AMG Review of Totally Hep: The Best of the Heptones

Steve Leggett
All Music Guide

The 40-year history of Jamaica's Heptones makes them a difficult group to accurately represent on a single-disc anthology. Fortunately for the purposes of Totally Hep, the story of the Heptones falls into two distinct incarnations, the original group, which consisted of Leroy Sibbles, Earl Morgan, and Barry Llewellyn, and its second edition, which replaced Sibbles (who moved to Canada at the end of the 1970s) with Naggo Morris. The original lineup was unquestionably stronger (although Morris is a wonderful singer), and Totally Hep wisely sticks to the Sibbles-led Heptones in its selections, although that still leaves a daunting task for a single-disc compilation. Most of the obvious high points are here, including the group's first hit, a bizarre restructuring of the William Tell Overture called "Gunmen Coming to Town," the rare and jazzy "I Am Lonely," and a sampling of the Heptones' most famous singles ("Hypocrite," "Book of Rules," "Meaning of Life," "Cool Rasta"). One drawback, though, is that the most striking tracks ("Sufferer's Time," "Why Must I," "Mr. President") from their best album, the Lee "Scratch" Perry-produced Party Time, are missing here, and while a couple Perry cuts are included ("Mystery Babylon," "Babylon Falling"), both featuring the trademark Black Ark sound, they are far from the best the group did with Perry. That quibble aside, Totally Hep does an admirable job of presenting the first incarnation of the trio, particularly given the time and space restriction of a single disc. Truthfully, the Heptones deserve a well-annotated box set covering their entire recording history. Until then, casual listeners will find this set an ideal sampler for one of Jamaica's greatest vocal groups.