Whatever the genre, a great melody and great singer are a special combination. Night Nurse is such a song, and Gregory Isaacs is such a singer. This completes a trilogy of reggae songs. There are likely to be more some time later.
Sadly, the year of release of this record saw him jailed for drug/firearm offences. Crack cocaine addiction took its toll on his health later in his career. He died in 2010 at the age of just 59.
I’m not going to repeat the contempt that many people have for the Simply Red version. Mick Hucknall also has a great voice, and it’s a reasonably faithful version, featuring the legendary Sly & Robbie. Clearly, it’s not as great as the original. Nor is it the abomination that many would claim, in my view. It adds nothing. But it also doesn’t take that much away.
