The I-Three
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 () - Marcia Griffiths -- vocals - Rita Marley (aka Alpharita Constantia Anderson) -- vocals - Judy Mowatt -- vocals
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- Esete (Rita Marley) - Ganette (Rita Marley) - Marcia Griffiths (solo efforts) - Rita Marley (solo efforts) - The Soulettes (Rita Marley) - Judy Mowatt (solo efforts)
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Genre: reggae Rating: 2 stars ** Title: Beginning Company: EMI America Catalog: ST-17222 Country/State: Jamaica Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: -- Available: 1 Catalog ID: 5460 Price: $20.00
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Yeah, as The I-Three Marcia Griffiths, Rita Marley and Judy Mowatt are clearly the queens of reggae which means most Americans don't have a clue as to who these ladies are ... By the mid-1970s Griffiths had already achieved Jamaican fame and some international recognition working with legendary Jamaican singer, songwriter and producer Bob Andy. Mowatt had been a member of The Gaylettes, and Marley had enjoyed some success on her own and as a member of The Soulettes.
Griffith deserves credit for starting the collaboration in that she was the one who approached Marley and Mowatt to help her provide backing vocals on a Bob Andy recording session. That led to some club performance and in 1975 after the original Wailers line up split with Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer going solo, Bob Marley asked them to back him on the concert set "Jah Live".
As
a fan, I've owned Griffith, Marley and Mowatt solo LPs for years, but never
stumbled across anything they'd collectively released as The I-Threes.
When I found a copy of 1986's "Beginning"
at a yard sale I jumped on it. That said, I was somewhat surprised by
the results. On a technical and performance basis the set had a
somewhat split personality. About half of the of the album reflected
new material produced by Thom Bell. On these performances EMI's marketing
plan appears to have been an effort to Americanize the trio's sound for the US
audience. Reflecting Bell collaborations with Leroy Bell and Casey
James
"Beginning" track listing: 1.) Come To Me Tonight (Thom Bell - Leroy Bell - Casey James) - 4:03 rating: *** stars Their
vocals were impressive, but right off the bat the '80s drum sound and
synthesizer washes will some send folks running for the exits. Actually 'Come To Me
Tonight' was a perfect example of the set's strengths and weaknesses.
If you'd heard this one without any background on who was singing, you'd
never have guessed they were Jamiacan. You'd never have guessed their
backgrounds were in reggae. On the other hand they sounded as good, if not
better than virtually any other mid-'80s female vocal group. Funny but I think I would have been able to guess the sweet ballad 'Now That We Are Standing' was a Thom Bell product. There was just something about the fragile keyboard opening and the heartbreak melody that recalled the man. Pretty performance, though I find it a little too MOR for my tastes. EMI released it as the US single in 7" and 12" formats:
- 1986's 'Now That We Are Standing' b/w 'Calling Out Around the World' (EMI America catalog number B-8340) -
1986's ' Now That We Are Standing' b/w 'Now That We're Standing' EMI America
catalog number SPRO-9850) I remember liking the Elton John version (off the 1979 "The Thom Bell Sessions" EP) so that was my baseline for comparisons. Other than adding some steel drums, this version really didn't stray from the original arrangement. Once again my issue with this version wasn't the performance, rather the horrible '80s production effects. Elton John one; I-Three zero ... I have no idea what the underlying business arrangements were, but this one was released as a Jamaican single:
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1985's 'Mama Can't Buy You Love' b/w 'Mama Can't Buy You Love' (Rita Marley
Music catalog number XWO 169)
4.) Neighbour (Sonny Okosun) - 3:38 rating: **** stars A remake of Sonny Okosun's 'Highlife' (no idea why they re-titled it), 'Neighbour' was an album highlight if only because it made no effort to strip off the original Jamaican sound and feel. Shame they weren't allowed to do more of this, rather than forced into a commercialized sheen. (By the way the Okosun version is even better.) 5.) Baby Be True (Leroy Sibbies) - 2:53 rating: **** stars A remake of an old Heptones tune, this was another highlight given it was pure reggae without Bell's slick production work.
(side
2) The cheesy synthesizers sounded like an Atari game having a final meltdown. The rest of this one sounded like a subpar Boney-M performance. Dreadful.
Under the extended title 'Calling Out Around the World', this was another one that saw release as a Jamaican 45: - 1984's 'Calling Out Around the World' b/w 'Calling Out Around the World' (Rita Marley Music catalog number XW0069) -
1984's 'Calling Out Around the World' b/w 'Calling Out Around the World'
(Rita Marley Music catalog number ABD0050) Okay
they had good taste when it came to covers, but there was simply no way
their pop-reggae version of this classic soul tune was ever going to surpass
Otis Redding's version ... or even Candi Staton's take. In an
effort to bridge the soul-reggae valley, this was probably the track I would
have tapped as an American single. My
pick for the album's standout performance, their cover of 'Jealousy' gave
each of the ladies a shot at the spotlight while showcasing their glorious
harmony vocals. Those vocals were so strong they overcame the lame
'80s drums and synthesizers. Bouncy, uplifting pop-reggae tune ... 5.) He Is a Legend (Marcia Griffiths) - 4:40 rating: **** stars The album's best performance,Griffith's 'He Is a Legend' was also the album's lone original composition. Yeah, the lyrics were a little over-the-top, but there was no denying their sincerity. The track featured backing from The Wailers and was released as a Jamaican 45 in conventional and picture disc formats
- 1985's 'He Is a Legend' b/w 'He Is a Legend' (instrumental) (Tuff Gong catalog number XW 0095) NO idea when, or where it was recorded, but YouTube has a live performance of the track: He's a Legend (Bob Marley Tribute)- I-Three's (youtube.com)
©
Scott R. Blackerby June 2024
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(of Bell & James fame), tracks such as 'Come To
Me Tonight', 'Mamma
Can't Buy You Love', and 'Calling
Out' (the latter reminding me of
something Boney M might have recorded), certainly had a top-40 sheen, but it
came at the expense of the trio's reggae roots. The three ladies were
clearly all gifted with wonderful
voices; one of those blessed groups that make harmonizing seem
effortless. At the same time the combination of
Bell's dated mid-1980s
sound (tons of synthesizers, drum machines, etc.) and the set's clear debt
and affection for American soul acts was a surprise. The rest of the
album reflected previously recorded material working with Jamaican producers
including Grub Cooper, Tyrone Dowie and Ricky Walters. While those
efforts weren't as radio-ready commercial, to my ears they were far more
enjoyable. Their remake of Sonny
Okosun's 'Highlife' (re-titled 'Neighbour'),
a cover of the old Heptones tune 'Baby Be
True' and a cover of Errol
Thompson's 'Jealousy'
were all fun. Best performance was the lone original composition -
recorded with the remaining Wailers, Griffith's touching tribute to
Bob Marley 'He Is A Legend'. All-n-all not bad, but not a total knockout either ...
and yeah, that patented '80s sound quickly became irritating.
