Various Artists: Trojan
Furry Selection: Luxury Cuts Of Trojan Chosen By A Super Furry Animal

[Trojan; 2007]

Styles: reggae, roots
Others: Johnny Greenwood, DJ Spooky, Jazzie B

Trojan continues its bizarre string of crossover compilations, following Radiohead’s Johnny Greenwood and abstract producer DJ Spooky, with Furry Selection, a meaningful set of picks from Wales’ most famous psychedelic electronic fusion band — well, from one of its members anyway, bassist Guto Pryce, who has a long-standing reputation for devoting time off to deejaying his favorite island jams to anyone who’ll hear them. His vault pickings focus on Lee “Scratch” Perry and his penchant for well-suited delays and phasing in the ’70s rocksteady and dub reggae movement. Apparently they’re big on love in Jamaica: the love of women specifically, of one another in general, and of that glorious, enlightening, sacred smoke of Jah people, ganja.

You’ve got to be one cold, life-hating mutha not to feel Mikey Dread’s “Dread Combination” message of “love ya’ brother man” and “smoke ya’ marijuana” deep down in your boogie parts. Naturally, with Perry’s guiding vision front and center throughout, this compilation flows like liquid smoke, even with the inclusion of more famous tracks like Horace Andy’s “Skylarking” and Tenor Saw’s oft-sampled and -remixed “Ring The Alarm.” Susan Cadogan’s unearthly, almost Beth Gibbons (Portishead)-like treatment of “Do It Baby,” with its piercing sexuality recontextualizing the relaxed groove beneath her vocals, sticks out as much as Bob Marley almost anonymously slips in with the definitive version of the semi-rare pure weed anthem “Kaya.” So, yeah, Guto knows his shit. The liner notes glow with his profession of deep admiration, reading “You can’t believe how lucky I feel to plough through Trojan’s huge catalogue and choose my favorite tracks.” This feeling translates directly into the compilation, flowing better than most DJ mixes. As long as you don’t go in expecting a great insight into the influences of SFA, this Furry Selection is a summer soundtrack for years to come.

1. Horace Andy – Sky Larking 2. Lee Perry – Curly Locks 3. Mikey Dread – Dread Combination 4. Leo Graham & The Upsetters – Flashing Echo 5. Augustus Peblo – Vibrate Onn (Dub Version) 6. Keith Hudson – Darkest Night On A Wet Looking Road 7. Linval Thompson – Jamaican Colley (Version) 8. U Roy – Penny For Your Dub 9. Tenor Saw – Ring The Alarm 10. Leroy Smart & The Aggrovators – Channel One Feel It 11. Susan Cadogan - Do It Baby 12. The Upsetters – 23rd Dub 13. Rupie Edwards – Free The Weed 14. Bob Marley & The Wailers – Kaya 15. Cornell Campbell – Girl Of My Dreams 16. Junior Byles – The Long Way