Horace Andy – Spying Glass (aka Live In The City) and Money Money (Dancehall Style)
This steppers track from Dance Hall Style (a version of which was also released under the title “Live in the City” on Exclusively, Horace Andy’s second, lesser-known LP for Wackie’s recorded during the same sessions) seems very autobiographical. While it appears to be taken from his own experience, it’s a warning to other up and comers as well. If this was a current tune, it would definitely have the word “pree” in the title!
Notably, the track proved to be a major inspiration for ’90s trip-hop act Massive Attack, who re-recorded the song for their 1994 LP Protection with Andy on vocals, introducing the singer’s distinctive voice to a new generation of fans. —DJ Gravy
Andy’s Dance Hall Style is the quintessential Wackies release—and, like a lot of Wackies’ full-length releases, it really is an album that needs to be heard front to back for the full effect. In other words, every tune from the seven-track set should be here. But after the aforementioned “Spying Glass,” it’s “Money Money”—a new version of an already classic tune Andy had cut with Bunny Lee in the early ’70s, rendered into a completely new song by Wackies and his session players. The photo-finish, close-second honorable mention goes to Andy’s cover of Lloyd Robinson’s classic “Cuss Cuss” —Jesse Serwer