Shaggy

Shaggy – Pure Pleasure – Greensleeves – 1993

‘Oh Caroline’ from Shaggy fully deserved to be a number one hit on the pop charts. It was the early nineties Ragga style personified. With it’s wide range of samples and a great production that fully captured the original vibe from The Folk Brothers and Prince Buster. Shaggy though was a total unknown. Robert Livingstone though was not; he had produced one classic DJ set with the vastly underrated Tonto Irie (Love Unho Bad). This set made it at least two out of two. If anyone was thinking Shaggy was a one hit one wonder they would have to think again. For the same vibes that made ‘Oh Caroline’ such an international flow on many more great tracks especially ‘ Ah-E-A-Oh’ which is pure madness.

Shaggy – Original Doberman – Greensleeves - 1994

Not a follow up album to ‘Pure Pleasure’ more a prequal. Recorded for Don Moodie and Paul Henton’s ‘Don One’ company back in the early nineties, just before Shaggy served in the war in Iraq. In common with ‘Pure Pleasure’ it was recorded mainly in New York, with the likes of Glan Adams and Computer Paul on keyboards and Scientist at the controls. Unlike like ‘Pure Pleasure’, this set is one that works in places. The two tracks with Rayvon ‘We Never Danced To The Rub A Dub Sound’ and ‘Wildfire’ are very good. This is Shaggy at a formative stage, it’s interesting for that alone.