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

VA - (1995) Sounds & Pressure Volume One CD

Pressure Sounds ‎– 005 

 Tracklist
1 –Keith Hudson Barbican Dub 2:38
2 –Horace Andy Problems 2:49
3 –Augustus Pablo Ras Menilik Congo (Harp) 2:38
4 –Black Skin The Prophet Red Blood 3:24
5 –Prince Far I And The Arabs Mansion Of Invention 2:48
6 –Keith Hudson Black Belt Jones 3:12
7 –Little Roy Tribal War 3:09
8 –Keith Hudson Sinners 3:33
9 –Prince Far I And The Arabs Bass Ace 3:52
10 –Israel Vibration Same Song 3:59
11 –Augustus Pablo King Tubbys Dub Song 3:21

VA - (1996) Sounds And Pressure Volume Two CD

 Pressure Sounds ‎– 010 

Mostly raw edged low key tunes from a variety of top Classic era Reggae artists and a couple of tracks not readily available elsewhere make this a great intro to Pressure Sounds Reggae reissue label.
Sound mastering is mostly very good with some songs sourced from vinyl.

VA - (1997) The Best Of Ska! CD

 Boomerang Records ‎– none

Tracklisting
---------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Desmond Dekker & The Aces - Intensified [02:37]
2. The Ethiopians - Train To Skaville [02:55]
3. Don Drummond - Man In The Street [03:22]
4. Toots & The Maytals - It's You [02:05]
5. The Blues Busters - The Wings Of A Dove [02:38]
6. Dandy Livingstone - Rudy, A Message To You [02:33]
7. The Ethiopians - Come On Now [03:16]
8. Dave & Ansel Collins - Double Barrel [02:30]
9. The Blues Busters - Shame And Scandel In The Family [02:22]
10. Toots & The Maytals - Never You Change [02:30]

Playing Time.........: 26:53 

VA - (1998) 100% Dynamite CD

 Soul Jazz Records ‎– 040

"100% Dynamite" is the first in a series of 5 compilations of Jamaican music across time. While the other 4 jump from dancehall to dub and back to ska without any real regard for chronology, "100% Dynamite" focuses on the ska recordings which led to the style we all now know as reggae.

While this is a considerable boon to the fan of Jamaican music, those whose experience of ska is found in the ska-punk fusions of America and England will be sorely disappointed. Much of this disc is instrumental and, while it is very exuberant, the style is quite different to what passes for ska these days.

The first selections ("Armagideon Time", "Night And Day" and "Rock Steady") are all vocal cuts and not representative of the disc at all. "Armagideon Time" is an early rastafarian spiritual, while "Night and Day" and "Rock Steady" are both love songs - with the latter being voiced by a woman.
By the fourth track, the Upsetters' "Popcorn", the album takes off. Lee Perry, the man behind the Upsetters, can already be heard working his trademark studio magic that would later feature on recordings by artists as diverse as Bob Marley and Junior Murvin. The track is a deceptively simple bass, drum and guitar melody which varies ever so slightly and at the least expected moments.

Legendary saxophonist Tommy McCook also contributes a number, "Green Mango". McCook, a founder member of the Skatalites - the seminal ska band - leads from the front with the desire of a jazz player. "Greedy G", by the Brentford Allstars, which follows this performance is also a standout.

The rest of the disc is also very strong. Jackie Mittoo (Skatalites pianist) acquits himself admirably on "Stereo Freeze", and Phyllis Dillon's heartfelt "Woman of the Ghetto" could well be claimed as one of the first "sufferer's songs". Lloy'd Robinson's "Cuss Cuss" demonstrates a clear link to the reggae for which Jamaica would very soon become famous, his sweet vocals counterpointing with the important message of the song.

Overall, this album is a very useful collection of early ska and proto-reggae. Many of the artists are under-represented at best on the CD racks of the world, and these recordings are certainly among their best. Thus, from a serious fan's point of view, the compilation is very much worthwile.
The ska or reggae newcomer may also benefit from this disc, but this is slightly less likely. The sad truth is that, after all is said and done, many of the instrumentals do tend to blur into each other - no matter how outstanding they may be. The newcomer may be better served with a Skatalites greatest hits to begin with.

