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Thursday, January 31, 2019

Skinshape - (2014) Skinshape

Melting Records ‎– 002

Skinshape - (2015) Oracolo

Beatnik Creative ‎– 018

Skinshape - (2017) Live And Love LP

Dloaw & Co. ‎– 002

Sound Dimension - (2008) Mojo Rocksteady Beat CD

Soul Jazz Records ‎– 173 

The Sound Dimension have recorded some of the most important songs in Reggae music; songs such as Real Rock, Drum Song, Heavy Rock, Rockfort Rock, In Cold Blood - all classic songs that have become the foundation of Reggae music, endlessly versioned and re-versioned by Jamaican artists since the time they were first recorded to the present day. As the in-house band at Studio One in the late 1960s, The Sound Dimension also played alongside everyone from The Heptones, Alton Ellis, Ken Boothe, Marcia Griffiths and more. Similar to their US counterparts The Funk Brothers at Motown and Booker T and The MGs at Stax, The Sound Dimension recorded on a daily basis incredibly catchy and funky tunes matched by a seamless musicality. Featuring musicians of the calibre of Ernest Ranglin, Jackie Mittoo, Eric Frater, Leroy Sibbles, Don Drummond Jnr, Deadley Headley and more, the Sound Dimension existed from around 1967-70 and all the recordings featured here were originally released during this period. For a band with a fluid line-up, they had an amazingly consistent sound laying down classic rhythms for the singers of the day at Studio One as well as stretching out with their own recordings. Check out the amazing trombone of Vin Gordon, rightly re-named Don Drummond Jnr by Sir Coxsone, honouring both the musical abilities of the young Gordon, and that of his forerunner in the Skatalites and ex-Alpha Boys teacher, Don Drummond. His sparring partner on horns would usually be Deadly Headley Bennett. The Sound Dimension featured a unique combination of musicians from different backgrounds, such as those from the original jazz big bands on the island or players from the north coast hotel music circuit; listen to Park View and hear the two unique styles of Eric Rickenbacker Frater, with his fuzz-box lead guitar, duelling with the jazz virtuosity of fellow guitarist Ernest Ranglin. After Jackie Mittoo officially emigrated to Canada in 1968 (although often continuing to return for sessions), keyboard duties were also supplied by the equally funky Richard Ace or Robbie Lyn all against the rhythmic bass-lines of the Heptones own Leroy Sibbles. None of this can explain the importance of this music. Real Rock, Mojo Rocksteady, Rockfort Rock, Drum Song, In Cold Blood - the melodies to these classic songs are a thousand times better known than the musicians who originally created them. Played and re-played by every house band for every producer on the island, these iconic rhythms became the basis for dancehall and laid the foundations for the future of Jamaican music. This album can be seen as a companion to the earlier Sound Dimension release Jamaica Soul Shake and together these two albums make a unique and definitive document of a seriously important set of recordings.

Sylford Walker & Welton Irie - (2000) Lamb's Bread International CD

Blood & Fire ‎– 033

Tapper Zukie - (2015) Man Ah Warrior CD

Kingston Sounds ‎– 058 

Recorded during sessions with producer Clem Bushay in England, Zukie never expected these cuts to turn into an album, and was quite startled to discover this record in the London shops when he came to town in the spring of 1975. It's evident that the tracks were earmarked as potential singles, something the poor sequencing merely reinforces. As a debut album, it's pretty disastrous; approached as a compilation, however, which in a way it was, and it's an intriguing snapshot of the young up-and-coming DJ. So here's Zukie rousting the listeners at home on "I King Zukie," chanting with the best of them on "Simpleton Badness," and toasting up a storm on "A Message to Pork Eaters" and "Viego." "Zukie Fashionwear" gives one a taste of the dancehalls, all catchphrases and clever repetitive nonsense words, while "Archie, the Rednose Reindeer" has all the exuberant, savvy silliness of a Yellowman hit. But it wasn't so much these tracks that caught punk princess Patti Smith's ear, but the title track and "I Ra Lion." "Man Ah Warrior" is stripped down to a bare beat and riffing guitar, over which Zukie chants and toasts in almost poetic fashion, foreshadowing the rise of Linton Kwesi Johnson and Mutabaruka. The latter song is equally bare boned, but the DJ preaches with apocalyptic style, á la Prince Far-I. Zukie's MPLA will be a much more coherent effort, but, across extremely diverse rhythms and musical styles, the DJ holds his own on this intriguingly different album.

