Sabrina Rich: Smooth Operator (Reggae Sade Cover) Vinyl 12"

If you can believe it, Sade was actually MORE popular and hyped in the 1980s than she is right now (please, no more house bootlegs), and reggae / lovers rock / dancehall covers of Sade tunes are a dime a dozen in the reggae bin (which reminds me, Chairman Mao just dropped one during his set at TTL last week that I need to chase down)... except they’re not actually a dime a dozen; like everything Sade-related, they're really expensive (thanks Supreme / Drake / Kanye). Fledgling Miami reggae star Sabrina Rich’s cover of “Smooth Operator” is among the rarest, with only a few dozen copies known to exist, trading hands for about $500 when they surface. Sabrina & the Fat Man Ridim Section (aka Inner Circle, pre-COPS) swap Sade & co’s smooth jazz lounge vibes for computerized digidub and glossy syndrum rolls, tuned for dancehalls frequented by Miami’s massive Caribbean immigrant population. In addition to the vocal and dub versions, Cultures Of Soul lace this reissue with a new 2019 mix by ‘DJ and record collector extraordinaire’ Duckcomb and roll it up in a well-deserved new pic sleeve (spliff and collie not included). Recommended.

• black vinyl pressing
• includes vocal, dub + 2019 remix versions
• music label: Cultures Of Soul 2019

reviewed by winston wolf 02/2019