Scottish soul outpost Athens Of The North present an easy contender for compilation of the year with this assembly of 80s reggae and lovers rock artists covering soul & funk hits of the day. If you love digging for this kind of stuff, you’ve certainly come across your fair share of these sort of reggae R&B cover records - many of which are a dime a dozen - but this set focuses on the rarest (certainly in the States) and sweetest of these tunes. Soul Jazz put together a nice comp of reggae disco covers a few years back, but this one focuses strictly on R&B songs filtered through the proprietary UK lovers rock sound - a principally electronic and bass-heavy strain of reggae layered with a decidedly British R&B singing style. This is 100% killer / no filler, but to get a taste, head straight for Simplicity’s version of the Isleys’ “For The Love Of You.” Other highlights: Michael Prophet’s cover of Starvue’s “Body Fusion,” Michael Gordon’s “What You Won’t Do For Love,” Christine Lewin’s “Juicy Fruit” or Peter Hunningdale’s version of Leon Ware’s “Rocking You Eternally.” Housed in full color gatefold with reproductions of the original 12” artwork and liner notes. Highly recommended!

• black double vinyl pressing
• full-color gatefold sleeve w/ photos + liner notes
  
• limited edition
• music label: Athens Of The North 2020