George Faith/Earl George

Earl George: Pic John Williams

"Have some faith in George Faith"

George Faith - Super Eight - Upsetter - 1977

"Have some faith in George Faith"  declared Lee Perry on Radio London in about 1977 - at the time the show was hosted alternatively by Tony Williams and David Rodigan. It wasn't so much what old Scratch said, it was the way he said it. Followers of Earl George, George Earl, or even Larry Lawrence (not the one who ran Ethnic Fight Records) will know how Scratch felt. Here was one of the great soul singers to come out of Jamaica in the seventies with his debut album produced by Lee Perry at the height of his musical mystical powers and with a promise of a release on Island Records.

What could go wrong!!

Well it started with the mix, somehow George's voice had been buried in the mix by Scratch. Yes Scratch like to treat the voice like an instrument. But he also treated it with respect.

You only have to listen to the Bunny Scott (Bunny Rugs) album 'To Love Somebody' that came out on Klik In 1975. Another singer with a big voice - apparently Scratch would move the microphone away from Bunny - in order to record him properly.

This was not the case with Earl, he was fighting against the mix from the opening track to the last track.

And then you had the choice of songs. This was a 8 track album hence the title. Three of the tracks all covers didn't really suit George. 'Diana' 'In The Midnight Hour' and 'Turn Back The Hands Of Time'. These songs seem to be chosen because they had been big pop hits.

Someone at Black Music Magazine, it may have been Chris May it may have been Carl Gayle used the word 'reactionary' and I would have to agree.

Reggae music is full of cover tunes - but you have to tune into what an artist is about - George - was about soul and there are many many tunes that the man could have covered

that would have sounded better than those three songs.

Island issued seven out of the eight tracks on mega mix discos 12". All in 1977  'I've Got The Groove' was the most popular. They promoted them and the album well - but this was not the debut album that fans of George Faith or Earl George had been expecting. 

They were not expecting a 'Roots' album George is not about that - he represented a tradition in reggae music that goes back to its very origins. Recalling great artists like Jackie Edwards and Jackie Opal. Scratch needed to tap into those vibes - trying to connect George and himself to a pop reggae market was not going to work.

George Faith - Loving Something - GG's - 1978

The failure of the 'Super Eight' album - had been taken onboard by Lee Perry - and so he started working on a second album that was to be called 'Working On A Guideline'. This time George was only going to sing originals songs, which George had been working on with Ricky Lee. Scratch even released the title track 'Guide Line' on Black Ark on a 12" in Jamaica. This had everything that was not present on the 'Super Eight' album.

George must have known by then - that the second album was never going to be finished.

And so he moved quickly, and ended up working with Alvin Ranglin. Alvin had hit big with Gregory, but had not done so well with Freddy Mckay. 

But that was 1977. By now it was clear that a major change was on it was way - and the 'Rockers' sound was coming to an end.

This album although not 'Dancehall' in sound - is closer to 'Dancehall' than 'Rockers' In the same way that The Mighty Diamonds album 'Deeper Roots' was not rockers - and was not 'Dancehall'.

JoJo at Channel One, had reached out to more or less the Soul Syndicate band for something new. Alvin working out of Channel One - successfully mixed together people like Sly with Bertram McLean on bass, Rad Bryan on Guitar along with Ernest Ranglin and Bingy Bunny.

It was the same with the keyboards Ansel Collins/Winston Wright/Earl Lindo were on organ. With Gladdy on Piano with Theo Beckford..You don't often see that kind of mixture of old and new on reggae albums, and the most important thing was that it worked. 

George's songwriting helps a lot - great songs including the 'Guide Line' tune that he did for Perry now called 'Guilding Line'. Also you hear George's great voice! As good as the musicians are on this album and the Perry produced album - ultimately - its the singer who the people are checking for first - the musicians and the producer come next. Usually in that order. Although fans of Lee Perry seem to have forgotten this aspect of production.

Of course this album - never got anything like the push the' Super Eight' (To Be A Lover) 

album got. Yet what it did was get this great singer/songwriter back on track and quickly.

