Butter-wouldn’t-melt-voiced Birmingham singer Bitty McLean and Jamaican production juggernaut Sly & Robbie started their musical relationship in 2006. Three years later they had recorded both a live album in Japan and a studio set, Movin’ On.
Bitty has appeared on stage with the drum and bass twosome on many occasions – including on their famous collaborations with Ernest Ranglin and Shaggy.
For 2012 the trio released It’s Running Over, their long-awaited cover of Freddie McKay’s Your Cup Is Full, as a 12” discomix featuring veteran deejay Josey Wales. (A video of the rehearsals for the song has been on the net since 2010.) Now Bitty and the Riddim Twins’ second studio longplayer is here: on a choice of abridged vinyl LP and a CD/digital edition with bonus material. Overall, The Taxi Sessions exemplifies the smooth reggae for grownups we heard on Movin’ On. However, fans of It’s Running Over will be pleased that it continues Mclean’s journey towards being more of a roots singer. (2013 looks like a big year for Sly & Robbie, with signs that their heavily anticipated Shaggy album is ready to drop.)
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