... Sonya naked

… At least Freddie was still snug in his inner sleeve. Along the way poor old Sonya Spence had lost her cover and her inner sleeve – there she was, in the crazy mixed up box of vinyl, naked! This album is titled In The Dark, but that is one thing it wasn’t! Considering the circumstances it is in remarkably good condition.

 I was not familiar with Sonya but the label sort of said reggae to me and when I noticed the name Pottinger in the credits I knew it would be. What sort of reggae though? I thought there would be a fair chance it would be tepid lovers rock. It’s not quite that though. The first side I think has a bit more of a hard edge to it than average lovers rock fare and contains one killer track - Peace And Unity – which is more roots than anything else. Side two has a different feel and I would say is hardly reggae at all. How can I describe it? – naïve melodies? Certainly simplistic, and with no pronounced reggae beat. I think I detect more of a calypso feel to a couple of the tracks. Whatever, all the tracks have a certain charm that really draws me in. The album contains a version of John Denver’s Jet Plane which, after a bit of research, I understand was a hit in Jamaica and brought Sonya to the listeners’ attention back in 1978.  

Sadly, neither Sonya Spence nor Sonia Pottinger are still with us. But in one 

sense of course they always will be – in the record grooves.

Sonya Spence – Peace And Unity  1978

Sonya Spence – Damn Him  1978