The Webber Sisters

Merline and Merlyn on various records) scored early with" Hard Life" on Smash and"

Dream,Dream," Produced by Syd Bucknor and issued in England on the Third World label,

with the magnificent" protest song" In Our time" on the b-side. Ackee released the unusual"

Natengula" in the UK in 1971.Introduced to producer Lloyd Campbell by the singer Keith

Poppin, she went on to release a series of hit singles issued on his Spider Man, Joe

Fraser and (UK) Jama labels including" Letter To Mommy and Daddy," " He Will Have To

Stay," First Cut Is the Deepest," " As Long As You Love Me," " Cheating Is," "One Life To

Live" ( backed by The Revolutionaries), the self-penned" No More Running" and" Once You

Hit the Road," which become the title track of her first solo album ( on which she is backed

by the legendary skin, Flesh and Bones).

Merlene also took the lead on the first Webber Sisters album,Right Track. Cynthia may have been a little less prolific but her singles include the excellent" Do Jah Good" issued

in the US on the Bull Sentra label and her own album, Sweet Soul and Inspiration,"

Produced by guitarist Ronny"Bop" Williams ), on which she wrote over half of the songs.

The Webber Sisters--Cynthia and Merlene--provide the backing on this one,Other Webber Sisters releases include the 1982 album I&I Love You Honey,'' and the Ethiopian Famine

Relief project" Love Is The Message by The Webber Sisters and the Courageous,(a lineup

that included Stranger Cole and Pluggy Satchmo), both issued on the Black Eagle label

out of Canada.In the nineties both Black Eagle and Scorcher Music in the U.S issued some twelve-inch releases by the Webber Sisters as well.

On this release the Webber Sisters recapture--inna reggae stylee--the innocecence of the

girl group sound of the early sixties, the sweet soul music of the mid-sixties,the joy of

Jamaican rock steady, the spirit of old-school country and the mature power of

sophisticated pop in full-voice natural harmonies ( as only sisters can) that sound as great

today as they did in the bygone era their music calls to mind.Just to keep things up-to-date they add a dash of dancehall too.Having worked in some of Jamaica's greatest studios'' back in the day," including studionone, Lee Perry's King Tubby's, Channel One and GG's,

alongside some of the finest Jamaican musicians of all time, The Webber Sisters bring

charm, character and style to this engaging release.Sit back,relax and enjoy this music of

The Webber Sisters.

Chuck Foster writes the Reggae Update column for Beat Magazine and hosts Reggae Central on KPFK-LA Sundays from 3-5 in the afternoon, streaming globally and archived

at KPFK.ORG.He is the author of Roots, Rock Reggae: An Oral History of Jamaican Music

From Ska to Dancehall published by Billboard Books.