The Abyssinians - (2006) Satta Massagana CD

 Heartbeat Records ‎– 11661

The Abyssinians debut album has had a very complex release history.[4] The first unofficial editions, very limited in quantity, were released by Clive Hunt in 1975. The first official release occurred in Jamaica in 1976 on Pentrate Label, issued by Clive Hunt and Geoffrey Chung, and shortly after in the United States on Jam Sounds.

The following years, 1977 and 1978, saw the album released by three labels under the title Forward On To Zion. The album was released in the United Kingdom on the UK Klik Chart Sounds and Different labels, as well as on Bernard Collins' own Clinch label. Similarly, Clive Hunt's US-based Azul label released the album under the title Satta. A note on track-listings: the Klik & Different releases reverted to the original track listing of the limited pre-release editions which placed the title track as the final track, furthermore, the Azul edition renamed some tracks and did not include "African Race".[5]

The album would see numerous re-releases over the next decade, including in 1988 by Clinch and in 1989 by the Blue Moon label.

In 1993 the album was released on compact disc for the first time by Heartbeat Records. This edition included four previously unreleased bonus tracks.[3] And once again in 2007 as a deluxe edition which included four additional bonus tracks.

The title track off the album 'Satta Massagana' was covered by Ethiopian dub outfit Dub Colossus in 2011 and released on Real World Records.

Composed in 1968, "Satta Massagana" featured the vocal trio that helped to define the most devout strains of Jamaica's then-emergent reggae sound. Producer Clement "Coxsone" Dodd brought the Abyssinians (Bernard Collins and the Manning brothers, Donald and Lynford) into the studio to record the song, whose Old Testament inspiration and Ethiopian linguistic sampling spoke to roots reggae's Rastafari foundations. But the somber, slowed-down groove and the obscure spiritual references made Dodd think the results would leave Jamaican audiences cold. Undeterred, the Abyssinians bought the master, released it on their own, and proved Dodd wrong; indeed, "Satta Massagana" entered the devotional canon of Rastafari congregations around Jamaica.

Taping at Studio One and Federal Records, the Abyssinians followed in short order with Collins' equally successful "Declaration of Rights," "Leggo Beast," and "Black Man's Strain"-along with Lynford's "Abendigo," "I and I," "Reason Time," and "Y Mas Gan," and Donald's "African Race," "Jerusalem," and "Peculiar Number." All are heard here, with informative notes by Chris Wilson. Satta Massagana is nothing less than a reggae classic, and-backed by noted Kingston studio musicians including Robbie Shakespeare, Sly Dunbar, and Earl "Chinna" Smith-after nearly four decades the album's fourteen original tracks (plus four additional previously released tracks on this 2006 CD reissue) reveal the trio's lovely harmonies, loping percussive groove, and spare instrumentation, as fresh and sublime as ever.

The Abyssinians - (1998) Declaration Of Dub CD

 Heartbeat Records ‎– 180 
It would be strongly advised to listen to the original "Satta Massagana" recordings before hearing these dub remakes to better bask in all of the beauty the Abyssinians have to offer, especially those beautiful voices and harmonies...
...BUT even if you don't, you can not help but be amazed by what this album has to offer. You still have the music pretty much intact, and tasty pieces of the roots reggae vocals that made Abyssinians songs what they were, on there to whet your appetite for more of this great trio.
For me, however, as much as I love dub albums, the Abyssinians are best heard in their full vocal glory, and dub, by definition, will only give you small glimpses into what was really going on in any session, song, etc. Enjoy this album for the dub it offers- its straight forward and has great moments on it- but also get the original "Satta Massagana" lp to fully understand the Abyssinians experience.

