AMG Review of Lamb's Bread International

Rick Anderson
All Music Guide

Sylford Walker is one of the more unjustly neglected reggae singers of the late '70s. A member of producer Glen Brown's small but illustrious stable, he recorded a string of fine, if not very commercially successful, singles during that period using some of the excellent instrumental tracks with which Brown had made himself famous among reggae fans. The best of those sides were compiled on the album Lamb's Bread in 1990, which was released on the Greensleeves label in the U.K. and on Shanachie in the U.S., and promptly sank without a trace. At around the same time that Walker was recording for Brown, a little-known DJ named Welton Irie was toasting over dub versions of many of the same rhythms, and he later made use of some of Walker's own performances. Welton's performances would soon be collected on the album Ghettoman Corner. Lamb's Bread International includes some of the best material from both of those albums: the title track is Welton Irie's exceptional DJ version of Walker's "Lamb's Bread," while "Rolling Stone" is, if anything, an even better version of Walker's "Give Thanks and Praise to Jah." Perhaps best of all is the pairing of the rockers classic "Deuteronomy" with its DJ version, the very heavy "Black Man Get Up Tan Up Pon Foot." The dub versions are all by King Tubby, which should be all the additional encouragement any reggae fan needs. Highly recommended.