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*** I-ROY

TOUTING I SELF

(Heartbeat)

Big Youth may have had the big mouth, and U Roy might have been the original Jamaican sound-system “toaster” and inspiration, but to me the “I” in the late toaster Roy Reed’s name stands for “Irresistible.” Touting I Self features 16 tracks from the mid-’70s golden age of toasting, a time of mellifluous reefer and Rasta raps that contrast sharply with the crackhead rants of the dancehall blazers who would follow. I-Roy’s delivery was a silver-tongued sing-song, warm and gracious even when toeing the Marcus Garvey party line on “Reparation is a Must.” For licensing reasons, perhaps, his greatest track, the barn-burning “Black Man Time,” isn’t here. But the material is still strong, from the American-pop-culture-obsessed “Buck and the Preacher” to smooth cruisin’ missiles aimed at competing DJs like “Set Yourself Up Jazzbo.” Top shelf: “Walk Right In,” a deft variation on Darrell Banks’s “Open the Door to Your Heart” and the Rooftop Singers ’60s folk hit, complete with banjo and horns.

— Wayne Robins