Winston Francis - Mr Fix It / California Dreaming (2017)

Blessed with a smooth, silky and soulful voice, Winston Francis really hit his stride with a solid pair of rock steady singles he recorded for Clement Dodd and Studio One in the late 1960s, Mr. Fix It and a spooky Jamaican remake of the Mamas and Papas' hit California Dreaming. Each song generated and served as the title for its own album, and both of those albums are combined here on a single disc, along with two bonus cuts, a radio edit and an extended mix of Let's Go to Zion. Francis is a confident and versatile singer, and a skillful mimic when necessary, so that when he tackles Sam Cooke's Chain Gang or Sly Stone's Stand, it is almost as if Cooke and Stone had gone island, so close are the vocal inflections to the original singer. Another cover that works well here is a version of David Ruffin's post-Temptations single, I've Lost Everything I've Ever Had, although Francis takes a less desperate and more resigned approach to the vocal, muting the powerful pain and regret in Ruffin's original vocal to a kind of offhand, chilling sadness. Another highlight is the tense, spooky Don't Change, which adds just a hint of garage jangle to the rock steady mix. The organ-led Coxsone rhythms that grace this twofer are classic Studio One, sporting an impressive array of Jamaican session players, including Ernest Ranglin, Leroy Sibbles, Dwight Pinkney, and Jackie Mittoo, and a perhaps even more impressive stable of backup singers with the likes of Bob Marley, Ken Boothe and Dennis Brown helping Francis at the microphone. The two albums collected here remain the heart of Winston Francis' recorded legacy, and make an obvious beginning point for listeners interested in checking out one of Jamaica's finest vocalists. by Steve Leggett --All Music Guide