Health and Strength is an album by Prince Far I

Prince Far I

Prince Far I was a Jamaican reggae deejay, producer and a Rastafarian. He was known for his gruff voice and critical assessment of the Jamaican government. His track "Heavy Manners" used lyrics against measures initiated towards violent crime.-Biography:He was born Michael James Williams in...

 recorded in the late 1970s but not released until 1998.

Recording

It was recorded for Virgin Records

Virgin Records

Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...

' Front Line

Front Line (record label)

Front Line was a reggae subsidiary of Virgin Records established in 1978. Over forty albums were issued on the label before it folded in 1979.-History:Virgin had been releasing reggae records since BB Seaton's "Dancing Shoes" in 1974...

 label between 1978 and 1979 but the master tapes were lost en route to Virgin's offices. In 1997, a former staff member for Hit Run records (the label run by Adrian Sherwood

Adrian Sherwood

Adrian Sherwood is an English record producer best known for his work with dub music as well as for remixing a number of popular acts such as Coldcut, Depeche Mode, The Woodentops, Primal Scream, Pop Will Eat Itself, Sinéad O'Connor, and Skinny Puppy...

, with whom Prince Far I worked for several years) discovered a cassette

Compact Cassette

The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...

 that he had made from the master tapes, and the album was finally released by Pressure Sounds

Pressure Sounds

Pressure Sounds is a British record label, specializing in releasing reggae music. It is run by Pete Holdsworth although Adrian Sherwood was involved at the inception of the imprint...

.

The album features several tracks based on Gregory Isaacs

Gregory Isaacs

Gregory Anthony Isaacs was a Jamaican reggae musician. Milo Miles, writing in the New York Times, described Isaacs as "the most exquisite vocalist in reggae". His nicknames include Cool Ruler and Lonely Lover....

 songs - "Brother Joe", "Health Warning" (which uses Isaacs' "Sacrifice" as its basis), and "House of Jah" (which is based on "Handcuff"). The album also features DJ Blackskin Prophet (on "When the King Comes to Earth"), and includes the Jamaican singles "Frontline Speech" and "Weatherman Tam". The album is ususual as it features Prince Far I singing as well as chanting, and is regarded as one of Far I's strongest albums.

Track listing

1. "Frontline Speech"
2. "Brother Joe"
3. "House Of Jah"
4. "Health Warning"
5. "Weatherman Tam"
6. "When The King Comes"
7. "Easy Squeeze"
8. "Solomon´s Wisdom"
9. "The Will To Win"
10. "Clean Hands Pure Heart"
11. "Leave Babylon"

Personnel

• Prince Far I - vocals, production
• Carlton "Santa" Davis - drums
• Sly Dunbar
  Sly Dunbar
  Lowell "Sly" Fillmore Dunbar is a drummer.-Biography:Dunbar, whose nickname was reportedly given for his passion for Sly & the Family Stone, launched his musical career while still in his adolescence, playing with a local group, The Yardbrooms, at the age of fifteen...
  
   - drums
• Eric "Fish" Clarke
  Eric "Fish" Clarke
  Eric "Fish" Clarke is a Jamaican drummer who has been a member of the Roots Radics and Prince Far I's backing band, The Arabs.-Biography:Born c.1960 in Kingston, Jamaica, Clarke studied at the renowned Alpha Boys School, and began his career as a drummer in the 1970s, playing in Prince Far I's...
  
   - drums
• Lincoln "Style" Scott - drums
• Flabba Holt
  Errol Holt
  Errol Holt , also known as Errol Carter and by his nickname Flabba, is a Jamaican bass guitar player who was a member of The Morwells and the Roots Radics and has played on hundreds of Jamaican albums.-Biography:...
  
   - bass guitar
• Bertram "Ranchie" McLean - bass guitar
• Robbie Shakespeare - bass guitar
• Clinton Jack - bass guitar
• Bingy Bunny - guitar
• "Crucial" Tony Phillips - guitar
• Earl "Chinna" Smith - guitar
• Noel "Sowell" Bailey - guitar
• Dougie Bryan - guitar
• Clifton "Bigga" Morrison - keyboards
• Wycliffe "Steele" Johnson
  Steely & Clevie
  Steely & Clevie, aka Wycliffe Johnson and Cleveland Browne, was a Jamaican dancehall reggae production duo. It worked with artists such as the Specials, Gregory Peck , Bounty Killer, Elephant Man and No Doubt....
  
   - keyboards
• Ansel Collins - keyboards
• Ossie Hibbert
  Ossie Hibbert
  Oswald "Ossie" Hibbert is a Jamaican organist, keyboard player and record producer.-Biography:Hibbert began to be active in Jamaican music in the mid-1970s, working as a keyboard player as part of The Professionals, The Aggrovators and The Revolutionaries, and playing on dozens of albums by...
  
   - keyboards
• Sticky - percussion
• Dr. Pablo
  Augustus Pablo
  Horace Swaby , known as Augustus Pablo, was a Jamaican roots reggae and dub record producer, melodica player and keyboardist, active from the 1970s onwards. He popularized the use of the melodica in reggae music...
  
  - melodica

External links

• Health and Strength at Roots Archives