It seems that George had a great admiration for Lee Perry, and also learned a great deal about Studio engineering. It is not known what George thought about Alvin Ranglin. From the point of his fans after the very long wait for a debut album from George - and the subsequent disappoint on its release. Many were pleased to see the man working with Alvin. He might not be the innovator that Lee Perry is, or the hit maker that Bunny Lee is - but his understanding of reggae music and his love for great vocalists is very clear on this album

Earl George - One And Only - Burning Sounds - 1978

George Faith back in 1976 was still known as Earl George - and it looks like around this time George or Earl bucked up on Phil Pratt for the first time. Considering how long Earl had been around - its remarkable that it took this amount of time for him to actually record for Phil Pratt.

Still of the more positive effects of working with Lee Perry and having an album release on Island - is that it makes all the other producers think "I can do better than that." 

Phil Pratt had enjoyed a great deal of success with Jimmy London, Keith Poppin and Horace Andy and had been producing for over ten years by 1976.

He knew what he was doing, and he knew the kind of album he wanted from Earl George. A mix of covers and originals - with a pop tune cover thrown in as a bit of spice.

You see Scratch was on the right track - but his choice of covers did seem a bit strange.

However 'Hooked On A Feeling' in its pop form - was a bit for BJ Thomas and then Blue Swede. The song already had a reggae kind of feel to it - and Earl's version brings it out very well.  

The sound of the album is still very much in the late seventies 'Rockers' style which could be heard on the Alvin Ranglin produced set.

'Love Is Something' sounds like it could have been recorded earlier around 1976 - with it much more militant style of drumming that very popular then at Channel One. It still sounded fresh a couple of years later - and Phil Pratt released it on a single on his Terminal label in 1978. It did well for Earl, not a massive hit - but a steady seller. 

Another tune from this album, that found it way onto single was 'So Many Ways' this combined the sound of Channel One with a touch of Perry. A sound that had brought Channel One great success with Junior Byles 'Fade Away'.

And did likewise for Phil Pratt with Keith Poppin on 'Who Are You' - back in 1975.

The slower rhythm suited Earl. Once again I'm sure old Scratch when hearing this tune probably thought "I could have done that." !

Phil Pratt wasn't an innovator like Scratch, but like Bunny Lee - he knew what people liked - and what they expected. And that is done by tuning into a artist - one of the best examples of this is Augustus Pablo's production from Icho Candy 'In Texas Town'. Pablo had successfully tuned into what Icho was all about - and wanted to bring his fans into the Pablo camp. 

This mutual exchange - was all George Faith needed - and a bit of promotion. Sadly labels like Burning Sounds are not set up for that kind of thing - but it is an album that kept George be it Earl George or George Faith back on track.

George Faith - Soulful - Prestige  - 1979/1995

As a follower of George Faith/Earl George of course I knew about the albums produced by Alvin Ranglin and Phil Pratt. But from the same time 1978/1979 came this album from George, produced by Bunny Lee. Why this set as only popped up on my musical radar now is beyond explanation. 'What is hidden from the wise and foolish...' You learn!

Bunny Lee is the hit maker - once he started thinking about an Earl George/George Faith album - he knew exactly what songs he wanted he wanted the man to sing. It made no difference to Bunny that - Delroy Wilson, John Holt, Slim Smith, Horace Andy, Johnny Clarke, Cornell Campbell had all sang them before - he wanted to hear them sung by George.

And what a great album this is!!! The rhythmic base of the album all come from around

75/77. Late flyers - early rockers rhythms. The band at Channel One - is in the main the Aggrovators/Revolutionaires - this is the band that were working on the Johnny Clarke albums for Virgin - some people tend to forget that Bunny had made that major label connection very early on. 

And if Virgin had stuck with him - Bunny could have given them a catalogue of great

Reggae artists and albums. Virgin though wanted Johnny Clarke to be produced by Joe Gibbs and that was the end of the that. 

Meanwhile back in Jamaica - Bunny concentrated on albums like this - where this eventually gained release in the late seventies is still confusing. It looks like it was Canada - but the tracks on that album are not the same as the tracks on this 1995 CD issued on Prestige.

