Ikon: The Best of Gregory Isaacs, The Cool Ruler

Few Jamaican vocalists hold as much emotional power as Gregory Isaacs, whose haunting sadness reflected a life of not-quite-fame, unlucky love stories and substance abuse. Ikon, a compilation by the series that gave us Bob Marley's Legend, focuses on the latter period of his three-decade spanning career. For Isaacs fans, there are notable absences here. Early Lee Perry-produced hits like ‘Mr Cop’ and ‘Extra Classic’ – the title-track from reggae connoisseur Keith Richards’ ultimate Desert Island Disc – are absent, as are all but one track from his outstanding roots albums Cool Ruler and Soon Forward.

Instead, Ikon is skewed towards Isaacs' influence on dancehall with ‘Night Nurse’ being his best-known track. It's a vintage early 80s piece of digital reggae, and together with ‘Cool Down the Pace’ and ‘Not the Way’, captures Isaacs as a trendsetter who never lost his Rasta values. Elsewhere, however, this compilation is too cover- heavy. UB40's Ali Campbell features on ‘Bring Me Your Cup’, a UB40 original, while an unimaginative Elvis Presley cover, ‘A Little Less Conversation’, seems a very odd choice. As a Best Of, Ikon will be disappointing for fans and misleading to newcomers.