Ken Boothe

A music critic once called Ken Boothe the 'Wilson Pickett of reggae', a nod to his soulful delivery. On his latest project, the rocksteady legend gets a chance to show he has the chops to live up to that title.

Boothe is putting the finishing touches on an album on which he sheds his rocksteady persona for a sound closer to Mem-phis, Ten-nessee, than Denham Town, the west Kingston community where he was born.

The yet-titled set is co-produced by British music veteran Simba and Skip McDonald, an American journeyman musician who played an influential role in the early years of pioneer rap label, Sugarhill Records.

Ready for any category

Boothe, now 61, says it is the album he longed to record.

"Reggae is the first music for me, but I'm a singer and I'm ready for any category, as long as it is up to my standard," he told The Gleaner.

Boothe has known Simba since the mid-1970s when his career was at its peak with Everything I Own, his cover of the Bread song which made the British pop charts. They began recording the album two years ago in London and have been wrapping up production in Kingston.

The Kingston-born Simba migrated to Britain in the late 1960s and was a member of influential British reggae band, Misty In Roots. He said getting Boothe to spread his wings is the most significant aspect of the album.

"As a producer, I want to carry him to a level where, whether you're in Russia or Jamaica, you get the same feeling," said the diminutive Simba, who wrote most of the album's songs.

Boothe's career started in the 1960s with rival producers Arthur 'Duke' Reid and Clement Dodd. He is best known for lovers rock gems like Moving Away and Puppet On A String.

On his current effort, he maintains his balladeer image on the bluesy Never Let Me Go, but also sings about serious issues with Freedom, an acoustic track revisiting the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Not hungry for chart action

The jazzy News And Views cites sensitive topics such as the global recession. Boothe's last hit song was Don't You Know, a Della Reese original he recorded in the early 1990s. He says he is not hungry for chart action.

"I love to be current but at this stage of my career it doesn't really matter," Boothe said.

The Ohio-born McDonald, who has worked on classic rap albums like The Message by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five, played most of the guitar parts on the Boothe project. Guitarist Earl 'Chinna' Smith, drummer Noel 'Squiddly' Cole, keyboardist Robbie Lyn and saxophonist Dean Fraser also contributed.

The album is earmarked for a 2010 release. Never Let Me Go, the proposed lead single, is scheduled to be released in December.