Rasta Cowboy (JA, 1997 [orig. released 1983])

Little-known dancehall singer Lionel Barrett started out as a member of Sugar Minott's Youth Promotion collective before scoring a couple of minor (emphasis on minor) hits -- OK, maybe they weren't exactly hits -- in the early '80s with "Rasta Cowboy" and "No Follow Rumors."  Rasta Cowboy, his debut, collects these and other early dancehall cuts backed deftly by the Roots Radics.  The music -- bare-bones, bass-driven, rootsy dancehall -- is solid but restrained, as are the vocals.  The melodies are simple and nondescript in an early '80s Linval Thompson-esque fashion.  The best songs are the ones that break out of the straight-laced mode a bit: "Rasta Cowboy," "Out of My Life," and "Jah Rule" are a bit more vibrant and catchy.  If only the rest was as interesting...  Still, diehard fans of the early '80s dancehall stylee should dig Rasta Cowboy.