Nash is mostly known for bringing reggae to the mainland with his 1972 #1 hit “I Can See Clearly Now,” but his career went back to the 50s, and this 1968 offering played a part in bringing reggae to the States years before his #1 hit. The title track was a tranatlantic #5 on the pop charts (#21 on the U.S. R&B charts). Of course, Nash was from Texas and reggae wasn’t a category known by most Americans at this time or even when they listened to his 1972 hit, and most simply saw his records as soul. But this set as much as any of his clearly came from Jamaica’s music traditions. In fact, it was recorded on the island after he’d toured there.
While the Jamaica sound runs through the entire set, the songs come from a variety of sources, Sam Cooke (“Cupid”), the Rascals (“Groovin'”), Peter Tosh (“Love” and “You Got to Change Your Ways”), Jimmy Norman (“Don’t Cry”), and others–including Nash himself. This album isn’t great but it’s enjoyable and has several highlights.
— winch
(author of Kalamazoo: Growing Up Sideways in the 1970s)
Sounds Good 