''Cool Ruler'' is a 1978 studio album by Gregory Isaacs, his first released on the
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...
subsidiary
Front Line
A front line (alternatively front-line or frontline) in military terminology is the position(s) closest to the area of conflict of an armed force's personnel and equipment, usually referring to land forces. When a front (an intentional or uninte ...
. The Jamaican release was on Isaacs'
African Museum
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* Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa:
** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa
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imprint. The album was produced by Isaacs and mixed by Lancelot "Maxie" McKenzie at Channel One Studios in
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...
. Of the tracks on the album, "Let's Dance" had previously been released as a single.Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p.130 Some of the tracks on the album are considered among the best ever recorded by Isaacs, although the album failed to give him the international breakthrough that had been anticipated.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) ''The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd edn.'',
Rough Guides
Rough Guides Ltd is a British travel guide book and reference publisher, which has been owned by APA Publications since November 2017. In addition to publishing guidebooks, the company also provides a tailor-made trips service based on customer ...
, , p.198 The album title did, however, endure as Isaacs' nickname.Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , p.136 "John Public" was also released as a single. The album formed the basis of the dub album ''Slum in Dub'', released the same year. ''Cool Ruler'' was reissued on
compact disc
The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...
by Virgin in 2000.
Track listing
All tracks by Gregory Isaacs except where noted
# "Native Woman" – 3:02
# "John Public" – 3:06
# "Party in the Slum" – 3:26
# "Uncle Joe" – 3:50
# "World of the Farmer" – 4:08
# "One More Time" – 3:14
# "Let's Dance" ( John Holt) – 2:56
# "Don't Pity Me" – 2:22
# "Created by the Father" ( Dennis Brown) – 2:31
# "Raving Tonight" – 3:57
Personnel
* Gregory Isaacs - vocals
*
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- drums
*
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*
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* Tommy McCook - tenor saxophone
*
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