The
Compass Point phenomenon was designed to be to reggae-based pop/rock music of the 80s, what Nashville was to country music, or the
Muscle Shoals Rhythm SectionThe Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, also known as The Swampers, are a group of American soul, R&B, and country studio musicians based in the town of Muscle Shoals, Alabama...
was to soul and R&B in the 60s: a recording facility animated by in-house sets of artists, musicians, producers and engineers, all dedicated to a specific and highly recognizable sound and style.
The Beginning
It all started with
Compass Point StudiosCompass Point Studios were founded in 1977 by Chris Blackwell, the owner of Island Records.In the late 1970s and mid-1980s, many musical artists from across the world came to the Bahamas to record music at its facilities. Many producers, including Chris Blackwell himself, used the studio to produce...
built in 1977 in
Nassau, BahamasNassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...
, by visionary
Chris BlackwellChristopher Percy Gordon "Chris" Blackwell is a British record producer and businessman, who was the founder of Island Records, acknowledged as the most successful and groundbreaking independent record company in history. Blackwell has been a music industry mogul for over fifty years...
, founder of
Island RecordsIsland Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
. The core of what would later be called the
Compass Point All Stars (sometime spelled
Allstars),
stricto sensu, was a recording band that Blackwell put together in 1980, based on jamaïcan (reggae) foundation shaped around legendary combo Sly & Robbie, with
Sly DunbarLowell "Sly" Fillmore Dunbar is a drummer.-Biography:Dunbar, whose nickname was reportedly given for his passion for Sly & the Family Stone, launched his musical career while still in his adolescence, playing with a local group, The Yardbrooms, at the age of fifteen...
(drums), Robbie Shakespeare (bass), joined by
Mikey ChungBorn Michael Chung in 1954, Mikey "Mao" Chung is a keyboard, guitar and percussion player, arranger and record producer of Jamaican music.-Biography:...
(guitar) and Uziah "Sticky" Thompson (percussion), with British rock flavour brought by Barry Reynolds (guitar, of
Marianne FaithfullMarianne Evelyn Faithfull is an award-winning English singer, songwriter and actress whose career has spanned five decades....
's
Broken English fame), spiced up by synth-dominated keyboards from French-African
Wally BadarouWally Badarou is a musician from Benin.-Biography:A synthesiser specialist, Badarou was the longtime associate of the British band Level 42, known for its blend of funk, pop, soul and rock...
(of burgeoning
Level 42Level 42 are an English pop rock and jazz-funk band who had a number of worldwide and UK hits during the 1980s and 1990s.The band gained fame for their high-calibre musicianship—in particular that of Mark King, whose percussive slap-bass guitar technique provided the driving groove of many of the...
), and
Tyrone DownieTyrone Downie is a Jamaican keyboardist/pianist who is most known for his involvement as a member of Bob Marley and The Wailers. He studied at Kingston College and joined the wailers in the mid-1970s, making his recording début with the band on Rastaman Vibration, having previously been a member of...
later (keyboards of
The WailersBob Marley & The Wailers were a Jamaican reggae, ska and rocksteady band formed by Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer in 1963. Additional members were Junior Braithwaite, Beverley Kelso, Cherry Smith and Aston and Carlton Barrett...
fame). Together, under Blackwell's direction in person, and building on co-producer
Alex SadkinAlex Sadkin is best remembered as a record producer in the early 1980s, but actually got his start in the music industry as a saxophonist for the Las Olas Brass in Fort Lauderdale, Florida....
's skills at engineering and mixing, the recording band managed to deliver a highly praised and distinct sound, for what are today viewed as seminal albums by
Grace JonesGrace Jones is a Jamaican-American singer, model and actress.Jones secured a record deal with Island Records in 1977, which resulted in a string of dance-club hits. In the late 1970s, she adapted the emerging electronic music style and adopted a severe, androgynous look with square-cut hair and...
and
Joe CockerJohn Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
, right from the beginning."I wanted a new, progressive-sounding band" said Blackwell "a Jamaican rhythm section with an edgy mid-range and a brilliant synth player. And I got what I wanted, fortunately".
