eMusic Review 0
Inner Circle's rhythm architecture was so powerful that they survived the car crash death of their charismatic lead singer, Jacob Miller, one of Jamaica's greatest voices, performers and personalities. Mixed by Maximilian and Prince Jammy at King Tubby's studio, these 1978 tracks show why the band was able to sustain such a brutal loss. Many tracks stem from two much-loved Miller releases, Jacob "Killer" Miller and Wanted, including “80,000 Careless Ethiopians,” which he always sang con brio. Their radical consciousness may not come through in the lyrics, but the titles state where Inner Circle are coming from. "Peace Time Now" recalls the band's involvement in organizing the 1981 Peace Concert designed to defuse the violent Kingston ghettoes, which was famously headlined by their close friend Bob Marley. These dubs from way back, then, demonstrate the thunderous, intelligent dub technique that made Inner Circle beloved stalwarts of reggae's Golden Age.