Reggae On Philip Hay

I'm sure Philip Hay can defend his own Rolling Stones review from the anonymous critique printed in last week's Salient, but I'd like to mention that Anonymous Critic is way off when he says that "the reggae tracks on 'Black and Blue' are blatant and poorly disguised Bob Marley". The only straight out reggae track it "Cherry O Baby", a song written and recorded by a man called Eric Donaldson, who has absolutely nothing to do with Bob Marley. Similarly, the jive talking Jagger lapses into at the end of 'Hot Stuff is in the West Indian 'deejay' style popularised by a disc jockey called U. Roy. and carried on by two other popular Jamaican recording stars called T. Roy (no relation) and Big Youth. Again, there is not a trace of Bob Marley here, either.

It seems that because Bob Marley is the only reggae musician that Anonymous Critic seems to have heard of then All reggae must be attributed to him. The real point is whether Jagger lings reggae well - I never minded him doing Robert Johnson's 'Love In Vain' for instance because he did it so well - and 'well' doesn't mean imitation, but what the white musician ADDS of his own experience to reggae or blues. Here, sadly Jagger adds very little at all.