Jamaica

Various Artists – Rocking The G.G. Beat 1970 – 1971

Posted on by jbass508

Various Artists – Rocking The G.G. Beat 1970 – 1971

Doctor Bird Records

2CD/DL

Out now

2CD collection of Alvin “G.G.” Ranglin’s productions from the tail end of the Skinhead/Boss Reggae era. Cornel Campbell, The Ethiopians and Charlie Ace all contribute. Ian Canty writes…

This is for all intents and purposes a follow up to the Reggae Flight 404/Man From Carolina set from earlier on this year (reviewed here), seeing as it picks up on the recordings made by Alvin “G.G.” Ranglin immediately after that set’s timeframe. Alvin’s run of success in Jamaica continued through 1970 and 1971, by the end of which the Skinhead Reggae boom had pretty much bottomed out in the UK. He recorded many star names during those two years, but his loyal vocal pairing of Vernon Buckley and Gladstone Grant, otherwise known as The Maytones, remained with him as well and they are rightly heard throughout this set.

Former Sensations and Uniques singer Cornel Campbell was one star who stopped by Ranglin’s to record. Music Keeps On Playing was one of the first offerings he cut on resuming his solo career after leaving The Uniques and sets Rocking The GG Beat off to a fast moving and catchy start. The Maytones’ Another Festival is set on a slowed down, joy-filled beat and they also crop up not long afterwards with the very soulful Since You Left. The cool organ instro by Winston Wright Bird Wing is closely followed by Jackie Bernard and Bill Gentles, teaming up well on the skipping rhythm of They Hold I.

Joseph Leeford brings an easy charm to his number Soul Music and DJ Charlie Ace talks over the top of Feel It More And More by Paulette & Gee on Ontario Version, the former of which can be heard in its original form just beforehand. Paulette & Gee (Williams) also contribute the bouncy Hold On Tight (Do It Right) to this disc. The title track by The G.G. All Stars/Clifton Stewart and Winston (Wright?) I found to be an uplifting dance tune, with Charlie Ace’s Happy Soul being cut upon the instrumental Flush also credited to G.G.’s mob.

Trevor Brown offers a full sunny Reggae sound on Mr Brown and veteran saxophonist Val Bennett is given a showcase for his cool blowing talents on Judgement Warrant. Then noted vocal group The West Indians equip us with the gentle romantic sound Lonely Nights and Theophilus Beckford’s nephew Keeling stars on Groove Me, which which has a firm R&B/Monkey Spanner feel. This disc concludes with All One Nation by Clifton and Winston, which is versioned straight after by The G.G. All Stars as Want Money plus The Soul Makers, who may possibly be the same act that also recorded for Prince Buster, with the rather old school sound in No Recommendations.

On the second disc of Rocking The GG Beat we first find The Maytones having a crack at Groove Me, the same song Keeling Beckford performs on disc one, with Charlie Ace toasting on a DJ cut of it next. Gerald McLeash only seems to have recorded his own song False Reaper, which is perfectly acceptable Pop Reggae, but The Ethiopians of course are far better known, showing up here with a sunny dance number in Love Bug. Later they also contribute the great sufferer songs Sounds Of Our Forefathers and the classic Starvation.

Black And White, later a big hit in the UK for Greyhound, is given a pleasingly knotty rhythm track on the version here by The Maytones, with Cayman Islands act Bunny And The Klemanaries posting the deep voiced near Rocksteady of Devil’s Angel. I’ve enjoyed Cynthia Richards work a lot in the past and while A Place In My Heart may be pretty MOR Reggae fare, she typically acquits herself with taste and emotion. The Invaders sound like a vocal duo on I Got To Go Back Home, the best of their two tracks here, but hard facts about them are difficult to ascertain.

A long recording history, along with an appearance of their song Johnny Too Bad on the soundtrack of The Harder They Come, means that isn’t the case for The Slickers. Here they ride the fun fair organ sound on Oh My Baby, which is otherwise in the classic Soul vocal group style. Roy And Bim’s identity is open to question, but their Do You Remember comes over as a nicely sung song of lost love and Winston Wright is on hand to prove the organ instrumental still had legs with a halting King Of Jamaica. Carole King’s much covered You’ve Got A Friend provides the source material for Irving Brown to team up with Cynthia Richards for a duet and while they combine well, this number is squarely aimed at the Pop market.

Max Romeo will need no introduction to most Reggae fans and he popped up for GG with a cover of 60s “death disc” Tell Laura I Love Her and he also is paired with keyboard ace Glen Adams for a flowing Jordan River. The Maytones’ development over these two discs is great to hear and culminates in a charming Run Babylon that brings home their Roots potential. This collection ends with the Rasta intro and otherwise pipe instro by Jah Huntley Rod Of Righteousness and Dennis Alcapone on fine form DJing on a cut of it called King Of Glory.

In 1970 and 1971 it is clear to perceive on Rocking The GG Beat that Alvin Ranglin concentrated on his keys strengths and let others worry about experimentation. As a result, the music featured isn’t at all gimmicky or chasing the next trend. These are clear, simple productions that place the spotlight exactly where it should be, on the singers and players. Many of these Jamaican hits never made much impact in a British Pop Scene that was turning away from the Reggae beat at the time, but there is no doubt in their quality. This is a pleasing, listenable and danceable set that stands as testimony to GG’s repute as a fine record producer and also to the roster of talent he could call on.

