Now here's one of THE great reggae tunes. Blood And Fire never fails to get my pulse racing with its infectious riddim and those superb backing vocals: "Burning, burning, burning..."
George Boswell, aka Winston Holmes, is one of the most influential artists and producers in reggae's history. After losing one of his thumbs in an accident - whereupon he gained the nickname 'Niney' - he worked as an engineer for KG Records. He started recording his own songs in the mid-1960s on his own Destroyer label, worked with Bunny Lee and was pivotal in launching the career of Dennis Brown. In 1970 he recorded Blood And Fire for the first time. Released on his new label Observer, it went on to sell more than 30,000 copies in Jamaica.
His reputation as a producer increased throughout the 70s and now recording as Niney The Observer, so did his reputation as a serious artist, though his work behind the controls for other artists dominated.
If you've not heard this song before, you may still be familiar with it. PJ Harvey sampled it on the track Written On The Forehead from her mindblowing album 'Let England Shake' from 2011. The riddim has also been used numerous times on other recordings. The version I'm posting is not the original 1970 version, but a cracking later 12" mix. I'm not sure from where or when it hails, but it hardly matters when it's this good.
Soundtrack:
I love the PJ Harvey track that samples this - and I had no idea where it came from til now so thanks for educating me. What a great song!
ReplyDeleteFabulous version. I might have annoyed the neighbours with the volume I played this one!
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