 Tracklist
1 –Willie Williams Armagideon Time 2:31
2 –The Maytals Night And Day 2:49
3 –The Marvels Rock Steady 3:05
4 –The Upsetters Popcorn 2:05
5 –Tommy McCook Green Mango 3:40
6 –Brentford All Stars Greedy G 3:37
7 –Lennie Hibbert Real Hot 2:27
8 –Johnny Osbourne We Need Love 3:36
9 –Jackie Mittoo Stereo Freeze 3:05
10 –Cedric Im Brooks Give Rasta Glory 4:21
11 –Sound Dimension Granny Scratch Scratch 3:56
12 –Phyllis Dillon Woman Of The Ghetto 3:22
13 –Lloyd Robinson Cuss Cuss 6:27

14 –Sound Dimension Drum Song 4:22

VA - (2000) Rare Reggae Grooves From Studio One CD

 Heartbeat Records ‎– 11661

Rare Reggae Grooves From Studio One is a follow up to HB 224, Studio One Showcase Volume 1. In the mid to late seventies in Jamaica, it became popular to extend each song by adding an instrumental reprise at the end of the vocal version. This allowed the producer to extend the song from three minutes to sometimes over eleven minutes, which ensured that if you had a hit, it would keep the dance floor filled for a good amount of time! At Studio One, this resulted in countless 12" mixes of some classic hits as well as many that were deemed suitable for extending because of their popularity.
Many of the songs on Rare Reggae Grooves From Studio One were originally released in the late sixties and re-released in their extended version ten years later. All the tracks were overdubbed from their two track origins and then remixed and released. Many feature the drumming of the legendary Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace who was a member of the Studio One Band.

Tracklisting
---------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Lloyd Robinson - Cuss Cuss [06:25]
2. Peter Broggs - Sing A New Song [04:10]
3. The Gaylads - Love Me With All Of Your Heart [04:12]
4. The Silvertones - Take A Little Love [07:01]
5. Ken Boothe - Come Running Back [06:13]
6. the martinis - My Baby [06:12]
7. arthur robinson - Moments [06:15]
8. Going To Zion - Going To Zion [06:43]

Playing Time.........: 47:12
Total Size...........: 88.89 MB

The Archangelos Chamber Ensemble - (1999) Metamusic Masterworks CS

 Hemi-Sync ‎–  none

Enjoy inner peace and transcendent relaxation as the Archangelos Chamber Ensemble performs timeless gems.

Use Masterworks for expanding awareness through musical imagery and self-exploration; for deeper, more profound meditation; or simply for musical enjoyment.

It`s More Than Music … It`s METAMUSIC

Over thirty years ago Robert A. Monroe, a then successful radio producer, began a research and development organization to study the effects of sound on human consciousness. The result of that research is the world-renowned binaural beat technology called Hemi-Sync.

Hemi-Sync, an abbreviation for hemispheric synchronization, is a process which utilizes carefully blended and sequenced sound frequencies to synchronize the left and right hemispheres of your brain. This enables you to transform the diffused power of your brain`s hemispheres into a focused whole-brain state.
The ongoing research being done at The Monroe Institute is providing the world with state-of-the-art tools for a wide range of applications such as stress reduction, heightened creativity, pain control and meditation. Around the globe, doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, as well as thousands of others, use Hemi-Sync in achieving these goals.

Masterworks for Relaxation is performed by the award-wining players of The Archangelos Chamber Ensemble. Feauring the inspired Baroque music of Bach, Vivaldi, Corelli, and others, the arrangements are designed to maximize the relaxing effect of this timeless music. Adding Hemi-Sync to the mix, Masterworks is the forerunner of the music of the future; classical art and high-technology combined for specific applications.

* Do not drive or operate machinery while using this product.