Musical Youth - Pass the Dutchie (bass Cover)

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Musical Youth - Pass the Dutchie

Musical Youth crashed into the British scene with all the presumption, exuberance, and flash of...well, youth itself, storming to the top of the U.K. chart in the fall of 1982 with "Pass the Dutchie," their irrepressible cover of the Mighty Diamonds' Jamaican smash "Pass the Kutchie." It was swiftly followed by the exuberant "Youth of Today," the song that titled their debut album, which duly arrived in December. "Never Gonna Give You Up," a lovely Techniques cover was spun off the set and into the Top 15 in February, while the simmering "Heartbreaker" brought the initial sprint of hits to an end, but still put the Youth back into the Top 45 that April. Meanwhile, the album was selling like hotcakes, topping out at Number 24, pushed by the success of the singles and the record's own strengths, for as strong as the 45s were, the rest of the set was of equally high caliber. Effortlessly moving from deeper roots to gorgeous love songs, scintillating reggae, and upbeat skankers, Youth of Today captured the group at its very best. There's no denying the Youth's talent, while the deft arrangements and productions, which relied heavily on the keyboards to create an amazingly full sound, took somewhat simple rhythms and transformed them into rich numbers that can stand beside Jamaica's own music with pride. If the group was prodigious with their instruments, they were equally precociously vocally, and their vocals were superbly enhanced by the arrangements. The blend of Dennis Seaton's sparkling leads, the group's dulcet harmonies, and young Kelvin Grant's exuberant toasts was irresistible, even for those who never considered themselves reggae fans. At the time, the Youth were a revelation and a revolution, for in a day when DJs toasted and singers sung, but not together, they invented an entirely new style. Although the Two-Tone bands had experimented with this kind of mix, the Youth took it a step further with the addition of harmonies, and in that respect were the true precursors of all that was to come in the modern dancehall. Schoolboys they may have been, but Musical Youth were the wave of the future. As the roots scene faded in Jamaica, they sign-posted a way forward with their seminal blend of pop-reggae, that a host of veteran vocal groups would subsequently ride into the mass market. And credit where credit's due, for the Youth also paved the way for the success of the Melody Makers, as the young Marleys followed the British schoolboys' recipe to international stardom.