Dedicated to the now ex-UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson!
Birmingham based reggae band UB40 have just released their
new album "Unprecedented" on 1 Jul 2022 and I noticed that one of the tracks is a cover of, what
is regarded as, a crossover classic by Robert Parker, the
singer who had a hit with "Barefootin'" in 1966. So it's a good enough excuse to post the original!
Both singles were released on Nola (which was an acronym for New Orleans
LA (Louisiana)) with "I Caught You In A Lie" coming a few releases after "Barefootin'" in 1967. It's quite sought
after with current prices on Discogs ranging between £125 and £170 but I
noticed that there was a Record Store Day reissue of it in 2020 on a repro
label.
UB40 were founded in 1978 and lead singer Ali Campbell left in 2008 and
later formed a splinter group with Astro and Mickey Virtue. The latest
album is billed as UB40 featuring Ali Cambell & Astro. Astro died in Nov 2021 after recording the latest album.
I would say that their version probably leans more towards Lovers Rock than
reggae similar to Louisa Mark's version from 1979.
| Rating: | 8.5 // 8 |
| Explicit: | N |
| Genre/Style: | Crossover // Lovers Rock |
| Format: | Single // Album Track |
| Media: | 7" // Digital |
| Label: | Nola // Universal |
| Cat No: | 738 // None |
| Date: | 1967 // 01/07/2022 |
| Key/BPM: | N/a // 8B/75 |
| Price: | £150 (approx.) // £1 |
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We can listen to all the existing versions, for me we will never come close to Robert Parker. Hear the feel and voice of this New Orleans masterpiece. And there are many others, notably by him. Thank you for the younger generations!!!
ReplyDeleteYves