The
Termites (
Lloyd Parks and
Wentworth Vernal) were a no-frills rocksteady duo whose harmonies lifted their songs, all of which were recorded at Studio One for producer
Coxsone Dodd, into classics territory.
Do the Rock Steady is essentially their collected work, and it includes their biggest hit, a plea for leniency from a landlord called "Have Mercy Mr. Percy."
Parks and
Vernal have voices that were born to mesh, and everything here has a fresh and angelic feel, and it doesn't hurt, either, to be singing over those great Studio One rhythms, although few of these tracks have been versioned. "Sign Up" has a special doo wop appeal, and is one of the obvious highlights of the album. A couple of the cuts appear in expanded mixes (including "My Last Love" and "Heartaches") that don't necessarily add anything to the songs, and one wishes the original length single versions of these had also been added, but that is a small complaint about what is simply a wonderful set of vintage rocksteady.