The Pioneers – I Need Your Sweet Inspiration (Justin Robertson Remix) [Trojan]

Released in 1970, the year their musical acceptance lead them to residence in the UK, the Pioneers’ ‘I Need Your Sweet Inspiration’ was typical of their soulful Trojan output and indicative of Jamaican music’s shift-change from ska and rocksteady into reggae, landing between the huge chart successes of ‘Long Shot Kick De Bucket’ and their cover of Jimmy Cliff’s ‘Let Your Yeah Be Yeah’. ‘Sweet Inspiration’ was also a cover, originally a Dan Penn song recorded by the Sweet Inspirations as Staples-esque Southern gospel before being given a typically beatific and buoyant treatment by the enduring reggae vocal trio.

This 2007 remix came out of the Trojan Takeover project, where a handful of contemporary producers were invited to resurrect favourites from the label’s gargantuan back catalogue and put their mark on them in celebration of its 40th anniversary. Manchester’s Justin Robertson, who’s career  has proved comparably perennial, was the first out of the trap with this rakish but respectful rework, giving the bass line a squonky top billing amid phased and reverbed drums before reinstating the ebullient chorus largely untouched.

With Fatboy Slim going a bit too far and Coldcut not far enough with their chosen enterprises, Robertson’s was easily the strongest of the takeovers; a heavyweight reggae remix packing light relief for the dancefloor.