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Birmingham’s sorely overlooked roots reggae legends receive reissue flowers with expanded edition of their 1978 debut album, replete with cuts from later singles and live examples

 

In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s Eclipse would compete with Steel Pulse for the crown of Brum’s best reggae band. No slight on UB-40 either, but ultimately Steel Pulse claimed it, making the name of Eclipse’s first album ‘Eclipsed’ bold or ironic, depending perspective. Silly stuff aside, it’s a cracking album showcase of the septet in full flight, lengthening the set to 12 from the first pressing’s 8 tunes, and reshuffling it all for a new listening experience, whether familiar or not. 

Off the original LP, the likes of their sweetly haunting ‘60s soul harmonies on ‘Visions’, the mid-tempo roots reggae disco stepper ’Six Dead’, and the fluting stepper ‘Corrupted Society’ all more than hold up against their peers in Brum or the likes of X-O-Dus in Moss Side, Manchester, and still speak to timeless themes in treausures including ‘Immigration’ and the swayng, soul-soothing harmonies of ‘Eclipse’.

New to this edition are a pair of live cuts proving their limber mettle in the knees up ‘Enjoy Yourself/Have a Good Time’, and a punky zinger ‘City Loving’, beside the early ‘80s ace ‘Blood Fi Dem’ for 021 Records, and its B-side ‘After The Rain’ marking their shift toward reggae disco in a Sly & Robbie goes Northern Soul style.

Tracklist

A1        Corrupted Society
A2        Immigration
A3        Six Dead
A4        Blood Fi Dem
A5        Jah Can’t Fail I
B1        Visions
B2        Let Jah Be The One
B3        Enjoy Yourself / Have A Good Time (Live)
B4        After The Rain
B5        City Loving (Live)
B6        Eclipse