Description
When Marcia Griffiths' PLAY ME SWEET AND NICE arrived in 1974,
Jamaica's First Lady of Song had just left the hit making duo of
Bob & Marcia--best known for Young, Gifted and Black--but was
still a year away from forming the I-Three's with Rita Marley and
Judy Mowatt. Released in Jamaica on the Wildflower label, the album
launched her solo career with what was considered an instant
classic back home, but liberties were taken--different cover art, a
re-arranged tracklist, and a new, less risqua title SWEET BITTER
LOVE--when the U.K. label Trojan released their version later that
same year. This reissue is Trojan's attempt to right those wrongs
and them some. Besides the remastered sound, which is revelatory,
there are no less than 14 winning bonus tracks from the era,
including the singer's fantastic version of The First Cut Is the
Deepest plus an alternate take of the album's Neil Diamond cover
Play Me with producer Lloyd Charmers adding his own vocals. The
core album remains reggae at its most soulful, slinking, not
skanking, through a wealth of pop and R&B sourced material.
Here, Marcia's smooth voice is laidback in the best sense of the
word, gracefully holding notes for extended periods and drawing out
every last bit of sensuality these lyrics hold. Some might find
this even temperament makes for a limited listen for ten--now
twenty-four--tracks, but longtime fans will seek out this style
which Marcia grew away from as the days of the I-Three's and
Electric Boogie came to pass.
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