AMG Review of Look How Me Sexy: Reggae Anthology

Jo-Ann Greene
All Music Guide

Considering the deluge of records Yellowman released during the '80s, you'd expect a flood of compilations to have followed, bundling up all his dizzying hits. Of course, most of the DJ's albums during that decade did precisely that, but still there was much left over for the archivists. Unfortunately, relatively few compilations are available, and most cull tracks from albums still on the shelves. Take Look How Me Sexy: Reggae Anthology as an example. The disc is 21 tracks strong, but virtually all these numbers can already be found in fans' own collections, drawn as they are from One in a Million, Mister Yellowman, Zungguzungguguzungguzeng, and Nobody Move Nobody Get Hurt, four early albums every self-respecting Yellow fan owns. However, this compilation does superbly cover the DJ's early years, including such smash hits as "Operation Eradication," "Even Tide Fire," and "Mad Over Me" (mistitled "Bad Over Me"). Mixed in among these crucial cuts is a slew of smashes overseen by Junjo Lawes, who produced the bulk of Yellow's recordings in the first half of the '80s. The set also picks up "Soldier Take Over," a mid-'80s chart-topper produced by the Taxi Gang. The compiler obviously had a sense of humor: sequencing "I'm Getting Divorced" immediately preceding "I'm Getting Married" is pretty witty, while his sense of chronology is equally laughable. But who cares, really? With phenomenal riddims, expert productions, Yellow at his regal best, and a few harder to find numbers thrown in to intrigue the collectors, this is one superb set.