Get Various Artists – Rocking The GG Beat 1970 – 1971 here

King Tubby & The Observer All Stars – Dubbing With The Observer

Posted on by jbass508

King Tubby & The Observer All Stars – Dubbing With The Observer

Doctor Bird Records

2CD/DL

Out now

2CD set housing the classic 1975 Dub LP of Niney The Observer productions, with a welter of bonus tracks drawn from the same source. Ian Canty writes…

Osbourne “King Tubby” Ruddock’s repute as a visionary studio engineer seems to grow year on year, as a fresh band of listeners benefit from witnessing his extraordinary work. He got his start on Kingston’s sound systems in the late 1950s and thrived in this environment due to two talents – his aptitude for repairing electrical equipment and unerring instinct for knowing what was right in the sound mix. He soon established his own set-up Hometown Hi-Fi, which quickly became wildly popular with the city’s dancers. From there he moved into working for Duke Reid in equipment maintenance. During his employment with Reid, he stumbled across the possibilities of Dub while witnessing versions of popular tunes having the vocal removed for sound system DJs to chat over. By pushing the faders up and down, he found that one could virtually craft brand new tunes from the base material by “playing” the mixing desk.

In the early 1970s he purchased an old mixing desk from Byron Lee and set up his own recording facility at his home 18 Dromillie Avenue. King Tubby gradually built a system that could handle reverb, delays, echo and any other sound effect that he wished to conjure up in constructing his ground-breaking Dub plates. Tubby’s technical know-how put him ahead of the field in sound engineering and coupled with a bold imagination resulted in pioneering work. By the middle of the decade he was at the very forefront of Jamaican music after many fruitful collaborations with Kingston’s top producers. One of the many that sought out his services was George Boswell aka Winston “Niney The Observer” Holness…

Niney worked with Bunny Lee and Joe Gibbs before setting up on his own with much success, all starting with the famous Blood & Fire hit single/sensation. With The Soul Syndicate, who included George “Fully” Fulwood, Carl “Santa” Davis, Tony Chin and Earl “Chinna” Smith in their ranks, acting as his studio band The Observers, Niney was among the most successful of all Jamaican producers. Dennis Brown and Gregory Isaacs were just two of the top quality artists he recorded and given the strength of Niney’s production work, a link up with King Tubby for Dubs looked very much like a golden ticket.

It’s difficult to know what to say when faced with Dubbing The Observer to review. I know I’ve a tendency to be a little, shall we say, long winded, but do you really need to know any more than that this album is right up their where Dub recordings are concerned? From Rebel Dance’s echoed horns and skipping guitar inwards the LP is full of innovation. Casanova Dub is one of a number here that use Dennis Brown’s Cassandra as a jumping off point and Ken Boothe’s Silver Words gets a minimalist rejig as Silver Bullet.

Sang Hugh and The Lionelians’s Rasta No Born Yah becomes Rasta Locks, with the fast dance beats of Sir Niney’s Rock coming over a little like PIL three years early! Many Dub producers limited themselves to mostly dropping down to drums and bass, but Tubby opened up whole new vistas by highlighting the other instruments and this keeps the sounds fresh and distinctive. Another Dennis Brown tune I Am The Conqueror provides Youth Man Version with a structure that is gently teased out and My Mama Say is cut down on a racing rhythm as Corn Dub. The album ends with Rema Dub, originally another Brown tune Comma Comma. Here a deep, deep bass bounces of a piano and brass, putting the full stop on what is a triumph of a record with relish.

On this disc we get a further 12 Dubs from Niney productions of around the same time and unsurprisingly there is no real lapse in quality. Freedom Over Version is horn powered with sparkling echo and Tribute To Don Quarrie, credited to Bongo Herman & The Observer All Stars, presses Rasta No Born back into service with added percussion. Why Seek More is radically redone as Why Seek More Version, although Dennis Brown’s vocal occasionally comes to the front and is just about audible at the back of the mix for most of the way. The Soul Syndicate’s Dub Roots Of David is breath-taking and later on this disc they post another cut of Cassandra as Version 2.

Dennis’ Mount Zion is shot to the heavens with an effective use of drop out on Take A Dub and Grey Beard has a repeated vocal sample set on a tastefully cut back rhythm. Fire From The Corner, another Cassandra-based cut, has quite a lot of Brown’s singing treated with sound effects and the disc ends with Water Boiling, cut from the same rhythm and putting the spotlight on a wah wah guitar.

Entitled Dubbing With The Observer Chapter II, the second disc of the set acts as a follow up to the original album by collecting a further 25 Dubs. The familiar guitar intro to Cassandra sets the scene for Skatalites’ veteran Tommy McCook to blow some baleful sax on One Train Load Of Collie and Quiet’s vocal loops add to a cool drum and bass combo. Ras Bumper was the solid Dub flipside of Dennis Brown’s So Long that lets the original vocal float in and out and Straight To Bunny Lee Head aims it into jibe at a fellow producer on the back of Den’s hit Travelling Man.

