New from Vegas on Sheldon Stewart's Cali Bud label is When The Cock Crow on the Fireball rhythm. Other versions on this rhythm include cuts from Shabba Ranks, Harry Toddler and Elephant Man, but for me this is the most radical and interesting of them all.

There were many who mistakenly thought that the high falsetto voice on Heads High, Vegas' first big hit might be that of a female vocalist. No one would make the same mistake with this record. There's a tougher, harder feel to this tune that's reminiscent of those great Eighties vocalists Nitty Gritty, King Kong, Tenor Saw who rode the first digital rhythms. Like them, Vegas' vocal performance is hard, flat and abrasive, using his voice like a digitised instrument. The lean, mean Fireball rhythm also has the stripped down feel of those early digital rhythms.

The urgency of the early rising rooster calls in the background suggest a wake up call in the face of some unspecified disaster. Indeed there is a biblical, almost apocalyptic feel to When The Cock Crow. On closer examination however the lyrics "Me got 21 numbers and still no bingo" seem rather more everyday. A slumbrous Saturday night in a rural parish, rather than the high rolling, casino frequenting lifestyle that the name Vegas might suggest.

When The Cock Crow represents a new step along the road for a highly original artist who at one stage in his short career seemed in danger of swamping himself, like so many new, hot Jamaican artists, under just too much product. This however is one that definitely stands out from the rest.

Lauryn Hill- Lost Ones (yard remix)

Danny Browne's All Purpose rhythm