Even though he enjoyed strong feedback to his Sweet Personality rhythm five years ago, producer Garfield Cowan believed he could improve on some of the songs featured on it. Those, and more, can be heard on Reggae Hits Vol 1, released last Friday by his Nature’s Way Entertainment label.

Sweet Personality was spurred by Wayne Wonder’s Let Me Love You Tonight and Wake Up, a big hit for Jah Cure. Songs from Richie Spice, Lutan Fyah and Alva, a longt-ime member of the Nature’s Way camp, were also released on the Sweet Personality.

There are fresh takes on Let Me Love You Tonight and Wake Up on the new compilation.

“I did over some of the songs because I see there was room for improvement in the production and to give the songs a longer life,” Cowan explained.

The tweaks are not limited to the Sweet Personality tracks. Others, like Alva’s St Ann We Come From, which was recorded when Cowan kicked off his career as a producer eight years ago, also get a facelift.

Cowan said his growth in production influenced his decision to revisit these songs.

“I was not pleased with the original sound. As I grew more in music and produced more I saw that I had to raise the bar and the level of production.”

Like Alva, Cowan is from St Ann, but has lived in the United States for many years. After toiling with his early projects, he made a significant breakthrough in 2013 with Sweet Personality, a lover’s rock beat that found favour in clubs and on radio in Jamaica and New York.

Let Me Love You Tonight and Wake Up were the best performers. Wake Up got a shot in the arm when it made VP Records’ popular year-end compilation, Strictly The Best, in 2013.

There are new songs on the album including Free Up The Grades by King Mas and Jemere Morgan, and Mdees’ I Can’t Breathe. Boston-born King Mas is the son of Montserrat Calypsonian Supreme and his Jamaican wife, while Morgan is son of Morgan Heritage member Gramps.

According to Cowan, he has deliberately worked with mainly singers since the onset of Nature’s Way.

“The reason is that I tend to see and hear the singers. Their songs are timeless and are loved by more reggae fans,” he said.

In 2013, Nature’s Way Entertainment also released Soul Reggae rhythm, which had songs by various artistes such as Alva, Anthony B and Chevaughn.