Noel Ellis, son of the late and great Jamaican singer Alton Ellis, dropped his self-titled debut album in 1983. It was recorded in Canada and overlooked at the time of release. Fortunately it was picked up Light in the Attic Records and reissued almost ten years ago. Now – more than 30 years after the release of his debut – Noel Ellis has finally put out his second album Zion.
It’s a twelve track showcase set – six vocal cuts and six dub versions – released by French label Iroko. It’s facilitated by acclaimed producers Hervé Brizec and Roberto Sánchez and has a distinct vintage feel to it.
Zion is a coherent and classic set with pleasant and heavy dub versions where Roberto Sánchez has put the smattering percussion in front of the mix, as shown on the deep Jah Dub, the version to the excellent and devout Jah Love.
Noel Ellis has a versatile voice with a melancholic tone and album opener Zion presents a mode where his graceful singing sounds a bit nervous, while he on the cavernous and slow Reggae Music shows a more powerful style. On I Know he actually sounds a little like the great Ken Boothe, grittiness excluded.
Roberto Sánchez has previously recorded a number of vintage reggae singers to wide critical acclaim. And Noel Ellis’ second album can definitely be filed next to soon-to-be-classics like Milton Henry’s Branches and Leaves and Earl Sixteen’s Natty Farming.