AUDIO: Listen to”Ever Ready,” An Unreleased 1984 Song By Super Cat

Words by Jesse Serwer

New music from Super Cat remains a rare, elusive thing. The Don Dada of dancehall deejays returned last year with an appearance on Shaggy’s “Night Flight” (alongside Maxi Priest) but based on our 2013 conversation with Cat, we don’t expect to hear a new project from the Wild Apache anytime soon. Fortunately, for Super Cat enthusiasts like us, the Israel-based reissues label Spring Hill Records recently dug up this previously unreleased gem Mr. Cat is said to have recorded for producer Jah Thomas sometime around 1984.

Perhaps one reason the track never saw the light of day is that, lyrically, it plays something like a prototype to Cat’s classic 1985 Sleng Teng anthem, “Trash and Ready.” While it’s possible that Cat may have seen the need to improve upon his original creation (or maybe Jah Thomas just took too long to press it up), “Ever Ready” has its own charm, as Cat toasts to diamond socks and Clarks booty over a heavyweight riddim from the Roots Radics. Sample the track below, order the 45 here and peruse the Spring Hill archives here.

A tip of the hat to former LargeUp contributor Rishi Bonneville for the find on this one.