The Aggrovators - (2015) Attack Dub (Rare Dubs From Attack Records 1973 - 1977) CD

 Jamaican Recordings ‎– 056
Throughout the seventies the productions of Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee were incredibly prolific
and he created a number of different labels to handle his ever expanding output.
The most important at the time when dub was king were Jackpot, Justice… and Attack.

“I had a lot of labels. Lee was my first label… just a plain little white label and then
I came out with Lee’s with an apostrophe s on it. In the Seventies most things used
to come on Jackpot… you know it was designed in Jamaica.
I still have labels sometimes that I don’t remember until I see it! Sometimes you’d
just make up a label on the spur of the moment. You understand? Those days it
was mainly blank labels too… The blank records were alright but then the people
wanted to know the name of the artists so we had the backgrounds ready and we
just printed out the name. It was easier. You could just put in Jackpot or Aggrovators
because in those days you used to have to do it quick! The printer started to make them
and everybody’s label looked the same way but with a different name. It meant every
man could do his own thing but you got out the record quicker…

Yeah man… I had Jackpot, Justice, Agro, Gas… Unity was the one that I started
with Pama… then Pama Supreme… I had a lot. Attack and Jackpot over Trojan side…
the Jackpot label Lee Gopthal and myself did start that, also the Big Shot label to
put out my product in the UK.” Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee

Bunny had always worked very closely with Osbourne ‘King Tubby’ Ruddock who
had built his first sound system in 1957 but Tubby felt that things really got going
when he took on Ewart ‘U Roy’ Beckford as his deejay in 1968. Not long afterwards
he purchased his own basic two track recording equipment which he installed
alongside his lathe for cutting acetates, a home made mixing console and his
collection of jazz albums in the back bedroom of his home on Dromilly Avenue
which was now known as his music room. When Byron Lee upgraded Studio B
at Dynamic Sounds to sixteen track recording in 1972 Striker brokered a deal for
Tubby to purchase the old four track equipment. The package included the
MCI console that Tubby would go on to make world famous and, as they say,
the rest is history.

The Aggrovators - (2015) Justice Dub (Rare Dubs From Justice Records 1975 - 1977) CD

 Jamaican Recordings ‎– 054 
The productions of producer Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee were so extensive in the early to mid 1970’s that labels were created just to handle his ever expanding output. Three labels that came about during this time when dub was king, were Jackpot, Justice and Attack. Here we look at the Justice label and have compiled a collection of some its finest dub cuts.

Justice records was formed in the early 1970’s as we stated earlier, as a subsidiary label to handle the ever growing output of Producer and hit maker from Jamaica Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee. Bunny worked in all the Jamaican studio’s and as an independent operator would licence his product to all the different labels in England and America.

Bunny was at the birth of dub music and worked closely with King Tubby where he stored many of his masters, so Bunny’s rhythms were always available for Tubby to work his magic over. Version had hit big around this time and many records were brought for the flip side dub of the vocal cut. The side that was proving so popular at the sound system dances, where the records were tried and tested. So inevitably nearly all Justice record’s carried its dub counterpart. We have compiled what we think are some of the best dub cuts from this label and era.

The Congos - (1993) Heart of The Congos CD

VP Records ‎– 1287

The Heptones - (1967) Fattie Fattie

Studio One ‎– 9002


The Heptones, consisting of Barrington Llewelyn, Earl Morgan and frontman Leroy Sibbles, were one of Jamaica's definitive rocksteady vocal groups. They formed in Kingston in 1965 and in the late 60s and early 70s the trio recorded at Studio One under the helm of pioneering reggae producer Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd. They played a major role in the gradual transition between ska and rocksteady with their three-part harmonies.

The Heptones excelled at what the rocksteady period was famous for: sublime, soulful vocal harmonies layered over shuffling, easy-going, melodic rhythms. Leroy Sibbles was not only a blessed singer but also a session bassist at Studio One, and he penned most of the Heptones' music and lyrics.

