A late bloomer by reggae standards,
Jah Lewis wasn't recorded until he was 32, back in 1977. Although some of his recordings have been excellent, the Jamaican singer has remained obscure -- even in Jamaica, he isn't very well known. Unfortunately, the absorbing
All Gone Astray didn't bring
Lewis (who was 45 when the CD was released) the higher profile he deserved. The influence of
Burning Spear is evident on "If The Bible Is Right," "Carol Garden Incident" and "Hey Rastaman" -- and in fact, the first person to produce
Lewis was Jack Ruby, best known for his work with
Spear. But other songs on the CD sound nothing like
Spear, and even at his most
Spear-influenced,
Lewis never comes across as a clone. Especially un-
Spear-like are "Exile" and "Tribulation," both of which recall the smooth Northern R&B of the 1960s and early '70s. Employed on drums is
Sly Dunbar, one of the most in-demand and accomplished drummers in the history of reggae. For reggae aficionados who are unfamiliar with
Lewis,
All Gone Astray wouldn't be a bad starting point at all. ~ Alex Henderson