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1967
MESSAGE OF OLD * JOE HIGGS AND KEN BOOTH * COXSONE 7010 * UK
Although this sublime B side credits Dudley Sibley as singer it was actually sung by the incredibly underrated Joe Higgs, and Ken Booth, the next side is by Sibley, which could be the reason for the miss-credits. A heavy moralistic line runs through this Rock Steady with the duo exchanging verses that outside of this spiritual and melodic context would sound little more than tired and banal platitudes, many of which are direct quotes from the Bible. Yet like many such didactic cuts in Jamaican music the sum is greater than its parts, so that when sung by Higgs and Booth, one: "When you dig a ditch, you'd better dig two" plus one. "When you point a finger it always points back at you" equals a lot more than two.