Horace Andy
Midnight Scorchers
What’s this? Two Horace Andy records in one year? Is this a typo? Not at all! 2022 brought us two stellar albums from the man Horace Andy. The thrilling Midnight Rockers, and its companion piece Midnight Scorchers. Fans of Midnight Rockers already knew that a dub, or reworked, version of Midnight Rockers was in the works. What might have been a surprise to all of us is that Midnight Scorchers is possibly better that Midnight Rockers. How often can you say that? It’s like seeing a shooting star!
I’m sure every fan has their own definition, but roughly speaking, a true dub album uses the original tapes of a recording and remixes and fiddles with them in a way that its individual elements are brought to the listener’s attention in a different context. Midnight Scorchers does that for Midnight Rockers and much more. Of course there are the reworked “dub” versions of the fantastic tracks on the original (with Away With The Gun and Knife maybe being my favorite), but the form of the songs on this album are simple too unique to call them anything other than original (like Dirty Money Business with all the added toasting by Daddy Freddy and the later track Dub Guidance). The groove and flavor of Midnight Rockers is retained throughout these songs, and maybe it’s my familiarity with them, but here they are appreciated on a whole new level. Adrian Sherwood has reworked and dismantled the original tracks and reassembled them into dancehall type songs taking entirely different sonic soundscapes. Of course, what’s interesting here is that the songs exist in these altered forms with such ease. One is surprised that these aren’t their original intended forms!
The vinyl release is probably the only worthy version of this album to own. Coming in glorious orange vinyl, the reworked artwork can truly be appreciated in this larger format. It’s also in a gatefold sleeve with an insert sleeve highlighting all the artwork that accompanies this release.
Midnight Scorchers is a winner, and a heavy hitter at that. It sounds silly to say, but it’s maybe a better entry point into these sessions than the original version.
Get it here!
