Love & Hate – The Best Of Dennis Brown

Składanka największych przebojów Dennisa Browna wyprodukowanych przez takie tuzy jak: Sly & Robbie, Joe Gibbs, Derrick Harriott, Niney The Observer, Tad Dawkins i Dennis Brown.

Tracklist
01. Here I Come / Producer – Tad A. Dawkins
02. Promised Land / Producer – Dennis Brown
03. Get Myself Together
04. Revolution
05. Money In My Pocket
06. Silhouette / Producer – Derrick Harriot
07. Sitting And Watching
08. Should I
09. Westbound Train
10. Wolves & Leopards
11. Have You Ever
12. Stop The Fussing & Fighting
13. Cassandra
14. Wildfire

* Artwork – Leroy Champaign (2)
* Executive-Producer – Christopher Chin*, David Sanguinetti, Joel Chin
* Mastered By – Chris Scott (2), Paul Shields
* Photography By – Lee Abel
* Producer – Joe Gibbs (tracks: A5, B2, B6), Niney The Observer (tracks: B3, B4), Sly & Robbie (tracks: A3, A4, B1, B5)
* Written-By – Dennis Brown

Essential release. All Killer, No Filler. 15 tracks produced by Sly & Robbie, Joe Gibbs, Derrick Harriott, Niney The Observer, Tad Dawkins, and Dennis Brown. The booklet comes with essential track by track lyric excerpts and the CD has three tracks not on the origginal LP-vinyl.

"No single-CD compilation could even begin to scratch the surface of Dennis Brown's best recordings, least of all one with a mere 15 tracks, but in its favor, Love & Hate: The Best of Dennis Brown does provide some welcome variety. Highlighting both the singer's romantic numbers and cultural classics, and trawling through his '70s and '80s canons, this compilation attempts to sum up Brown's oeuvre in broad strokes. Eschewing his early years at Studio One, and any sense of chronology, the set kicks off with what would become a Brown standard, 1977's "Here I Come." However, the story really begins back in 1972, when the singer left Studio One and began recording with other producers, including Derrick Harriott, for whom he cut "Silhouettes," and Joe Gibbs, who released "Money in My Pocket" which, when recut in 1979, would jangle up the British charts. Even so, the teenager was yet to break out of his own mold, until, that is, he met up with Niney the Observer . Under the Observer's aegis, Brown unleashed a tsunami of singles, quickly maturing into one of Jamaica's most revered cultural heroes. Among the classics which earned him this status were "Wolves and Leopards," "Cassandra," and "Westbound Train." If Brown never recorded another song, his reputation would still have been assured. But the young singer was nowhere near through, and in 1976, he moved into self-production, with "Promised Land" and "Stop Your Fighting" (aka "Stop Your Fussing & Fighting," aka "Together Brothers") illustrating the quality of this work. Still, Brown continued cutting singles for other producers, and in 1979 reunited with Gibbs for a series of stunning albums, "Should I," (from their Words of Wisdom LP) dates from their first year back together. As styles shifted in the dancehalls, Brown linked up with Prince Jammy, but none of that excellent material is featured here. Instead, the set looks at his work with the equally hot producers Sly & Robbie, who oversaw such mid-'80s smash hits as "Revolution," "Sitting & Watching," and "Have You Ever Been in Love." Although it doesn't provide a career-spanning overview, Love & Hate still covers a lot of ground, sweeping across the highlights of this revered singer's greatest work."

Artwork – Leroy Champaign

Executive-Producer – Christopher Chin, David Sanguinetti, Joel Chin

Mastered By – Chris Scott, Paul Shields

Photography By – Lee Abel

Producer – Joe Gibbs (tracks: 5, 8, 12), Niney The Observer (tracks: 9, 10), Sly & Robbie (tracks: 3, 4, 7, 11)

Written-By – Dennis Brown