Augustus “Gussie” Clarke produced JC Lodge’s huge Billboard-charting 1988 dancehall cut “Telephone Love,” establishing his reputation as Jamaica’s most sophisticated producer. A decade before his Music Works studio struck ’80s gold with a run of juggernaut hits by Lodge, Shabba Ranks, Gregory Isaacs, and others, Clarke linked with Sly Dunbar’s Revolutionaries studio band for this 1978 set. Although the title references Clarke’s DJ friend Michael “Mikey Dread” Campbell’s “Dread at the Controls” handle, Campbell isn’t featured in any way. Instead, Clarke dubs 10 funky, soulful, romantic, horn- and flute-accented instrumentals that backed ’70s stalwart artists Mighty Diamonds, Leroy Smart, and The Tamlins. None devastated the charts, but all were hints at the genius to come.