On January 13, 2023, VP Records releases Tarrus Riley’s essential version of Bob Andy’s 1969 hit “Desperate Lover.” The track was produced by Dean Fraser, the man behind Tarrus’s biggest career song “She’s Royal” and essential albums Parables (2006) and Contagious (2009).
“Bob Andy was without question one of our greatest songwriters,” says Tarrus Riley. “His songs will last forever. It’s always a joy to work with Dean Fraser in the studio, and the history stands for itself. You can hear what went into this version of ‘Desperate Lover’!”
“Desperate Lover” is taken from the forthcoming release of We Remember Bob Andy, a tribute album featuring 15 artists covering the late Jamaican singer/songwriter’s catalogue, scheduled for February 10, 2023, on CD, vinyl, and all digital streaming platforms.
In addition to “Desperate Lover,” We Remember Bob Andy will include all new recordings from Beres Hammond, Luciano, Romain Virgo Nadine Sutherland, Richie Spice, Mikey Spice, Duane Stephenson and others, and also includes an additional ten instrumental versions. Bob Andy, born Keith Anderson, is celebrated as one of Jamaica’s greatest songwriters, with a catalogue including tracks like “Too Experienced,” “My Time,” “Unchained,” “Sun Shines For Me,” “Fire Burning,” and “I’ve Got To Go Back Home,” among dozens of evergreen anthems.
His catalogue has been covered or adapted hundreds of times over the decades and forms a key part of the greater Jamaican canon of original songwriting and recordings. Whether through popular interpretations like Barrington Levy’s version of “Too Experienced” or through the rhythmic framework of tracks like “Feeling Soul,” “Desperate Lover,” or “Unchained,” Bob Andy’s melodies and rhythms are woven through the entire fabric of Jamaican popular music across more than five decades.
Dean Fraser, who previously produced VP’s We Remember Gregory Isaacs, recorded 15 vocal tracks and added an additional nine instrumental versions for the full-length project. “Great songwriting comes from the heart. It’s also the way in which the poet tells the story. Bob Andy was one of these people who told stories … he would show the kind of person he was, and how the system worked against us as a people. He would bring that out in these songs and make political statements that hit you right on.”
Alaine and Lukie D’s update of Bob Andy and Marcia Griffith’s “Always Together,” entitled “Really Together” was released on VP’s Strictly The Best 62 on November 18th, 2022. Bitty McLean’s version of Bob Andy’s “Let Them Say” was released on Bob Andy’s birthday, October 28th and included a full-length music video.