The Rise
Another prestigious resident of this early period was Robert Palmer, who augmented the
CPAS sound on Joe Cocker's project. Sly & Robbie went on to use some of the
CPAS for
Black UhuruBlack Uhuru are a Jamaican reggae group formed in 1972, initially as Uhuru . The group has undergone several line-up changes over the years, with Duckie Simpson always maintaining group control and ownership...
and
Gwen GuthrieGwen Guthrie was an American singer-songwriter, who also sang backing vocals for Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, and Madonna, among others, and who wrote songs made famous by Ben E. King, and Roberta Flack....
projects, eventually adding Darryl Thompson and Monte Brown (guitars) to the core of the band. An attempt to record a band album was made, but ended up as a Sly & Robbie's project (
Language Barrier). The
stars would eventually encompass all Compass Point resident stars of the era, most notably Chris Franz (drums) and
Tina WeymouthMartina Michèle "Tina" Weymouth is an American musician, best known as a founding member and bassist of the New Wave group Talking Heads and its side project Tom Tom Club .-Profile:Weymouth is of French heritage on her mother's side. Weymouth was a cheerleader in high school...
(bass) of
Talking HeadsTalking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
fame. Together with co-producer
Steven StanleySteven J. C. Stanley , is a Jamaican audio engineer, record producer and keyboardist who has worked in the reggae, dub and rock music genres since 1975, most notably with Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club and Black Uhuru....
engineering and mixing, they would start
Tom Tom ClubTom Tom Club is an American new wave band founded in 1981 by husband-and-wife team Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz, both also known for being bandmembers of Talking Heads.-Biography:...
. Brit engineer Andy Lyden came to work on a Badarou solo project, and became a resident engineer as well. The core of
CPAS resided in a condominium called
Tip-Top, at top of the hill behind the studio. It was a highly productive body by then, even appealing to business giants, as reported by Wally Badarou on his website: "The Compass Point All Stars (as we ended up being called) even had a try at godfather of soul, Mr Dynamite, James Brown, yes. But that one did not work out, mainly due to publishing disputes".
A larger family
A musical community was born , and the
Compass Point All Stars label would eventually extend throughout the 80's to anything either originating from
Compass Point StudiosCompass Point Studios were founded in 1977 by Chris Blackwell, the owner of Island Records.In the late 1970s and mid-1980s, many musical artists from across the world came to the Bahamas to record music at its facilities. Many producers, including Chris Blackwell himself, used the studio to produce...
, productions by
Bill LaswellBill Laswell is an American bassist, producer and record label owner....
and remixes by
Larry LevanLarry Levan was a DJ best known for his decade-long residency at the New York City night club Paradise Garage, which has been described as the prototype of the modern dance club. He developed a cult following who referred to his sets as "Saturday Mass"...
and François K Kevorkian included; or somewhat related to what went on over there, from resident or non-resident artists, regardless of genre and sonic identity, starting back from
The B-52'sThe B-52's are an American rock band, formed in Athens, Georgia in 1976. The original line-up consisted of Fred Schneider , Kate Pierson , Cindy Wilson , Ricky Wilson , and Keith Strickland . Following Ricky Wilson's death in 1985 Strickland switched to guitar...
. This
largo sensu acception has been displayed on compilations such as
Funky Nassau/The Compass Point Story/1980-1986 released by Strut Records, incorporating works by Chaz Jankel,
Cristina-Studio albums:* Cristina * Sleep It Off * Doll in the Box - Expanded re-issue of Cristina* Sleep It Off - Expanded re-issue-Singles:* "Disco Clone"...
,
Will PowersWill Powers was the stage name used by celebrity photographer, Lynn Goldsmith, when she created a self help comedy music album. The 1983 album, entitled Dancing for Mental Health, used affirmations set to music to poke fun at the self help entrepreneurs who "build the listener's inner self and...
,
Guy CuevasGuy Cuevas is a Cuban-born writer, musician, and legendary Paris disc jockey. Born Guillermo Cuevas Carrión, he worked the turntables and the crowds at Club Sept, and Le Palace before becoming the artistic director, first of Les Bains Douches, then the Barrio Latino.As a DJ he was known for a...
, along with extensive interviews by David Katz: "I don't believe anything could ever sum it up" said Wally Badarou of Compass Point's heyday, "like nothing could ever sum up Motown or Stax sounds: the studio itself, the engineers, the producers, the artists, the vibes of the time, and only the specific combination of elements does the job".
Hard rock acts such as
AC/DCAC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
and
Iron MaidenIron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
made very successful recordings at Compass Point, but were never labeled "Compass Point All Stars". Conversely, initial
CPAS members found themselves producing numerous projects abroad, for the likes of
ForeignerForeigner is a British-American rock band, originally formed in 1976 by veteran English musicians Mick Jones and ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald along with American vocalist Lou Gramm...
,
Power StationPower Station was a 1980s supergroup made up of singer Robert Palmer, former Chic drummer Tony Thompson, and Duran Duran members John Taylor and Andy Taylor . Bernard Edwards, also of Chic, was involved on the studio side as recording producer. For a short time he also functioned as Power...
