Album Review - Various Artists - Jonny Greenwood Is the Controller

By Douglas Heselgrave

It's been a great year for reggae reissues, and the new Trojan release
Jonny Greenwood Is the Controller is no exception. Originally owned by
Island Records, Trojan has specialized in reggae music since it began
pressing vinyl in 1967. Most of Jamaica's top recording artists --
including Bob Marley, Dennis Brown, Toots and the Maytals, and Lee
"Scratch" Perry -- have recorded for the label, and the catalogue the
company has accrued over the last 40 years has made its collected body
of work as important to reggae as Sun Records is to rock 'n' roll and as
both Stax and Motown are to R&B. The historical and artistic value of
Trojan's catalogue cannot be overestimated. Yet, since the mid-'80s,
Trojan has languished, having been bought and sold countless times
before it finally was purchased by the Sanctuary Records Group in 2001.
Subsequently, a steady stream of reissues and new releases have come out
of the revitalized label, but these largely have escaped under the radar
of all but the most ardent of reggae fans. Realizing the constrictions
of being in such a niche market, the new directors of Trojan recently
initiated some very creative ways of exposing new fans to past works by
releasing carefully conceived compilations that have been programmed by
recognizable music business figures.

The first discs of this series were Chapter Oneub and Chapter Twoub
Massive. Respectively released in 2005 and 2006, each was selected and
remixed by ambient dub pioneer and bassist Bill Laswell. In arranging
these discs, Laswell wove together a string of vintage Trojan hits in
order to present them as a seamless musical experience, much like they
would have been showcased in a Jamaican dance hall environment.
Employing some subtle dub effects and touches, Laswell captured the feel
of the original Trojan hits while managing simultaneously to sound
thoroughly contemporary.

On Jonny Greenwood Is the Controller, Radiohead guitarist Jonny
Greenwood took a completely different approach than Laswell did to the
Trojan vault. Resisting any urges to remix or recast the material,
Greenwood preferred to act as a tour guide through reggae's backwaters,
and he has managed to assemble one of the best classic reggae
compilations ever released.

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