The Very Best of Eek-A-Mouse Volume 2

iTunes Review

This long-delayed sequel to the popular 1987 compilation The Very Best of Eek-A-Mouse contains fewer stone-cold classics than its predecessor but offers a broader and arguably more entertaining view of Eek’s early career. While “Operation Eradication” and “Ganja Smuggling” are two of Eek’s biggest and best-loved early hits, the collection is more intriguing for the way it documents the expansion of Eek’s sound in the latter half of the '80s. “Skull a Sea Side,” “Border Patrol,” and “Rude Boy Gone a Foreign” show how Eek managed to broaden the parameters of his dancehall foundation by incorporating new production techniques and an ever-expanding arsenal of vocal tricks. Other than Lee Perry, no reggae artist was better at indulging his eccentricities while sticking to the fundamentally serious and innovative nature of dub music. The collection's centerpiece is an extended 12-inch mix of “For Hire and Removal,” a 1982 masterpiece about a family torn by violence. It's propelled by Eek’s wordless hook, a falsetto yodel that sounds like a cross between a cat’s meow and a cry for help.