Some titles are switched around, so tunes like Keep Out Of My Life (complete with gunshots!), You Must Love Your Brother and Baby Don’t Do It might ring a bell if you know his early-70s material. Two of Alton Ellis’s tracks are being covered stylishly by Delroy: his 1967 rocksteady hit, Live And Learn, and a creative reinterpretation of Can I Change My Mind, which Delroy has titled I Can’t Change Your Ways. Call On Me is his spin on Bobby “Blue” Bland’s 1963 classic, and Cherry Darling is the same piece that shows up elsewhere as Cherry Baby. The extra tracks—Love Got Me Doing Things from 1974 and the pop cover Go Away Little Girl were produced by Phil Pratt.
On this album Delroy showcases his lovers rock expertise, powerfully evoking memories of his rocksteady performances during the 1960s. The insert gives you his full story, but many of us already know how long his roots stretch. Wilson first made his name at Studio One as a teenager, cutting early ska and rocksteady sides like Spit in the Sky, Dancing Mood, Run, Run and I’m Not A King‘ with Coxsone Dodd. That early schooling shaped everything he did later. His life had bright peaks and heavy lows, ending far too early in March 1995 at 46.
We’ve seen plenty of reissues lately, but this one’s worth the shelf space. It’s a clean, warm reminder of why Delroy mattered—and still does.