Philadelphia-based label, Wildfire Records, released two hefty compilation albums in June — ‘Champion Album’ and ‘Ready fi di World, Vol. 3’. They contain songs by seasoned singers from Jamaica including Glen Ricks, Roland Burrell and Ian Sweetness as well as Shan Bam, an artist from the City of Brotherly Love.
According to Anthony Messam, the Jamaican producer who founded Wildfire Records over 35 years ago, the songs on both albums were recorded several years ago.
“It’s full time for this to come out, the long wait is over. I put in a lotta work on this project,” he said.
Ricks, a highly rated singer who made his name as a soul artist in Canada during the 1970s, appears four times on ‘Champion Album’, which has 23 songs. One of them is a cover of Freddie Jackson’s ‘Rock me Tonight’, which he does as ‘Rock With me Tonight’.
An updated version of ‘Johnny Dollar’ is Burrell’s lone contribution to the album. He had a big hit with that song in 1982; it is a cover of American soul singer Garnet Mimms’ ‘A Quiet Place’.
Ian Sweetness has four songs on ‘Ready fi di World, Vol. 3’, which also has 23 tracks. His contributions include a cover of ‘Ain’t That Loving You’, made popular in Jamaica by Alton Ellis and Dennis Brown.
Shan Bam, an American singer with Jamaican roots, is featured on five collaborations including ‘Still in Love with You’, with Nate the Great. It is a remake of the Alton Ellis rock steady classic.