"Fattie, Fattie" is a re-titled, reissue of the trio's first album, "The Heptones" and it includes two additional songs not on the original album. Released in 1967, the album collected many of their hit singles that were popular at the time, including the title track, "FATTIE, FATTIE." The single was a big seller in both Jamaica and the UK and was banned from the radio because of the song's "lewd and suggestive" nature.

The Heptones - (1970) On Top LP

Studio One ‎– 0016
One of the finest vocal groups of the rocksteady and early reggae periods of Jamaican music, the Heptones first drew attention for the singles and albums they cut for Clement "Coxsone" Dodd's Studio One label during the late '60s. Poised on the cusp of a cultural shift, Leroy Sibbles (also a bass-wielding session man for Dodd) and partners Barry Llewellyn and Earl Morgan tackled a combination of the sort of pained love songs then in vogue and fresher "reality" material, a mix arguably heard best on On Top. The album's first side in particular is a stunning example of the Heptones' craft. Backed by the Jackie Mittoo-led Soul Vendors, the group's growing social consciousness is voiced on a handful of pre-roots classics. Propelled by lively drum flourishes that resemble an update of the Rastafarians' nyahbinghi percussion, Sibbles makes direct reference to the lynching of African ancestors on the album-opener "Equal Rights," while one of his finest vocal performances is reserved for the side-one-closer "Soul Power." The band would return to equally sobering subject matter throughout their career on recordings for Joe Gibbs ("Hypocrites"), Jack Ruby ("African Children"), and Lee "Scratch" Perry ("Sufferer's Time"). This music established the Heptones as a reggae act of the highest order and the years have proven its timelessness.

The Skatalites Meet King Tubby - (1999) Heroes of Reggae in Dub CD

 Guava Jelly ‎– 80006
A whole 27 years ago, members of Jamaican legends The Skatalites recorded an album at Lee Perry's Black Ark studios. Dub supremo King Tubby got his hands on the tapes and the result is the audaciously funky dub album of your (and our) dreams. Mad, phasing drum breaks (Sealing Dub), rolling (acoustic) basslines, skewed-to-hell analogue synths (Starlight) and uplifting, infectious party-time business (Bottom Dub) - it's all here. Stone-cold classic 70s dub that will ignite any party lucky enough to have it - age not an issue.

The legendary all-star group gets beautifully spliced and diced. The sound is exquisite and the dubs are totally transfixing. .... this is a definitive dub selection that includes the scarce, anthemic, vocal bonus 'Starlight'. An unmissable history lesson.

Vintage dub gold, fresh from the vaults. Musicians from the greatest band ever to emerge from Jamaica: men like Tommy McCook, Roland Alphonso, Ernest Ranglin and bassie supreme Lloyd Brevett, mixed and blended by Lee Perry and King Tubby. Augustus Pablo, Ras Michael and Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace are in there too. Tracks from these 1975 sessions have been released before but this is the most comprehensive collection from the sessions yet, including three previously unreleased tracks (most notably Tony Brevett's original Rastafarian vocal cut 'Starlight'). Nowadays dub is digital business, but listen to the blaring horns, slapping bass and niyabinghi drums of these recordings and hear how it should be done. Pure, organic and fresh from the roots.

The Skatalites - (2007) The Skatalites Play Ska CD

Kingston Sounds ‎– 011

Here's trivia tit-bit for you; The Skatalites are so named because they formed in the same week that the Soviet Union successfully launched a satellite into orbit around the Earth. Slip in the letter 'k' and there you have it! When that wins you the pub quiz, we want half... Comprised of musicians who honed their skills at the Alpha Boys School in Kingston, The Skatalites were prolific in the extreme - rustling up over 100 sides of music in little over two years and helping to mint the Ska sound which eventually evolved into what we now know as Rocksteady. With members including legends like Jackie Mittoo, Roland Alfonso, Don Drummond and Tommy McCook, there was never any danger of this collection being anything but nigh on crucial - as 'Wise Man', 'Gold Coast', 'Buddy Bye' and 'Cow Town Skank' all slink by with maximum Ska effect. Evidently put together by someone with real passion and knowledge of the subject, this is a definitive document of a band whose influence still pervades the music scene today. 