,
Marianne FaithfullMarianne Evelyn Faithfull is an award-winning English singer, songwriter and actress whose career has spanned five decades....
or Valerie Lagrange.
The 90's
Despite the overall excitement for what was produced over there, the experience did really last past the early 90's, mainly because of everyone's personal agendas. About half of the greatest recordings that took place were hardly planned in detail. Things were done in a constant
happening fashion most of the time, for the groove to rule, sometimes to the cost of efficiency. Virtuoso Alex Sadkin no longer was there, and Blackwell's growing interests in other ventures did not allow the momentum to sustain any further. The studio itself went through rough times in the early 90's, only to be successfully salvaged by producer
Terry ManningTerry Manning is a music producer, songwriter, photographer and recording engineer known for work in rock, rhythm and blues, and pop music genres....
and his wife Sherrie: a long list of prestigious personae, from
Julio IglesiasJulio José Iglesias de la Cueva , better known simply as Julio Iglesias, is a Spanish singer who has sold over 300 million records worldwide in 14 languages and released 77 albums. According to Sony Music Entertainment, he is one of the top 15 best selling music artists in history,...
,
Diana RossDiana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
,
Celine DionCéline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
,
SadeSade is a British smooth jazz band that formed in 1983, named for Nigerian lead singer Sade Adu. Their music features elements of R&B, soul, jazz, and soft rock....
to
Mariah CareyMariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
, has kept the studio's spirit high ever since.
2006 and beyond
CPAS members kept busy individually nonetheless. They never did re-unite physically in a recording studio but, thanks to technology, they collaborated remotely on half a dozen projects since the mid 2000s. Those projects include
Warrior by ex-Black Uhuru Michael Rose, and Grace Jones'
Hurricane which got the whole of the original lineup re-united somehow.
CPAS Live
In 1987, for Island Records 25th belated anniversary, some of the initial
CPAS performed live for the first time, backing
Eric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
on "
I Shot the Sheriff"I Shot the Sheriff" is a song written by Bob Marley, told from the point of view of a man who admits to having killed the local sheriff, but claims to be falsely accused of having killed the deputy sheriff. He also claims to have acted in self defense when the sheriff tried to shoot him. The...
". Mikey Chung and Sticky Thompson did not participate. Event took place at
Pinewood StudiosPinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
dubbing stage, UK, of 007 James Bond fame. Video of it has been released as
Island 25: Alright Now.
CPAS were to back
VV BrownVanessa Brown , also known as VV Brown, is an English singer, songwriter, model, and producer signed to Island Records in the United Kingdom and to Universal Republic Records and Capitol Records in the United States...
, Tynchy Strider and Grace Jones on May 26, 2009, launching the Island 50 festival held at the
Shepherds Bush EmpireThe O2 Shepherds Bush Empire is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, London, England, run by the Academy Music Group. It was built in 1903, as a music hall, and in 1953 became the BBC Television Theatre...
, London. Percussionist Sticky Thompson still could not attend.
Deemed as genuine CPAS work
(i.e. involving all initial musicians)
- Black Uhuru: Chill Out
Chill Out is an album by reggae band Black Uhuru, released in 1982 . The album was recorded at Channel One Studios in Jamaica and produced by Sly & Robbie...
- Grace Jones: Warm Leatherette (feat. "Private Life")
- Grace Jones: Nightclubbing
Nightclubbing is the fifth studio album by Grace Jones, released in 1981. It is the second of three post-disco albums that Jones made at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas and became Jones' commercial breakthrough and also formed the basis of her groundbreaking concept tour A One Man Show...
(feat. "Pull Up to the Bumper"Pull Up to the Bumper" was the second single released by Grace Jones from her critically acclaimed 1981 album Nightclubbing and has since come to be one of Jones' signature tunes. The song was co-written by Jones herself, Sly Dunbar, Dana Mano and Robbie Shakespeare.Upon its release, the song...
","I've Seen That Face Before"I've Seen That Face Before " is the third single from Grace Jones' album Nightclubbing. The song juxtaposes "Libertango", an Argentine tango classic, written by bandoneonist Ástor Piazzolla and first recorded by the composer himself in 1974, against a reggae arrangement and new lyrics penned by...
")
- Grace Jones: Living My Life
-Charts:AlbumSingle...
(feat. "My Jamaican Guy"My Jamaican Guy" was the lead single to Grace Jones' 1982 album Living My Life, her third and last album recorded in the Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas. The single was released in January 1983....
