The Loser by The Lions

Blowing in like a cool breeze on a sultry Caribbean evening, LA reggae veterans the Lions drop by Names You Can Trust with a perfectly timed sentimental summer blast. Lovingly taken for another dance by the west coast crew, the Derrick Harriott 1967 rock steady classic “The Loser” is canon, a masterpiece of Jamaican sweet soul instantly identifiable from its first chiming piano notes. In a nod to the “disco mix” DJ versions pioneered by Harriott, the Lions mic man Black Shakespeare provides a period-perfect chat backdrop to the Impressions-istic harmonies of the band, giving the tune an au courant spin while staying wide of heavy-handed faux ragga. All said, we wouldn’t have felt right about releasing this without running things by the family, so we consulted Duane Harriott who approvingly called it “a brilliant take on one of the best rock steady songs of all time! Not an easy one to cover well and the Lions smash it out the park.”
credits
released July 2, 2020

Produced by Dan Ubick & The Lions for Danube Productions.
Mastered for Vinyl By Frank Merritt at The Carvery, London.
Written by Derrick Harriott.

Alex Désert – Vocals
Deston Berry – Vocals, Organ, Piano
Malik “The Freq” Moore – Vocals
Black Shakespeare – DJ
Dan Ubick – Guitar
Devin Morrison – Guitar
Dave Wilder – Bass
Blake Colie – Drums
Davey Chegwidden – Percussion
Eddie Felix – Saxophone
Ruben Durazo – Trombone
Todd M. Simon – Flugelhorn
Steve Kaye – Mixing