Looking trendy in sunglasses and loose-fitting slacks, Winston “Niney” Holness held court in his suite at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in Kingston. The occasion, on May 7, was a listening party for his self-titled album.

The 14-song set was officially launched the previous day at that venue. It attracted a number of prominent figures including Olivia Grange, Jamaica’s entertainment minister, and Mark Golding, leader of the opposition People’s National Party.

After each cut of ‘Niney Holness The Observer’ plays, the 80 year-old artiste/producer gives a synopsis to an audience of six, including his publicist Bridgett Anderson and Michael Thompson, a respected Disc Jockey from Kool FM in Kingston.

‘Niney Holness The Observer’ has been five years in the making. Taking a break from the listening session, Niney said the wait was worth it.

“Mi feel now is di time. Is a long time mi tek fi finish it, but mi neva want all di chune dem sound di same way. My song dem can sound like a next man song, but dem mustn’t sound like di other songs on my album,” he explained.

There is a lot of diversity on the album. ‘Thank You’, the opening track, has a blues-rock feel; ‘Blond Hair Chiney’ is a ska take on Prince Buster’s ‘Blackhead Chineyman’, while ‘Working For Jah’ is a raw roots-reggae collaboration with Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt.

Niney also covers Eric “Monty” Morris’ ‘Say What You’re Saying’ and Ken Boothe’s ‘Silver Words’, which he produced in 1974.

Obviously, Niney has great expectations for the album which was released 54 years after he entered the British National chart with the apocalyptic song, ‘Blood And Fire’.

“Wi a guh work dis album straight up to di Grammy. Dat is what me want,” said Niney.

While ‘Blood And Fire’ was a massive hit, Niney Holness is best known as one of reggae’s leading producers. He helped usher in the roots-reggae era of the early 1970s by producing songs such as ‘Westbound Train’ and ‘Cassandra’ by Dennis Brown; and ‘Slavemaster’ by Gregory Isaacs.

In the 1980s, Niney produced ‘Roots With Quality’ by Third World and ‘No Vacancy’ by Sugar Minott. Those songs were staples of compilation albums distributed by American and European record companies during the 1990s.

Ten years ago, Niney returned to Jamaica and opened the Observer Soundbox recording studio in Kingston. He hoped to unearth new talent, particularly singers, but when that failed to materialise, announced an unlikely comeback.

His promotional campaign for ‘Niney Holness The Observer’ is expected to include live shows, possibly in Europe, this summer.