As we enter autumn, it looks like the busy schedules of the assorted members of L.A. retro reggae supergroup Night Owls have allowed them just enough time to drop one more single – and that turns out to be the epic Got That Will. A reworking of Herman Hitson’s funky soul classic (though it was apparently Lee Moses’ slower and funkier cover that was the inspiration here), this one finds the band inviting Gina Murrell on board for vocal duties. If they’d stopped there, it would certainly have had the 70s funky reggay vibe of most of the rest of their stuff. As the band well know however, towards the end of the 70s and on into the 80s, there was a certain amount of recycling of early reggae hits with the addition of a toaster on board to give them a new lease of dancehall life. Enter Ranking Joe, freestyling throughout and lending this new version the perfect air of an 80s re-creation of a rebooted early reggae track that never existed. Until now. Banger. Dub version on the flip.
(Out 1 November on F-Spot Records)