Easy Star is rather brilliant

-from halcyonline.com

...The focus of the Easy Star All-Stars has always been on the process and the music itself, not the nightly re-creation of a frozen moment in rock history. First, Easy Star co-founders Eric Smith, Lem Oppenheimer and Michael Goldwasser make the decision on which album will get the Easy Star treatment. Then, Goldwasser, the producer, musical director, arranger and guitarist for the group, painstakingly transforms arrangements of the source material into reggae style; the goal is a musical melding at the genetic level, not just a parody with a summery beat. The band itself, which operates as a collective, with a rotating cast of musicians and artists contributing...



...Having tackled the dark complexities of the human condition on Dub Side of the Moon and the depths of the human/computer/alien psyche on Radiodread, basing the next album in the series on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is both a logical choice and a departure of sorts. ..

While it is widely credited as being one of the first concept albums (and therefore the stylistic predecessor of Dark Side of the Moon and OK Computer), Sgt. Pepper’s stands apart from both of those albums in that it is basically a collection of major-key pop songs, however odd they may be. Thanks to the first two albums, fans may associate the Easy Star All-Stars with the darker side of minor-chord reggae, but they will soon discover just how good the group can be when handling brighter material...

As with the first two albums, Goldwasser stayed true to the lyrics, melodies and chord changes of the songs, envisioning as if the songs had been written by Lennon/McCartney (and Harrison), but had been recorded in Jamaica under the influence of reggae....



"As with the previous records, Goldwasser brought in a who’s who of reggae, dub and dancehall greats to contribute guest vocals. Steel Pulse, Matisyahu, Michael Rose (Black Uhuru), Bunny Rugs (Third World), Ranking Roger (English Beat/General Public) and Luciano are the most recognizable names; longtime Easy Star collaborators Sugar Minott and Frankie Paul continue their powerful associations with the group; U Roy (a founder of deejay toasting), Max Romeo and the Mighty Diamonds are among the other veteran guest artists sure to generate anticipation amongst staunch reggae fans. Members of the Easy Star All-Stars, including Kirsty Rock, Menny More and Junior Jazz, finish out the impressive list of lead vocalists.

This process was made all the more interesting by these artists’ lack of familiarity with the songs,” says Goldwasser. “They knew the Beatles, but most knew the hits and didn’t know ‘Good Morning Good Morning’ or ‘Within You Without You.’ This added newness to each interpretation that was essential to making these songs work on their own and not just as cover songs.” The members of the collective that Goldwasser tapped for this project included the main rhythm section that had supplied the music for Dub Side of the Moon: Victor Axelrod, a.k.a. Ticklah (keyboards), Victor Rice (bass) and Patrick Dougher (drums/percussion), augmented by Eddie Ocampo, who was one of the band’s main drummers from 1999-2000. Also involved were active touring members of the Easy Star All-Stars, including Ras I Ray (bass, vocals), Ive-09 (percussion), Jennifer Hill (saxophone), Buford O’Sullivan (trombone), Pam Fleming (trumpet), and Tamar-kali (vocals). Goldwasser began arranging the album in August 2007 and recording commenced in May 2008, with overdubs layered in at Goldwasser’s and Ticklah’s studios and from Victor Rice’s home base in Sao Paolo, Brazil (where Radiodread had been mixed in 2006).

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