Now this compilation is a true classic among classics. An album that’s been out-of-print since I’m 10 years old. ‘Wiser Dread,’ a reggae-rastafari compilation album produced by Robert Schoenfeld & Leroy Pierson of Nighthawk Records and mixed by Bunny Wailer/Sylvan Morris, was pressed on the Nighthawk label in 1981. It was the very first in a line of deep rasta roots music albums released by the St. Louis, MO label, and includes 13 tracks of original roots recordings from the period 1972-1978.
Steven Davis, author of “Reggae Bloodlines”, has called “Wiser Dread” the “…best reggae anthology since The Harder They Come’ ten years ago.” Each original track was recorded and mixed by pioneer studio engineer Sylvan Morris at the Harry J studios in Kingston, Jamaica. Mastering and pressing were given virtually audiophile attention. Liner notes are extensive and well researched and make use of original interview material.
Singer Jackie Brown, who features prominently on the album, spoke about ‘Wiser Dread’ in an interview with www.reggae-vibes.com.
Q: How did the ‘Wiser Dread’ (Nighthawk) compilation come about, your song gave the title to that (now deleted) album. This was back in 1981.
A: Yeah, well, I was at home one day when Errol Scorcher come an’ tell me somet’ing that they looked for me, yunno. And it was a guy named Bob Schoenfeld and another guy named Leroy Prescott (Pierson), come from St. Louis, Missouri. We go up to the hotel and meet the man dem, they make much of me, tell me them listened to my tunes dem, and they t’ink me a great writer and so forth, so fifth, and them interested in some of my music. So we make some agreement, sign a contract, and they leased the tracks. I make some dollars, y’know. Them take some tracks from Bunny Wailer an’ couple more people, Ronnie Davis (Itals) dem. And as a fact of the matter, Nighthawk was the one that sponsored me to this country, y’know. Nighthawk Records, Schoenfeld, he was the man who brought me to America. Good guy, brought me to America. Because politics did a get too hot an’ me need it to tek a lickle break, so him say, “Alright Jackie, you want to come to America, mek yu come a America”.
WISER DREAD
NIGHTHAWK RECORDS
Record date : 1981
Album style : roots, solo vocal, group vocal
Playlist :
Sang Hugh – Last Call Fe Blackman
Jackie Brown – Wiser Dread
Bunny Wailer – Life Line
The Itals – In A Dis Yah Time
Sang Hugh – Woman Follow Man
The Morwells – Reggae Party
Jackie Brown – Sheep And Goat
The Itals – Don’t Wake The Lion
The Morwells – Africa We Want To Go
Bunny Wailer – Arabs Oil Weapon
Jackie Brown – Bearded Babylon
Sang Hugh – Rasta No Born Yah
The Morwells – Cut Them Down
Producer : Robert Schoenfeld & Leroy Pierson
Mixing Engineer : Sylvan Morris & Bunny Wailer
Studios :
Channel One (Kingston, JA) & Harry J (Kingston, JA) & Joe Gibbs (Kingston, JA)
**THIS ALBUM (VINYL LP) IS A COLLECTOR’S ITEM AND IS CURRENTLY OUT-OF-PRINT; 2 TRACKS INTENTIONALLY DELETED FROM THE MIX; ALBUM TRACKING MODIFIED SO AS TO DISALLOW POTENTIAL RIPPING OF COPYRIGHTED ORIGINAL WORKS.
