Several years ago Mackasound embarked upon its exclusive ‘Inna De Yard’ recordings. These albums feature acoustic sessions with reggae legends recorded live in the yard of the distinguished guitarist Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith. Over the years many vintage reggae greats have made their way to his yard and now it’s the turn of arguably the most successful and finest vocal trio group to ever appear from Jamaica, The Mighty Diamonds.

Formed in 1969 the original line-up, who knew each other from school (Donald 'Tabby' Shaw, Fitzroy 'Bunny' Shaw and Lloyd 'Judge' Ferguson), remain together and are still recording and touring to this day. There have been many highlights along the bands glittering career, including defining the ‘Rockers’ style that ruled Jamaican music for many years. However the truly ‘golden days’ were when they recorded with the Hoo-Kim brothers at Channel One in the mid-seventies. This release contains ten tracks; nine are absolute classics, including ‘I Need a Roof’ and ‘Go Seek Your Rights’. The tenth, ‘Leaders of Black Country’ was originally recorded in 1983 for Blackbeard.

This ‘Inna De Yard’ release was recorded in early 2007. The group are accompanied by only acoustic guitars and percussion, which allows the sublime quality of their vocal talent to shine. This is an extremely emotional piece of work, which captures the pure essence of true roots music from a mighty trio of living legends. A must own.

Review by Jumpup

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