With his band Matumbi, Dennis Bovell was one of the main pioneers of the British Reggae scene. Apart from producing such albums as Seven Seals and Point Of View, with his own band and collaborating with Jamaican legends I Roy and Johnny Clarke, Bovell was the producer of some of the best and innovative UK reggae including the albums with poet Linton Kwesi Johnson and Janet Kays Lovers rock classic "Silly Games".

Now after a long absence he is back with EMI, and incidentally shorn of dreadlocks and beard, with "All Over the World", twelve tracks of what is apparently called 'big people's music' (old skool 70s style reggae, I think). The passage of time hasn't dulled Dennis' ability to create horn driven killer rhythms, ideal for the dancefloor.

Tracks like "Lovers Rock", "All Over The World", "Bettah", "Picking Up The Pieces" (which reprises on dub form on the final hidden track "Up Dub Piece") would all find a large audience if only they were given more airplay by the UK's largely conservative radio stations. For long time Dennis Bovell followers a series of reissues is to follow this album

Derek McCann