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Pave the Way was the third of three albums that Pablo Moses recorded at Dynamic Studio with producer Geoffrey Chung. Originally released on LP in 1980, it soon fell off the marketplace radar and has remained out of print for 25 years. Enter Young Tree Records, which teamed up with the respected Washington, DC producer and engineer Jim Fox to bring the album back to light. Moses still had the original quarter-inch tapes in his possession; he turned them over to Fox, who worked his typical magic and restored them to their original pristine glory, and they are reissued here on CD with a second disc of dub versions. It's not completely clear whether the dubs were conceived and mixed by Chung or by Fox -- they bear the distinctive Fox sonic fingerprint, but that may be simply because his restoration project began with the pre-master tapes. In any case, the songs themselves range from pretty good ("Proverbs Extractions," "Last Straw") to excellent ("Pave the Way," "I See It Every Day"). As usual with a Pablo Moses album, the weak link is the tunes, too few of which are very memorable -- what saves the album are his fully committed singing style and the fantastic instrumental backing, which was provided by an A-list studio band that includes drummer Mikey "Boo" Richards, trombonist Nambo Robinson and percussionist Sticky Thompson. Pave the Way + Dubs may not be an absolutely essential purchase for every reggae lover, but it's a worthy and important piece of reggae history. Rick Anderson, All Music Guide

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Bio

Pablo Moses burst onto the reggae scene in 1975 with the puzzling song "I Man a Grasshopper" from his debut album Revolutionary Dream. The song title refers the title character of the then popular television series Kung Fu though it tells the story of a drunken ex-cop who turns in a ganja-smoking singer. It was an enormous hit in both Jamaica and England, but Moses himself remained fairly unknown. He was born Pablo Henry in the rural Manchester part of Jamaica. But for two years spent in New York City, he remained a country boy until his desire to perform became too strong. Moses got his start performing with informal school bands. He and chum Don Prendes eventually formed the Canaries, which remained his back-up group, and began performing at talent shows. They also auditioned for Duke Reid and at Dodd's Studio One with little success. Following the success of "Grasshopper," Moses released a few more singles, including "We Should Be in Angola," but for some reason, they did better in England than they did in Jamaica. The song "Give I Fe I Name" was an exception. Revolutionary Dream was acclaimed, but it brought him little profit and Moses decided to back off from the music scene for a while. During this time, he spent two years studying at the Jamaica School of Music. It was there that he gathered a new group of musicians and began performing at night clubs, theaters and on campus. They also made a television show that was quite popular in Jamaica. In 1980, Moses returned to reggae with A Song, (1980) an innovative album produced by Moses and Geoffery Chung that was recorded in Jamaica using the island's finest session players and the remixed in London. The result was a multi-layered blend of roots and sophisticated international reggae that many consider Moses' masterpiece. Chung then produced a follow-up, Pave the Way. He continues recording through the '90s.

Sandra Brennan, All Music Guide

Label: Young Tree