It might only have 8 tracks but two of them 'Please Stay' and 'Love And Affection' are in the long disco mix style making them well over 5 minutes long. The songs here are are exactly the kind of material that George needs. The album is rightly called 'Soulful'. The great music of fifties and sixties black America - reset in Jamaica to tough rhythms. 

All it needs is a great voice to balance it all up and George Faith as got that voice. Listen out for 'Once Upon A Time' it seems like its the only time that George as covered this tune - yet its perfect for him. That is the kind of producer Bunny is, he gets done, what is needed to be done. He knows his role is of the producer - and that the success or failure of the work - will be on him. 

It doesn't look like any singles from this album were released - which is unusual for Bunny - perhaps Bunny thought that George had a lot of music out on single at that time - and didn't think it was worth it. 

Bunny Lee as got many great albums with a production credit to him, but for fans of George Faith/Earl George this one - is extra special.

George Faith - Like Never Before - Virgo Stomach - 1991

After these albums - George went quite for a number of years. When he did return to record - he seemed to prefer applying that wonderful soulful voice to making easy listening so called 'Big People's music.

Then out of the blue he makes this. Produced by Leon Synmoie 'Like Never Before' takes George back to his R&B roots. Supported by well built Fire House Crew rhythms, and with a nice selection of oldies and originals, George in great form really shows us truly what he capable of.

Leon Synmoie had the Thrillseekers label in Jamaica and had worked with Lone Ranger, Carlton Livingstone, his brothers Chester and Ernest also released material on the label.

He had been around since the early eighties at least - and was building up a good reputation as a producer. 

Until this album he had worked mainly with Dance Hall artists - people who had come

up in the mainly in the eighties.By 1990 everything had changed again - producers like Junjo, Jammy, King Tubby, and Gussie Clarke - had either cut back on production or were no longer with us.

It was during this time that producers like Fatis (Xterminator) and Richard Bell (Star Trail) and Bobby Digital emerged. They were to move the music along from the Dancehall and Ragga era's of the eighties into the more Roots era's of the mid nineties.

But these newer producers wanted to push the new talent that had been building up in Jamaica for a numer of years. Artists like Garnett Silk, Luciano, Jack Radics, Everton Blender. This left artists like George Faith out in the cold. They had never been considered to be 'Dance Hall' or 'Ragga' artists. And had not been able to build up the following that artists like John Holt and Alton Ellis and Bob Andy had done in the sixties and early seventies.

Artists like George Faith - really needed the vibes and the expertise that the younger producers had. Leon and his brothers - had all of this and more. By linking up with John Rubie at Virgo Stomach in the UK, they also gained a UK release for the album. And with great sleevenotes from noted reggae journalist John Williams - it made a great album release for fans of George Faith in the UK.

George had made it successfully into the nineties - and in fine style. This new era which had become such a big problem for so many artists who were George's peers - had been turned around by George with the help of the Thrillseekers. This event had not gone un-noticed at Brentford Road - the home of Studio One - the HQ of Coxsone Dodd. 

George had been around almost as long as Coxsone - and Coxsone was a man who knew what he wanted. It was time for George and Coxsone to team up.

George Faith - Just The Blues - Studio One - 1992

In fact the production credit on this truly great album goes to Denise Darlington's Coxsone's mother. One could speculate on this credit, perhaps Earl/George was a long time favourite of his Mum. Nothing ever happened and then his Mum took matters into her own hands and carried George into the studio!

Coxsone though like Bunny Lee - kept his ear to the ground - and knew that the so called 'Big People's Market' was something he could not ignore. Around the same time he had released an album with Rosco Gordon who's popularity in Jamaica had never ceased. And another artist in this style - who's name I cannot recall at the moment.

The tape room at Studio One is full of unreleased albums - recording an album for Studio One - is just half the process - its then getting the man to release it - and of course getting payment. By this time though a lot of artists in Jamaica just wanted to be known as a Studio One artist. That had been the case very early on of course. The artists were young - and he needed them - now a lot of the artists were going to him to record an album to revive there careers.

