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Bitty McLean VibeZ

Nineteen tracks from a Birmingham singer with one of the sweetest voices in British reggae — and a second career made possible by two Jamaican legends.

Bitty McLean

Bitty McLean came into music from the technical side: he worked as a studio engineer in Birmingham, in the orbit of UB40, before anyone heard him sing. When he did step forward, in the early nineties, he had an immediate run of British hits built on a light, high, extraordinarily clean tenor.

The more interesting chapter came later. Rather than settle into the British lovers-rock circuit, McLean went to Jamaica and began working with Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare — the rhythm section that played on an implausible proportion of the reggae anyone has ever heard — recording at Taxi.

Those sessions produced the best work of his career, and they are the reason he is taken seriously by people who otherwise dismiss British reggae entirely.

What to listen for

The Sly & Robbie material is the heart of the set. "Make It With You", "Take My Heart Love Restart" in the extended mix and "Every Word and Move" all demonstrate what a proper Kingston rhythm section does to a voice like his: it gives him something to push against.

"Walk Away From Love" is the David Ruffin cover and one of the better reggae readings of a Motown record — the original's desperation translated into something almost serene.

"Dedicated to the One I Love" is the lovers-rock standard done properly, and "Try a little tenderness" is the bravest cover on the list.

"Games" and "The real thing" are the early hits, and "Babylon Has Fallen" in the extended mix is where he sounds most rooted in roots reggae rather than in pop.

"Love Within The Music" is the all-hands British reggae posse cut and a nice piece of scene documentation.

Go deeper

On Bond Street and the Taxi Sessions material are where the Sly & Robbie partnership lives, and they are considerably better than his chart-era albums.

For the British lovers-rock tradition he belongs to: Janet Kay, Carroll Thompson and Maxi Priest. For the Sly & Robbie catalogue, start anywhere — they are on thousands of records and almost never on a bad one.

Listening note: compare the British-produced tracks with the Kingston ones and the difference is immediate. The Jamaican sessions put a rhythm section under him that pushes back, and his voice — which can sound weightless over a polite backing — suddenly has something to lean against. It is the clearest argument for why those records are the ones that last.

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