Various Artists Jonny Greenwood is the Controller
Who knew Jonny Greenwood was dread at the controls? Radiohead’s guitarist/multi-instrumentalist selects 17 cuts from […]
Who knew Jonny Greenwood was dread at the controls? Radiohead’s guitarist/multi-instrumentalist selects 17 cuts from the Jamaican canon for a broad overview of the ’70s island sound. Greenwood winks to his outsider status in the notes, grouping his selections not by the authenticity or obscurity of the material but by musical experimentation from the likes of King Tubby, Scientist, and Lee Perry, and culminating in the violence-torn psychedelics of Johnny Clarke’s “A Ruffer Version.” A who’s-who of vocal stars floats high above most of the mixes, including Derrick Harriot and his heartbreaking lilt on “Let Me Down Easy,” a playful Desmond Dekker on “Beautiful and Dangerous,” and Perry’s classic sci-fi patois on “Bionic Rats.” As Trojan turns 40 this year, the label’s choice of Greenwood as selector shows just how entrenched they-and this music-are in both British culture and the world’s musical consciousness. Jonny does them proud.