Lloyd Robinson

Lloyd Robinson - I Need Your Love - Coxsone - Coxsone - 1963

A truly great vocalist from Shuffle Beat right into the roots era. What makes this tune very interesting is yet another puzzle of a rhythm. It's not Ska - it's got a Latin swing to it - more specifically Cuban. But that's about as far as I know. So many of the great players then had so much musical knowledge - and were very outward looking. Yet you do have to wonder how they ever decided to go with this style or that style. Was it Lloyd who came up with the idea for the

Arrangement - more likely it was Coxsone - whoever came up with it. They have done a very good job. Another piece in a ever growing puzzle.

Lloyd Robinson - You Told Me - Coxsone - Coxsone - 1963

Shuffle Beat came in all kinds of different styles. And this one is bordering on a pop style - it's lightweight - and faster than usual. But it's not Ska. You can draw one of two conclusion from this. Either a tremendous amount of tunes were recorded in 1960-62 Shuffle Beat era and not released or that Ska was struggling to take off. A third option might be that producers like Coxsone just loved Shuffle Beat so much - that they didn't want to let it go!!! You really need someone who was going to dances then - to offer some insight. Just how much Ska was being played on the Sound Systems in the Ska era? Was it one in two, one in three? Lloyd Robinson on vocals once again does a tremendous job. A great tune.