After recording a number of blistering Ska sides for Beverley's Records producer, Leslie Kong united vocal outfit, the Four Aces with established singer, Desmond Dekker. Over the years that immediately followed, the union produced a series of hit singles, before singer and group finally went their separate ways at the close of the Sixties - by which time the Aces consisted of just two of its original members, Carl Blake and Barrington Howard (aka Al Barry).

Aside from his singing talents, Howard had proved to be an accomplished music producer, launching B.H. Records late in 1968, and overseeing a number of sought-after sides for Graeme Goodall's Philligree Productions following his relocation to the UK the following year.

By the dawn of the Seventies, the Aces had been signed by Bruce White and Tony Cousins' Creole Productions, with the Jamaican duo cutting a number of superior Pop Reggae sides that saw issue on Trojan's flagship label. But with Howard still harbouring ambitions as a producer, he returned to Kingston with Blake in the Spring of 1970, hiring time at Coxson Dodd's esteemed Studio One establishment in Brentford Road, Kingston, with the studio's exceptional in-house session crew, the Sound Dimension as part of the bargain. Also in attendance were two of the island's most gifted singers, Ken Parker and Joe White, both of whom were regulars to the establishment at the time. With such an abundance of talent on hand, the quality of the sessions was never going to be in question and with the songs duly recorded and mixed, Howard and Blake returned to the UK where they delivered the tape masters to Trojan.

Yet, for reasons as yet unknown, the only titles from the trip known to make it onto vinyl were two cuts of 'Ain't Misbehavin'', performed by Parker and White, the latter's 'Baby I Care' and the Aces' own exceptional 'Down We Go'. The remainder of the material inexplicably remained unissued, stored in the Trojan vaults, until their recent rediscovery.

Now, more than four decades after being cut, two of these exceptional works are finally being made available, with the aforementioned 'Down We Go' coupled with the previously unreleased 'Treat Me Good'. Bearing the distinctive, early Reggae 'Studio One Sound', the tracks illustrate Howard was not just an able performer, but also an extremely talented producer, and that he and Carl Blake were considerably more than simply Desmond Dekker's backing singers!

Exclusive 7" Available here