With George Faith - it was a little different. The man had been on a major label - but still needed a real breakthrough album. In reality he had recorded great albums for every producer he had worked with - what was really needed was more promotion for those albums.

With Studio One, the label was the promotion. Followers of Studio One would buy this album because it was on the label. Fans of George would buy it because its a great album. 

It's like a trip down memory lane with great covers of songs like 'What's Your Name', 

'Pledging My Love' and 'The End Of The World' plus the great title track 'Just The Blues'.

Some of the rhythms are new - but all them have been filled out with a string synth. Which as been done really well. 

Coxsone or his mother had really tuned into what George was about - and they sounded like they had enjoyed making the album. As did George. The 'Big People's Style' like all of reggae music's style - have got a set of unwritten rules - as long as you stick to this rule book - you won't go wrong. And this is the strength of this work. Everyone knows what they want - and are determined to make something they are proud of.   

It doesn't look like Coxsone ever released any singles from this album - the explanation for that might be - that he knew that the people who bought the album - were no longer really into singles. 

Although with Studio One - you never really can be sure. Although one thing is for certain - this is another great work from Reggae George!!

For the sleevenotes of 'Loving Something' released on Jamaican Gold  CD - 1993 Dr Buster, added this information to the Earl George/George Faith story. Born in Jamaica in July 1946. It seems like the man started off in a group The Enchanters, in the early sixties. This could have been the Melody Enchanters or the Afro Enchanters both of whom were recording at the time.

He then started a solo career recording with Mr Abraham Savar Productions. His first two tunes being cut at RJR in 1962. 'Little Miss Mmm' and 'Beverley'. 

Then in 1963, Earl George/George Faith, recorded 'Garden Of Eden'  under the name of Larry Lawrence for Leslie Kong - released on Beverley's in Jamaica and on Island in the UK. A tune with a strong Biblical theme - its hard to recognise the soulful tones of 'George' on this - but then again he must have only been a teenager when he recorded it. George never recorded for Leslie again - but then again who knows. A more accurate statement may be to say the Beverley's never released any more tunes from the man! The Island/Beverley's vault remains locked.

He next pops up again in 1970, still recording under the name of Larry Lawrence - this time working for producer Clancy Eccles. 'See Me' as got everything that you would expect from George. The soulful vocal was now there. Clancy carefully placed a gentle reggae rhythm around him - in much the same way he did for Lord Creator. It was production at its best. Although It looks like this was the only tune for Clancy.

By 1971 George had become Earl Lawrence and was now recording for Winston Riley.

Like Clancy, Winston was part of a new group of producers - who had tasted UK pop Chart success. Producers like Coxsone and Duke Reid had the studios - but it was these producers who were making the hits. Big hits!!!

'Words Of Temptation' is so different from the Clancy tune. A much more rawer sound had come in by 1971. Now called 'Roots' - then it was called 'Heavy Reggae' or 'Ethnic Reggae'. This tune was part of that new sound. It suited Earl's style of singing well. And the song was good as well.

It would have been good if the man had stuck around with Clancy or Winston - but he didn't. The Jamaican music was in a state of flux. Little known singers in Jamaica like Nicky Thomas were linking up with new producers like Joe Gibbs and having international chart success. 

The days of working for a producer for years at a time were gone. These new singers had seen - the off handed way that the older producers had treated the big stars of reggae music. Most of whom were still waiting for a chart hit outside of Jamaica.

Of course the bigger producers were still running things in Jamaica - producers like Harry J, Lee Perry, Lloyd Daley, and Herman Chin Loy. Had just started to think about building a studio - and aside from them even younger producers had started to come up.

Singer and young Producer Glen Lee should have been the man who hit with George. Just like the young Gussie Clarke aka 'The Puppy' - he had a sound - and you could hear he had spent a lot of time getting the music just right.