The Wailing Wailers - (1965) The Wailing Wailers LP

Studio One ‎– 1001 
Not only does The Wailing Wailers highlight the first major recordings of Bob Marley, but the happy, bouncy, optimistic sound is also the sound of post-independence Jamaica.

Legendary records are legendary for different reasons—some for the music and some for the musicians. In terms of The Wailing Wailers, it would be tough to locate folks who don’t know the song “One Love” or the name of the fellow singing this song. Bob Marley is enough of a worldwide superstar that his face and his later lyrics are as familiar to American college students as they are to Ethiopian teenagers.

The Wailing Wailers is not, by strict definition, an album—it wasn't recorded or sequenced as a whole. The Jamaican music industry has traditionally been shaped by singles, so this is effectively a singles bundle that was gathered up and released in late 1965. Not only does this highlight the first major recordings of Bob Marley (and it should be noted that most of the songs have Marley writing credits), but the happy, bouncy, optimistic sound of The Wailing Wailers is also the sound of post-independence Jamaica. It is the sound of a music that would soon reach out beyond the island and internationally through the remarkable voices of Bunny Wailer, Peter Tosh, and, most of all, Bob Marley.

In addition, The Wailing Wailers emerged from Clement “Coxsone” Dodd’s Studio One, one of the foundational, pioneering recording studios where Jamaican music is concerned. Operative from the 1950s through to the early 1980s, Studio One released ska, rocksteady, reggae, and dancehall over the years. The history of Studio One is key to the history of music in Jamaica and the rise of both reggae and Bob Marley.

Revisiting it now, you can also clearly hear the ways that popular music circulates and crosses borders. The influence of American R&B and pop is evident—there’s a version of “What’s New Pussycat?” here—but also a specificity that places the record smack in the middle of the ska and rocksteady period, a precursor to the reggae that propelled Marley into the stratosphere of fame he found himself in the 1970s. Patwa, the Jamaican language, is a Creole that brings together various linguistic elements and structures stemming from West African languages, such as Twi and Yoruba, English, Spanish, Dutch, and Native American sources. A Creole language brings together all of these elements. Similarly, the musical genres of Jamaica are creolized forms. As case in point, The Wailing Wailers brings together multiple influences, at times sounding like 1960s croony R&B as on “I Need You,” skank-ready ska on “One Love” and “Simmer Down,” and then Patwa-inflected proto-reggae on the slightly slower “Rude Boy.”

This past year novelist Marlon James became the first Jamaican to win the Man Booker prize for his novel A Brief History of Seven Killings. The book takes the attempted assassination of Bob Marley as its starting point and zooms out from there, taking in the scope of '70s Jamaica, extending forward to the 1990s. The panoramic scope of James’ book is a demonstration of Jamaica’s international reach and influence. The Wailing Wailers is another key piece of the artistic and creative juggernaut that is Jamaica, helping to demonstrate the narrative of reggae and of Bob Marley. With Jamaican creativity in the spotlight, it’s a perfect time to provide access to Studio One again.

The Wailing Wailers is the first reissue from Yep Roc Music Group, who have access to the Studio One catalogue, thanks to an agreement with Coxsone’s daughter Carol Dodd, and they are starting as they plan to continue—with reissues of foundational albums (some quite rare) provided in the form of their original release. The Wailing Wailers is one that has been available since its original 1966 release, specifically by New England’s Heartbeat Records. Heartbeat lovingly reissued a good number of Studio One releases from 1983 through to the mid-'00s, but changes in the music industry meant that Heartbeat petered out. Yep Roc appears to be ably picking up the trail and providing high-quality LP, CD and digital access as well as involving Jamaican native Chris Wilson, the former A&R manager for Heartbeat. The care that has been put into this reissue is obvious. It’s meant to provide a historical touchpoint by utilizing all original album art and providing the same track listing as the first time around, and now a legendary album will be consistently available to whole new audiences. 

Burlin Mud - (2011) Gourd CS

 Human Conduct ‎– 080