Build Me Up & Pre-Meditation
Having made his name on the Jamaican music scene in the ’60s as an accomplished singer-songwriter with leading Jamaican vocal trio, The Melodians, Brent Dowe became one of the island’s leading soloists, notching up a series of best-selling 7” singles for producer, Sonia Pottinger. In 1973, the best of his work to date was gathered for his debut album, ‘Build Me Up’, a best seller both in Jamaica and the UK, where an expanded version of the collection was released by Trojan Records. This classic collection finally sees re-issue after 47 years, with its original track-listing enhanced by the remainder of Dowe’s work for Sonia Pottinger’s High Note label, with their number including some of the biggest reggae hits from the ’70s, many of which have remained unavailable on any format for decades. The second disc of this 2CD set comprises the 1978 album, ‘Pre-Meditation’, which features a dozen Sonia Pottinger-produced tracks performed by Dowe and his fellow Melodians, Tony Brevett and Trevor McNaughton. Now expanded to include the rest of their High Note recordings, the collection demonstrates why Dowe and his famed trio are today widely regarded as being among the finest talents to have made their mark on the Jamaican music scene during its golden age.