Labour of Love

When their UK hit “Red Red Wine” (their cover of Tony Tribe’s cover of Neil Diamond’s song) became a massive international hit when rereleased five years later, UB40 went from being a successful British reggae band to being international pop stars. The album from which that song was taken was a program of covers, most of which would have been unfamiliar to American listeners because they were classic reggae songs from the early 1970s by the likes of Jimmy Cliff (“Many Rivers to Cross”), Eric Donaldson (“Cherry Oh Baby”) and the Slickers (“Johnny Too Bad”). Though less politically charged than most of this band’s work, the group’s love for the music of their forebears comes through powerfully and these versions are lots of fun.