Blood and Fire

What the press say:

This double-CD collection of the output of Yabby You (aka Vivian Jackson) is yet another example of the high standards that dub label Blood and Fire apply to every one of their reggae reisssues. On this collection the tracks are divided into two sub-categories. The first, Conquering Lion Style, includes the full album of that name along with some additional cuts. The second is entitled Chanting Style. All but a few of the tracks are produced by Jackson himself, and feature guest spots from such reggae luminaries as Tappa Zukie, Dillinger, Augustus Pablo and Michael Rose. They almost uniformly showcase Jackson's talents to great effect, both on the vocal and instrumental cuts. What I'm trying to say here is that this collection is prime-time reggae. Jackson stood apart from many of his contemporaries; as he says himself, "Dem use to deal with Ras Tafari, an' I deal with Jah through Jesus Christ". He took much of his lyrical inspiration from Biblical sources, such as the Revelation of St. John from the New Testament. Obviously, in lyrical terms, this is a far more personal approach to take than that favoured by most other reggae artists, but in no way does it detract from the music. Indeed, the opposite is the case. There are so many impressive cuts on this 47-track collection that it's difficult to single any out, but 'Pablo Dread In A Red' and 'Love Thy Neighbour' both hit the spot for me. The latter track opens the first CD, and by itself would serve as the perfect introduction to this unimpeachable collection. This is an essential purchase for anyone interested in 1970s reggae, and is also an invaluable masterclass in the studio experimentation that would become the backbone of so much dance music more than a decade later. Stephen Rapid, Hot Press (Ireland), January 1998