonds' version. "Guidance" is probably the best song here, though "Vanity" and "Oh Mr. D.C." were more popular. Many consider this early album as a highlight of Minott's career, but I don't see the appeal.  A short review for a short album. How appropriate.

Run Things (VP, 1993)

Easily one of Sugar Minott's best (and most underrated) albums, Run Things is an album revolving around love songs -- love of a woman, love of his fellow man, and love of Jah.  Standard love songs like "Still Waiting," "Take Good Care," and the superior "My Love Is True" display strong songwriting, slow subtle dancehall and lovers rhythms, and emotional vocals.  Minott, however, doesn't save all of his power for these tracks; his more religious songs -- "I'm Depending on You" and "Jah Jah Lead Us" -- manifest similar emotions and well-built melodies.  The opening line of "I'm Depending on You" offer a synopsis of what this album is about: "I'm looking at the world from a bird's eye view."  He sees faith, ignorance, injustice, and most of all, love.

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Breaking Free (RAS, 1994)

While somewhat darker than Run Things, this album maintains Sugar Minott's trademark smooth-voiced, no frills style.  The titles alone of the best songs on Breaking Free reflect a more militant subject matter: "Gun Gang," "Total Injustice," and "Nah Bow" are all protest tunes in the classic tradition of reggae.  Along with "Come Again," these tracks ride light dancehall rhythms with heavy messages.  They support the other inferior songs, which, in typical Sugar Minott fashion, are neither truly bad (except for the horrible, happy dance/pop of "Dancehall Fever," which is as out of place here as the token black person on a Real World episode).

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Collector's Collection Volume 1 (Heartbeat, 1996)

This is a showcase for why Sugar Minott has remained one of the most beloved singers in the reggae community, despite not having worldwide superstar appeal.  He is just real. Not flashy, not overly complicated or cryptic, not otherworldly, just a normal guy singing about stuff going on is his neighborhood and in his mind.  Like any real person, he's multi-faceted, at one point singing a bouncy, happy-go-lucky tune like "That Dang Dang Song" and at another, shifting to an ominous destiny-filled Western showdown-type of song like "Riding West."  He is equally adept at spiritual messages, as in "The People," as he is at romantic messages, as in "Keep on Loving You," "Have You Ever Found a Love," and "Patricia."   He can do dancehall as well as roots and lovers rock.  And his wonderfully smooth voice helps him carry it all off.  While not all of the tracks are stellar (Having 20 tracks guarantees some filler.), fans and non-fans alike will undoubtedly find gems here.  One cut that may sound somewhat unusual to fans is the gorgeous "Lead Us Father," whose African drums (courtesy of Count Ossie and The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari) and hymn-like harmonies (which Minott recorded as part of his first group, The African Brothers) make it sound like an Abyssinians song. Whatever it is, it -- like so much else on Collector's Collection -- sounds great.

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Nice It Up: The Best of Sugar Minott (VP, 1998)

"Best Of" collections are always somewhat subjective to what the compiler considers to be the artist's "best."  Once you get past the artist's most popular hits, everything is up in the air.  Thus, we get Nice It Up, an album with some of Sugar Minott's undisputed best -- the digital "Herbsman Hustling," the smash lovers rock remake of The Jackson 5's "Good Thing Going," and the rub-a-dubbin' "Tune In" (AKA "Rub A Dub Sound") -- but with some tracks that I personally couldn't get into (I'll forgive "Vanity," for although I don't care for it much, it was a hit for which many people still remember him.).  The main benefit of this compilation is that it gathers together Minott tunes spanning three decades (most from the '70s and '80s), many of which would be otherwise hard to find.  The "best" of the "best" here include "Riddim," the rootsy "No Vacancy," the cool (despite warped sound quality) "Never Gonna Give Up Jah," his more modern hit "Run Things," and an older version of "My Love Is True" than that which is included on his Run Things album.  Too many of these 18 tracks, though, are just so-so, and although Minott ranges from roots to lovers rock to dancehall, many of them run together into a generic mix.  Much better -- and arguably containing more of his "best" -- is Collector's Collection Volume 1.

