The Pioneers - Greetings From The PioneersAlthough the Sydney Crooks led Pioneers were already veterans of Jamaican music scene when, in 1967, they came to join the small roster of the then rookie producer Joe Gibbs, the vocal trio had as yet failed to achieve any significant success. Within a year, however, they were regulars in the national charts, with significant hits including Long Shot, Jackpot, Catch The Beat and No Dope Me Pony. In recognition of their popularity both at home and in

I Had to Tell You

Mikaelin “Blue” Bluespruce (Solange Knowles)

and it was not until 2007 that the soundtrack album was issued

effervescently brilliant

20 years on from its first release

Enter Dillinger

and Spiritualized

It is a crunching and sophisticated 60's British invasion influenced album with jangling guitars

In spite of all this

Don Christensen’s productions have been careful to not scrub up those original recordings so much that they lose their original vibe

it is an album that utilizes that sound from the band s earliest days to tell new stories in 2014

Rolling Stone’s reviewer at the time described it as “the most stunningly awful wonderful record I’ve heard in ages”