The legendary singjay showcases his strengths on a revelatory album

While it wasn’t his debut album, 1982’s Wa-Do-Dem revealed Eek-A-Mouse’s wholly original and strangely alluring style. His half-sung, half-spoken vocals can be nasally playful or faraway ghostly, and his ability to turn nonsense syllables into otherworldly incantations is nothing short of brilliant. And there are compelling narratives, such as “Ganja Smuggling”, which tells of an innocent kid’s initiation into the drug trade, and “Operation Eradication”, a story of Eek’s murdered friend, fellow toaster Errol Shorter. The rock-solid rhythms of Eek’s backing group, Roots Radics, bring this incredible set full circle.