The Inspirators - The Inspirators (Fruits Records)

The idea to unite the four legendary reggae musicians and finally bring their voices to the foreground came from Swiss reggae lover Mathias Liengme, also the man behind Fruits Records, the label that also provided us with our I-Kong's excellent 'A Little Walk' earlier this year. With those four protagonists in play things can't really go wrong, but add to that a horn section consisting of Vin Gordon, Nambo Robinson and Dean Fraser you undoubtedly end up with auditory gold. Since the four band members take turns taking the lead vocal, not all tracks attain the same level. We were most drawn to Horsemouth's contributions (the excellent soulful opener 'This World', 'Sit Down Pon Your Rump') and Lloyd Parks' vocals ('No Bother Chuck It Pon Me', 'Be On The Right Track') could also convince, but that being said, Earl 'Chinna' Smith's up-tempo ska tune 'Give Back To Ceasar (Ceasar Ting)' is definitely one of the highlights in the track list. The cover illustration is once more the work of Sil Cunningham. Now it only remains to be seen whether the foursome will actually take this project on the road as well. Roots gem!