Smith & Mighty ~ Retrospective
Rob Smith and Ray
Mighty were a cornerstone of the Bristol scene’s prehistory, back when
Massive Attack had yet to cohere out of The Wild Bunch and the Junglist Full
Cycle crew that included DJ Krust were still the Fresh 4. Typical of the cross-pollination
that engendered the aforementioned acts, Smith & Mighty released two prototypical
breakbeat anthems in 1987 which also happened to be covers of Burt Bacharach
tunes, namely “Anyone (Who Had A Heart)” and “Walk On By”.
These are delightful affairs bursting with big bass lines, rich arrangements
and funky rhythms which also served to lead up to their UK top 10 production
hit “Wishing On A Star”. This happy hybridity marks out the duo
as much as their distance from the mainstream perception of Drum’n’Bass/Jungle
as being a darkly mental affair. Although that darkness came to claim the
scene from 1994 onwards, there was a time when the genre was richer, more
colourful and more varied. Retrospective exemplifies this by doling out large
portions of reggae, dancehall, hiphop and soul powered by busy mid-paced breakbeats.
Time Out, the London-based listings magazine recently carried a brief preview
of Smith and Mighty’s fellow Bristolian Roni Size and his return to
live performance. As well as commenting innacurately on Size’s career,
the author of the piece observed that drum’n’bass now sounded
old-fashioned, almost quaint. In relation to the bounce and kick of UK Garage
and its offshoots this might be the case for some (though not for this reviewer),
however it’s difficult to see how the music on Retrospective could be
so described. If the name Smith & Mighty is unfamiliar, don’t be
tempted to assumed that their role was a peripheral one. Theirs is a fecund
and vigorous genepool that should be required listening for all fans of dance
music and students of breakbeat history.
Colin Buttimer
November 2004