Indian Ken Yokoyama

Arguably the most gifted Jamaican performer of his generation, Ken Boothe is today widely regarded as a living legend, having recorded innumerable ska, rocksteady and reggae classics over a period spanning some 60 years. After making his recording debut in 1962, Ken enjoyed a hugely successful career in Jamaica before achieving international stardom in 1974 with his chart-topping interpretation of "Everything I Own" and the top 10 follow-up "Crying Over You." Both of these hugely popular tracks feature on this collection, which forms part of Trojan Record's new Essential Artist series, which showcases the best-loved recordings of some of Jamaica's greatest musical talents.

From 1973 until this very year (2019 at time of writing) one-time Uriah Heep man Ken Hensley has treated us to a huge amount of music outside of the band that he still can’t quite shake of his long standing link with. The first of these solo sojourns, Proud Words On A Dusty Shelf, arrived in 1973, when Hensley was still part of The ‘eep and very much ‘appy to be so. Together with 1975’s Eager To Please and 1980’s Free Spirit these three albums have been brought together under the banner The Bronze Years 1973-1980 by Cherry Red/HNE Records with a newly recorded DVD, which finds roughly an hours’ worth of new chat with man himself regarding the three albums re-released here and the era in which they were recorded…

Proud Words On A Dusty Shelf (1973). This is the solo debut of Uriah Heep's resident keyboardist and top songwriter, but it isn't the heavy metal epic one might expect. In fact, Proud Words On A Dusty Shelf uses electric guitar sparingly and instead goes for a moody soundscape built on acoustic guitar and piano. Songs like "Black Hearted Lady" and "The Last Time" even evoke a bit of a country and western feel, thanks to their use of mellow-sounding slide guitar. This subtle sonic style puts Hensley's songwriting in the spotlight and that is a good thing because each of the songs is well-crafted and tuneful: a subtle combination of acoustic guitar and synthesizer brings out the haunting, delicately crafted melody of "From Time To Time" and "Black Hearted Lady" effectively evokes its mood of heartbreak with a descending acoustic guitar riff…

Although it’s fair to say that Ken Hensley, as a musician, a songwriter and artist, is probably best known for the decade he spent in Uriah Heep, from 1970’s “Very ’Eavy… Very ’Umble” through to 1980’s “Conquest”, as the band’s keyboard and organist, guitarist, and often their principle songwriter, Ken has forged a varied and exciting musical career over the past 50+ years. From stints with bands as wide ranging as southern boogie merchants Blackfoot, to shock rockers WASP, it’s as a solo artist, and with the band Ken Hensley & Live Fire, that Ken has secured his enduring legacy. Following on from last year’s “The Bronze Years 1973-1981” collection comes “Tales Of Live Fire & Other Mysteries”, a 5CD set that revisits two prolific years for Ken, with albums released in 2012 and 2013.