The Silvertones: Silver Bullets (Antarctica Starts Here)
From our very own Greg Bennetts:
“Silver Bullets, one of the few full-lengths by Jamaican harmony group the Silvertones, went without a repress until well into the 21st century. Fortunately one can now find a copy of this primo golden-era treasure repressed by San Francisco’s Superior Viaduct. Pulling together elements of rock steady, reggae, lovers rock, roots, and dub, Silver Bullets captures a unique amalgam of styles by a group still hungry for chart success.
Delroy Denton, Gilmore Grant, and Keith Coley came together in Kingston, forming the Silvertones in 1964. One of the top harmony groups in Jamaica, the Silvertones recorded scores of singles under their own name as well as a handful of other aliases. Scoring their first hit with a ska tune, “True Confession,” in 1965 the Silvertones were immediately noticed. The lion’s share of their early output was produced for Duke Reid’s Treasure Isle label (Doctor Bird in the UK) until the end of the 60s.
Yet for all their productivity in the Jamaican singles market, by the early 70s the group was still hustling, taking whatever recording sessions they could. Having made sides for him previously, the Silvertones hooked up again with Lee “Scratch” Perry, proposing that he produce a few more singles for them. Perry suggested they make a whole album. Using the not-yet-finished Black Ark studio in his backyard, Perry set out assembling the backing tracks for what would be the first LP release on his Upsetter label.
A curious mix of unfaithful covers (in true Jamaican fashion), a few originals, plus a proper version of the rootsy highlight “Rejoice Jah Jah Children,” dubbed-out by Perry himself. In the trio, Grant and Coley fill the alto and high harmonies, while Denton provides much of the songwriting and arranging, as well as the guitar and low-end lead singing. The album is full of catchy love songs as well as instrumental flourishes that do not disguise the fact that the producer, known as the Upsetter among other things, is at the controls.
Silver Bullets opens with “I’ll Take You Home,” adapted from the Drifters hit, enticing listeners with Denton’s deep baritone along with his partners’ soulful harmonies, on top of the churn of the backing track. Upbeat and melodic, but a slow burn with its light tempo giving the album a casual start. This is followed by “Early in the Morning,” a Denton-penned track, both wistful and tender.
Their half-speed take on the Archies’ “Sugar Sugar,” also covered by Bob Marley and the Wailers among others, has Denton singing with the force of Isaac Hayes, but accentuating a few lines with James Brown “uhs.” “Souvenir of Mexico,” a hit for Ben E. King in 1961, is delivered relatively straightforward here, open and spacious.
Closing the first side, “Rejoice Jah Jah Children,” a glorious hymn of rasta consciousness and “Rejoicing Skank” find the Silvertones completely inside the spell of roots and dub, playing as a proper A-side vocal and B-side version 1-2 punch.
Another cover by Ben E. King starts the second side, “That’s When it Hurts” followed by a pair of originals. “Soul Sister” and “Rock Me in Your Soul,” keep the tempo slow and yearning with strains of longing and loving. A classic Perry opening begins “Sweet and Loving Baby” with a frenetic turnaround and emphatic growl before settling on its lazy groove. A reworked Jerry Butler tune (co-written by Curtis Mayfield), “He’ll Break Your Heart” swoons with melancholy as does the closer “Are You Sure,” a straightforward take on the Staple Singers’ version in 1972, originally written by Ike Cargill in 1943.
As a whole, Silver Bullets stands as one of the many great records of the early 70s produced by Lee “Scratch” Perry. Classic melodies, unique arrangements, and touches of studio experimentations make this document a high-water mark in the output of the Silvertones.