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Ghetto-ology + Dub (Easy Star, 2000 [orig. released 1983])

*GUEST REVIEW*
Sugar Minott is blessed with a distinctive voice to go with his distinctive looks -- a delicate tenor croon with very few rough edges and a careful vibrato. It is used to maximum effect on this strong set. Ghetto-ology, as the title implies, is more concerned with social issues (and praise of Jah) than lover's rock. Ghetto-ology proper (tracks 1-10 on this release) consists primarily of pleasant, if not especially distinctive, roots tracks over which Minott sweetly sings about poverty and starvation, fire and brimstone, Rastafarianism and -- in one of my favorite tracks here, "Africa is the Black Man's Home" -- repatriation. It's standard subject matter to roots reggae fans, but maybe somewhat surprising to people more familiar with Minott's later lover's material. The singer takes to it strongly, sounding as serious and as dread as, say, Dennis Brown on an album like Visions. In the sub-category of reggae crooners who flirted with dark dread roots, this is a very good album. The Ghetto-ology dub album, mixed by King Tubby and originally released separate from Ghetto-ology, is prime dub that should satisfy any fan of the original style. It compares favorably to most of Tubby's versions from that time period, with booming bass, wet and splashy drums, and horns that sound like they are playing in the bottom of a cavern somewhere. Very little of Minott's vocal tracks are used, for whatever reason, but otherwise the dubs are excellent.

- Dale Cooper

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Rare Gems (Easy Star, 2001)

What a treat for Sugar Minott fans.  You'd think that, given his longevity and his popularity amongst reggae enthusiasts, there wouldn't be much from him that hasn't been heard, but Easy Star -- with seemingly an endless supply of Minott material -- has done just that by collecting 22, well, "rare gems" recorded between 1979 and 1986, several never released outside of Jamaica.  What is remarkable about this album is the quality of the music.  These are not throwaway tracks; indeed, I like a lot of them more than some of his well-known hits.  Particularly strong are rocking cuts like "King of Kings," "Watch Your Back," and "Can't Take No Fight," light, airy works like "What a Feeling" "Something Wrong," and "The More We Are Together," soulful tracks like "Half a Love" and "My Whole World," and even Sugar Minott as DJ on the wicked "Chant."  While he is recognized as a dancehall pioneer, Rare Gems leans mostly towards roots and lovers rock, but Sugar's talent and appeal transcend every style, whether conscious roots, dancehall party tunes, or tender lovers. 

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Sugar Minott at Studio One (Soul Jazz, 2005)

*GUEST REVIEW*
Sugar Minott is one of those reggae artists I just did not get around to. The Jamaican or reggae scene is so extensive and varied that you cannot help but be selective due to lack of time. Maybe I chose a bit to because of Minott's association with dancehall (though it can be good), and I prefer, overall, roots. This set of songs of Minott's Studio One days show, however, Minott's rootsier, earlier side. They were recorded from 1978 to 1982 and can be characterized as roots reggae with (early) dancehall influences, mostly over recognizable, later reused Studio One rhythms of the time. Minott, however, is able to give new life to known rhythms through catchy songs, as well as his great, unique vocal skills. The set fits within the roots to early dancehall shift, but with a unique quality. Some flaws are the too-soft vocals on a few songs, especially disturbing on the (seemingly) great " Jahovia" and "Never Give Up," and the recurring instrumental, often bland "versions" that do not add too much. Besides this, most songs are good and super-catchy. Personal favourites include " "Give Me Jah Jah,""Jah Jah Children" (interestingly using an early, "fuller" version of the Far East riddim, used later on Buju Banton's "Murderer"), "Love Gonna Pack Up,""Jah Almighty,""Is It True" (with a dancehall feel), and "Give a Hand," but most of the other songs are appealing and solid, including the two covers. Recommendable for those wanting to know more about Minott's somewhat earlier period, as well as for, I imagine, "riddim historians" (if these exist). Other nice, later (and recently) reused riddims found here in earlier versions are the Up Park Camp, Breaking Up, What Kind of World, Queen of the Minstrels, and Mr Bassie riddims.

- Michel Conci