Throwback 45s: Al Campbell – Turn Me Loose

ARTIST: Al Campbell
TITLE: Turn Me Loose
LABEL: Hit Bound
YEAR: 1982

Producer Coxsone Dodd of Studio One fame released Slim Smith’s Never Let Go around 1967, and few could have predicted just how far that rocksteady riddim would travel. Over the following decades, producers returned to it again and again, creating well over 300 versions and relicks.

Among the most important was The Answer, a 1977 Studio One 7″ single from then up-and-coming deejay Lone Ranger. Its popularity helped open the floodgates for new versions and gave the riddim the name many reggae fans in Jamaica and overseas still use today. In time, Slim Smith’s original was also commonly referred to as The Answer.

Then, in 1982, singer and songwriter Al Campbell took on the riddim with Turn Me Loose. Joseph “Jo Jo” Kim produced the track at Channel One, with the mighty Roots Radics providing the backing. The record appeared in Jamaica on Hit Bound, E&J Records, and Well Charge.

At the centre of the riddim is Flabba Holt’s deep, heavy bassline, a perfect example of the slow, weighty sound that helped define early-’80s dancehall. Campbell’s smooth, soulful voice sits beautifully over the riddim, while his lyrics move between conscious themes and the energy of the dance.

That combination makes Turn Me Loose a fine example of early dancehall at its best: heavy, melodic and built around a riddim that already had plenty of history behind it. Campbell sums up the mood perfectly: “Take these chains from off my feet. I want to rock to the blues.”