Coming out of a vocal trio and becoming a solo artist is and was the way in which a vast many singers have gained notoriety. Everyone from Slim Smith to a guy named Bob Marley did time in a group, working to get hose harmonies properly in place. And while those two folks should be considered the earlier branch of all of this, the same basic work history was a necessity during the early dance hall period. Sugar Minott might be one of the best examples of this. But in the African Brothers, there were two other performers: Derrick Howard and Tony Tuff. And while I can’t claim to have ever heard Howard’s name in any other context, Tony Tuff is at least a bit familiar.

Tuff is still recording and his work reamains tangentially related to the moment in dance hall that the singer is still associated with. It can’t be said to be internationally popular, but the work that Tuff has turned in since the early ‘80s could be considered to be a bit above most of the tripe coming outta JA at this point – and no, I don’t particularly care for too much of what the Marely kids have been up to, reggae or otherwise. Tuff wasn’t an innovator and his continued trolling of the genre might not be the most important retuning of the genre, but it is overwhelmingly competent.

Beginning in the late ‘70s as a solo act, Tuff was able to enlist a few high profile producers – the Scientist, Yabby You and Tippa Irie amongst others. He was even able to get the Gladiators to back him on the ’80 eponymous disc released on Grove Music. But his earliest full length was a split feature between himself and Errol Scorcher. Backed by the Revolutionaries, each sing jay goes in over some sparse reggae fare. Tuff takes a stab at the “Skylarking” rhythm for “You Wrong” to good affect but nothing else here really stands out too much although, it’s unquestionably above average stuff for the period.

It’s a bit difficult to track down work from this performer – he never gained a huge international following. So, once I stumbled upon Reggae in the City, which turned out to be a compilation, I coped it well. Initially released in ’81 and then again in ’83, the disc realistically can’t cover too much territory considering the vintage of Tuff’s first solo release a scant four years prior. But since that there aren’t any overlapping tracks between the two albums, it could be assumed that what makes up Reggae in the City are a series of singles.

Regardless of that fact, the Scientist makes his presence known. The spare backing here is augmented by some heavy handed production and odd bubbly noises. Honestly, everything represented on this collection is a stunner save for the last track, “Good Times.” But given that title, any listener should have been aptly warned. That one misstep, though, can’t serve to derail this album. Unfortunately, there just doesn’t seem to be enough material floating around with Tony Tuff’s name on it to compile another disc like this one.