Scan the obsessive posts on the handful of dedicated roots reggae forums online and the name Bunny "Striker" Lee will inevitable crop up—and rightly so. Focusing solely on his productions between 1973 and 1979, this compilation may not be even remotely exhaustive, but it provides a worthwhile if slightly forgettable gateway into the influential producer's sizeable body of work.
Boasting contributions from big names such as Horace Andy and Delroy Wilson alongside buried treasures from lesser-known singers, The Mighty Striker Shoots At Hits pays tribute to one of the few surviving producers from the most celebrated generation of Jamaican music. A sequel, more or less, to the Moll-Selekta label's 2005 release The Bunny Lee Rocksteady Years, this new set exemplifies that pivotal time where Rastafarian lyrics themes increasingly replaced the more conventional subjects that preceded them in ska and rocksteady. The title, packaging and design all nod to Lee’s affinity for Westerns, and, while I’m certain that these tracks feature session players recognizable to fans of this exciting decade in reggae music, the liner notes inexplicably decline to acknowledge them in favor of brief, unnecessary biographies of Lee and the singers.
Dismayingly, the collection largely skimps on lengthy showcases in favor of far shorter 7" sides, especially considering his noteworthy involvement with dub pioneer King Tubby, a frequent engineer and collaborator on his sessions. Some fortunate exceptions to this are the robust extended mix of Leroy Smart's "Love In My Heart" and the aforementioned Andy's "I Don't Want To Be Left Outside," his captivating voice bouncing off the studio walls thanks to an inspired, heavenly usage of echo effects. Still, perhaps the biggest fault of The Mighty Striker Shoots At Hits is the mysterious exclusion of his DJ productions of the period. With only a single cut featuring toaster Prince Ras Murray included here, this vital portion of the man's career seems woefully overlooked. Hopefully another volume that highlights these works will follow this one.
Still, there's plenty of good to go with the bad here. Hortense Ellis, sister of the sensational Alton Ellis, covers her sibling's legendary hit "I'm Still In Love" masterfully and memorably in a lover's rock style, perhaps dwarfing the original in the eyes of many collectors. While the now apparently defunct Blood And Fire imprint gave part of Johnny Clarke's collaborative with Lee discography some decent treatment with the CD release of Dreader Dread 1976-1978 roughly a decade ago, the two tracks featured here ("Peace And Love In The Ghetto," "Rockers For Me") did not appear on that set and thus should appeal to collectors and completists. Overall, though, there’s just not enough striking material from the Striker to make this an essential purchase.
samples:
- Horace Andy - I Don't Want To Be Left Outside
- Hortense Ellis - I'm Still In Love
- Johnny Clarke - Rockers For Me
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