It seems that Glen liked to use the Now Generation band for his rhythms. Take for example 'Gonna Give Her All The Love I Have' released on Cresta in Jamaica and Count Shelly in the UK. It's thick and heavy sound with the dense opening horns - were not typical of the time. And then George's voice comes in. Pure soul ! Another great song from George produced by Glen, is 'The Green Hills Of Home'. This one saw release in Jamaica on 'Brothers Of The Blade' which is another Glen Lee label. And the' Caribbean' label from Count Shelly in the UK. These two tunes were finally getting George noticed.

Around the same time Clement Bushay and a certain B Mann entered the picture. Clem Bushay was about to find fame with the debut album from Tapper Zukie 'Man Ah Warrior' but this tune with Earl George 'The Real Me' released on another Count Shelly label Queen Bee. Certainly caught my interest and a lot of other people. It's use of fuzz box guitar was outstanding. 

Lead guitar solo's are rare in Jamaican music - but here is one. Clem being a UK based producer may have built the rhythm here - and then voiced it in Jamaica. Either way the man and Mr Mann, did a great job.

The master of mystery and imagination Lee Perry was the next producer to produce George Faith. It was now 1974 and one of the biggest tunes in reggae was 'Have Some Mercy' - from Delroy Wilson - produced by A Folder.

The story of this rhythm is epic. A Folder is Ainsley Folder. This man as got more connections than a fuse box! One of them was Lee Perry. Who it seems sold the rhythm to Al. Who went and recorded Delroy Wilson on it, singing 'Have Some Mercy'.

Perry liked the sound of this tune so much - he went and got Earl George to 'To Be A Lover' which is the same song!!! These two cuts, were then joined by a vast amount of DJ and instrumental cuts. If you love rhythm. This one is for you. Check out 'Pablo's Mercy' also produced for the instrumental cut. While a nice DJ is 'Love In The Neighbourhood' from Big Youth.

Having a popular cut of such a big rhythm - didn't do George no harm. But it didn't exactly raise his profile. And the same could be said for Delroy Wilson.

Still it kept the man moving in the right direction. And  then came his first release of 1975, his first self produced tune a version of the old English folk song 'Lavender Blue' On HuDel . This one - does take a lot of understanding - it must have meant a lot to him. Perhaps a song that his parents liked. It remains his only self production. Cactus in the UK released the tune as well. If nothing else it showed that with the right rhythm Earl could sing anything!

The next few years see George continued to work with a number of producers. Lloyd Campbell - Spiderman label was a good move. Not only was Lloyd having great success with the likes of Junior Byles - but he was also doing very well with singers like Jimmy London and David Isaacs. And he had a good link in the UK with Jama Records one of the new set of independent labels that had emerged around 1973 in the UK.

In fact George had already seen his music released on two of them. Count Shelly and Ethnic later to become Ethnic Fight. These labels and other like DIP, Black Wax and Magnet were now in control of the reggae business in the UK. The days of Trojan and Pama were over, or so it seemed.

Lloyd released two singles by George in 1975, 'Since I Met You Baby' and 'Island In The Sun' both found release in the UK through Jama, with the latter coming out on Eagle which was a subsidiary label.

They were solid productions - Lloyd - had picked up on the Skin Flesh and Bones band for his rhythms - so they had a good rockers sound, yet was apart from the sound of Channel One, Bunny Lee, Joe Gibbs and Lee Perry.

By 1976, George had switch producers again. Now he was working with Phil Pratt. Phil had been in the business for years working with Caltone back in the sixties. By the early seventies he was working with Horace Andy, Pat Kelly and Keith Poppin. He had hits with all of these artists.

And a few years later he had set up his labels in the UK. Terminal being the main one. His sound was built around the sound of Channel One - and yet he was always able to add something to it. That was the trick of good producing. You needed to have your own sound - but not get too locked into something that is too over stylised.

Perry is always the best example of this, but he was not alone. Lots of producers had come out with a good sound - but have had to drop it, when tastes change. 

It's not always easy to do this, but Phil Pratt was always changing his sound. Merging the rockers sound of Channel One with that of Lee Perry - often with remarkable results.

Phil released three tunes by George in 1976. 'Love Is Something' 'So Many Ways' and 'Love Depression' all of them sounded good - and sold well. And all gained UK released on Terminal. The market in the UK was changing again - and when the 12" came in, so did a new style of producing. Now called 'Mega Mixes' they were then called 'Discomix' - and featured a DJ and then a dub mix.

