Prison Oval Rock/Lovers Race Riddim

Some call it Spanish Town, a Prison Oval Rock

A couple of days ago, I’ve heard Chronixx‘s cover of Barrington Levy‘s “Prison Oval Rock”. It was good. And the least I could say is that it reminded me of some good old music. So, I thought the “Prison Oval Rock/Lovers Race Riddim” would make a perfect throwback for this week.

This riddim is “cool and deadly”, like Barrington would have said back then. It is laid-back with a little Rub-a-dub-twist. The original riddim was produced in 1983 by Henry “Junjo” Lawes. The most amusing fact about this riddim is that the most famous track on it was, in fact, a dubplate. Barrington Levy actually recorded “Prison Oval Rock” for Volcano Hi Power Sound System who was going to play at a dance held in the Spanish Town Oval Stadium (Source: Gleaner).

The dub had a huge impact on the Reggae scene. The track that was “just” a dubplate, became a hit and is now considered as a classic. It has been featured on Barrington Levy‘s 1991 album “Prison Oval Rock”. Even though it has not been as popular as certain riddims like the “Answer”, since its release in the early 80’s, it has been remade a couple times. “Lambsbread” by Ky-enie is one of my favorite contemporary cut on this riddim.

The package available for download below, features tracks by artists such as Anthony Cruz, Collie Budz, Sugar Minott, Richie Spice and many more. I hope you’ll enjoy it.Do not hesitate to share and/or comment this post.