")
- Gwen Guthrie: Gwen Guthrie (feat "It Should've Been You
It Should've Been You is the title of a number-one R&B single by Teddy Pendergrass. The hit song spent one week at number-one on the US R&B chart and would be the last of three singles to reach the top spot on the chart....
", "Peek-a-Boo"Peek-a-Boo" is a song by English alternative rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was released in 1988 as the first single from the band's ninth studio album Peepshow...
")
- Gwen Guthrie: Padlock
- Joe Cocker: Sheffield Steel
For the University Newspaper published under the same name; see The Steel PressSheffield Steel is the eighth studio album by Joe Cocker, released in 1982...
(feat. "Talking Back to the NightTalking Back to the Night is the third solo album by blue-eyed soul musician Steve Winwood. Released less than two years after the top 3 hit Arc of a Diver, it failed to see as much success as its predecessor. "Valerie" was a minor hit in 1982, but when it was remixed and re-released in 1987 for...
", "Ruby Lee")
- Junior Tucker: "Some Guys Have All The Luck"
- Sly & Robbie: Language Barrier
- Tom Tom Club: Tom Tom Club
Tom Tom Club is Tom Tom Club's first album, released in 1981, containing the UK hit singles "Wordy Rappinghood," which reached No. 7 in June 1981; "Genius of Love," which reached No. 65 in October of the same year; and "Under the Boardwalk," which reached No. 22 in August 1982. When released in the...
(feat. "Genius Of Love"Genius of Love" is a 1981 song by Tom Tom Club from their eponymous debut album.-Song:"Genius of Love" was Tom Tom Club's second single. Although the album had not been released in North America, over a hundred thousand copies of the single sold as imports from Island Records's UK, at which point...
")
- Tom Tom Club: Close To The Bone
Produced by (or contributed to by) some CPAS members
At Compass Point Studios in the 80s (list far from complete):
- Barry Reynolds: I Scare Myself (by Barry with Mickey, Sticky & Wally)
- Charlélie Couture: Pochette Surprise (with Barry, Mickey, Sticky, Wally & Steven)
- Gregory Isaacs: Night Nurse
Night Nurse is a 1982 album by Gregory Isaacs.Night Nurse is reggae artist Gregory Isaacs' most well-known album. It contains his biggest hit, "Night Nurse" as well as several other notable tracks...
(with Wally)
- Gwen Guthrie: Just For You (with Wally)
- Jimmy Cliff: Give The People What They Want (with Sly, Robbie, Sticky & Wally)
- John Martyn: Sapphire (with Barry, Sticky, Andy & Steven)
- Ian Dury: Lord Upminster
Lord Upminster is a 1981 solo album by Ian Dury. It was his first record for Polydor Records and was recorded in The Bahamas with his old writing partner Chas Jankel and the famous reggae duo Sly and Robbie....
(with Sly, Robbie & Tyrone)
- Lizzy Mercier Descloux: Mambo Nassau (with Wally & Steven)
- Mick Jagger: She's The Boss
She's the Boss is the solo album debut by The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger released in 1985. When the Stones signed with CBS Records in 1983, one of the options available to them was for individual projects, and Jagger—ready to spread his wings after recording exclusively with the famous...
(with Sly, Robbie & Wally)
- Robert Palmer: Pride (by Robert)
- Robert Palmer: Riptide
Riptide is the ninth solo album by the British singer Robert Palmer, released in November 1985. It featured his hit single "Addicted to Love" which reached #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1986, helped by a memorable music video...
(by Robert, with Wally)
- Talking Heads: Speaking In Tongues (by Chris & Tina, with Wally & Alex)
- Wally Badarou: Echoes (by Wally, with Andy & Steven)
- Wally Badarou: Words Of A Mountain (by Wally)
- Will Powers: Dancing For Mental Health (with Steven)
Outside Compass Point, Nassau (list far from complete):
- Marianne Faithfull: A Child's Adventure (with Barry, Mickey and Wally)
- Foreigner: Agent Provocateur (including I Want to Know What Love Is
"I Want to Know What Love Is" is a 1984 power ballad recorded by the British-American rock band Foreigner. The song hit #1 in both the UK and the U.S. and is the band's biggest hit...
, with Alex and Wally)
- Valérie Lagrange: Les Trottoirs De L'Eternité (with Barry and Mickey)
- Power Station: Some Like It Hot (with Robert and Wally)
- Power Station: Living In Fear (with Robert and Wally)
- Michael Rose: Warrior (with Sly, Daryl and Wally)
- Grace Jones: Hurricane (with the whole of original lineup)
External links