Imagine a veteran Jamaican reggae man picking up Livin’ Soul’s latest offering - and being hit by a double whammy of a reaction! First comes the inevitable wave of nostalgia, the memories of the good old days. Then, a blast of total incredulity as he realises that the songs have just been recorded in France by a bunch of French musicians who weren’t even born when the great Bob Marley emerged on the international scene. What’s more, there’s plenty more to be surprised about on The Bridge, starting with the coherent collective sound and the amazing vocal harmonies that rival those created by the best trios in Jamaica.

The overall vibe of The Bridge conjures up the early years of reggae, an era marked by the presence of rocksteady. Livin’ Soul’s album also pays more than a passing nod to ska, American rhythm & blues (much in evidence in the vocals) and the period where the three Wailers worked with Lee Perry giving their material a stronger roots feel as they created new tracks such as Duppy Conqueror. Incidentally, The Bridge opens with one of Livin’ Soul’s own compositions, Duppy, a song where the group’s major influences appear to float slowly to the surface from the depths of their collective unconscious. On songs such as this Sébastien Daugas’ lyrics, penned in short, snappy texts each revolving around a keyword, recalls the best songwriting by Albert Griffiths, the famous frontman of The Gladiators. (And Daugas’ pigeon English is so infectiously musical that pedants will forgive him his approximate grasp of English grammar!)

The twelve new songs on The Bridge hone the Livin’ Soul sound to near-perfection, showing just how far the group have come since they first made a name for themselves in 2005 with the release of As A Spring. Sales of this album hovered around the 5,000 mark (but then few new Jamaican releases do better than this in France these days). But while As A Spring may not have taken off commercially, it certainly won critical esteem and, more importantly for the group’s career, impressed producer Serge Faubert, whom the group met in a studio while they were taking part in a radio programme.

Faubert (famous for his production work with Les Femmouzes T) persuaded Livin’ Soul, based in Poitou-Charente, to go and work in the Toulouse suburbs in a recording studio equipped with vintage analogue material. After convincing the band to work with live takes, the way veteran reggae stars operated in Kingston’s Studio One, Faubert took care of the mix (a delicate operation which, it has to be said, has often let the group down in the past). This time round, Livin’ Soul’s music finally shines with the sound it deserves and The Bridge can rightly be hailed as a major success story for reggae ‘made in France’!