If I recall at least one of these tunes from Phil Pratt was given the 'Discomix' treatment. For lovers of 7 inch records - the Discomix was an expensive way of buying music - but they became popular. And it wasn't long before a new word had entered into the world of reggae music. The 'Disco Bum'. Now who would come up with a crazy name like that!

But just before Lee Perry jumped back into the story - we have a collection of tunes from Carlton Patterson's Black And White label.The first of which is 'Love Is' - in 1977 the popularity of which was such that it eventually gained release on the Warrior label in the UK. In 1980.

A solid rockers tune - it's got all the style of Carlton's productions at the time. In fact all the George Faith tunes on Black & White are all very good. 'What To Do' came out in the UK on Count Shelly's Paradise label. As did 'Follow Jah' and 'I'm So Glad'. A couple of years later in 1979. 

Carlton Patterson was also a great singer and around this time he had good hits with covers of 'Pressure And Slide' Originally from the Tennors. And 'It's Raining' from the Three Tops. His other great success came with the Leroy Brown double hit 'Give Thanks' and 'Stand Firm' which Arawak released in the UK. On 12" 

Carlton made a good effort with George, but it was to be old Scratch - Lee Perry who pushed George forward. 'To Be A Lover' was the first of those 12" megamixes - or 'Discobums' as Scratch called them.

Island revived the Black Swan label for what looked like Perry at the time. And it must be said that this release was most welcome at the time. It had a DJ cut which I think was uncredited. And of course a dub mix from Perry.

It was a good tune, but the rockers cut did not sound as good as the 1974 cut from Perry.

Yet it was just nice to see George Faith - getting good promotion. The album quickly followed - which for fans of George - was a massive let down. 

By the following year - news started to circulate regarding a second album from George and Perry. And then out came 'Guide Line' on Black Art in Jamaica - a truly amazing tune. It showed what old Scratch could do when he put his mind to it - but it was too little too late for George.

With Lee Perry destroying the Black Ark - and Island unable to release - The Congoes 'Heart Of The Congoes' which many consider to be Lee Perry's best produced album. 

The Island Records connection for George Faith came to an end.

Great music came out on single from George over the following years. His version of 'Taxi' for the Thrillseekers label released here on Virgo Stomach in the early nineties showed that George still had it. And was popular.

In 2003 it was reported that George had died from cancer in Jamaica. Reggae music had been robbed of a truly great vocalist and songwriter. Those lucky breaks that are much needed for a career in the music business never fell kindly for George - however his legacy - is some truly amazing music.

Selected Discography.

Albums

George Faith - Super Eight - Upsetter - 1977

George Faith - Loving Something - GG's - 1978

Earl George - One And Only - Burning Sounds - 1978

George Faith - Soulful - Prestige  - 1979/1995

George Faith - Like Never Before - Virgo Stomach - 1991

George Faith - Just The Blues - Studio One - 1992

01 - Garden Of Eden - Leslie Kong - Island - 1963

02 - See Me - Clancy Eccles - Clandisc - 1970

03 - Word Of Temptation - Winston Riley - Tru Soul - 1971

04 - Gonna Give Her All The Love - Glen Lee - Cresta - 1973

05 - Green Hills - Glen Lee - Cresta - Carribean

06 - The Real Me - Clement Bushey & BMann - Queen Bee  - 1974

07 - To Be A Lover - Lee Perry - Ethnic - 1974

08 - Lavender Blue - Earl George - Cactus - 1975

09 - Since I Met You Baby - Lloyd Campbell - Jama - 1975

10 - Love Is Something -Phil Pratt - Terminal - 1976

11 - Soulful Lover - Lloyd Campbell - Love - 1976

12 - Love Is - Carlton Patterson - Black & White - 1977

13 - To Be A Lover - Lee Perry - Black Swan - 1977

14 - Guide Line - Lee Perry - Black Art - 1978

15 - Taxi - Thrillseekers - Virgo Stomach - 1991