A repeated guitar lick heralds Ad Dab, the B side reworking of Gregory Isaacs’ Bad Da, with Couchie Dub showing that Tubby was never afraid to start with just horns and build the thing from the ground up. Zinc Fence is a classic “Flying Cymbals” sound hewn from Cornel Campbell’s I Heart Is Clean and Rub Bald Head Dub moves at a dignified but cool pace. Special Dinner retains the Roots feel of the original and Dennis Brown gets a credit along with King Tubby & The Soul Syndicate on No Conscience, with his voice looming out of the mix in ghostly fashion.

DJ Clint Eastwood heads up a warm organ-led sound called Gate Number Version that stealthily warps out and 1/2 lb Drum & 1/4 lb Bass has an ominous sound to it and the drop out to just the voice is almost startling. Dubbing With The Observer finishes up with the brilliant echo overkill of I Soon Know and the dreamscape-style big horns and skank of Thinking Version.

Dubbing With The Observer is an effective and hugely enjoyable look at the work of King Tubby and Niney, where the talents of both are allowed to shine along with the musicians who played on the original discs. A bit more information about the Niney productions that provided the material for the Dubs in the liner notes would have been good, but I accept it was more important to shine the light on King Tubby. If you want to learn about Dub from a standing start, this is as good a place as any to commence your investigations.

More info on King Tubby & The Observer All Stars – Dubbing With The Observer can be gleaned here

Various Artists – Revue Presents Symphonies Of Love 1980 – 1985

Posted on by jbass508

Various Artists – Revue Presents Symphonies Of Love 1980 – 1985

Doctor Bird

2CD/DL

Released 13 January 2023

2CD collection of Lovers’ Rock originally released on Phil Matthias’ Jamaican-based label Revue. Included are the albums Barbara Jones Sings Hit Songs In Reggae Style and Wonderful Sounds by Doreen Shaffer, plus 23 bonus tracks. Ian Canty writes…

For the most part during the 1960s and 1970s Jamaica had exported music to the UK and not imported it. Having been a hit on the Kingston scene was crucial to a disc’s success in Britain and anything homegrown was almost certainly looked down upon even before playing the damn record. Lovers’ Rock was really the first thing to buck the trend and send music in the opposite direction. It has to be admitted that this genre did have strong roots in the soulful Rocksteady hits of the late 60s and perhaps reached back even further to the romantic-styled R&B dancers that powered the JA scene prior to the advent of Ska. But it definitely felt like a fresh sound in the dreader than dread mid-1970s.

The cool and soulful style of Lovers’ Rock started to take off in the middle of the decade, centred mainly in South London. The sound systems there used the early recordings in this style as a neat counterpoint to the more militant selection of Roots and Dub, its restrained and light sound perfect to lift the mood after a run of heavy vibes. Matumbi’s Dennis Bovell was a prime mover in the development of Lovers’ Rock and at the start it was a scene dominated by female artists, a first in Reggae. The style was very successful in the Britain, which culminated in 1979 with Silly Games by Janet Kay very nearly hitting the top of the UK singles charts.

Jamaica had also started to get a taste for the sound too and by 1980 Phil Matthias’ imprint Revue was at the forefront of Lovers’ Rock action in Kingston. It’s from this point onwards that this new 2CD set Symphonies Of Love documents. Opening up thing we have Barbara Jones’ covers album Sings Hit Songs In Reggae Style from 1983. Barbara had been performing professionally since the early 1970s and two years before this LP was released she had scored a UK hit single with her version of Randy Vanwarmer’s Just When I Needed You Most.

Sings Hit Songs In Reggae Style “does what it says on the tin”, in that these are easy going, near-easy listening Reggae covers of familiar tunes, some of which had already been versioned in Jamaica by other artists. Starting with a good natured tilt at 70s pop hit Midnight Blue, the collection is elegantly well performed and certainly fitted snugly into the Lovers’ Rock idiom. Barbara manages to draw the Soul out of some fairly hackneyed material, shining on a languid It’s Going To Take A Miracle and the more up-tempo Symphony Of Love, although the version of The Carpenters’ Top Of The World was so sugary my teeth began to itch. Overall Sings Hit Songs In Reggae Style is undemanding, gentle and mostly rewarding.

Thee are 11 bonus tracks included on this disc, drawn from Revue’s archives. This section ensues with The In Crowd’s very R&B In My Arms, which has some pleasing light Dub effects used and their 1980 single Sweet Man, which crops up later, is mighty fine. But the band’s third track included on disc one Honey Bee isn’t really Lovers’ Rock, just straight Soul. Taxi by Leroy Brown is similarly more or less a tender ballad, bar a skanking backbeat, but a sparky and attractive Together by Jennifer Day feels far more like authentic Lovers’ Rock. The cool organ-led shiver on Panama-born Fil Callendar’s Weep Little Girl is also very good, even if the tune itself delves right back to Rhythm & Blues’ roots.

Assertive brass and an excellently judged vocal performance by Carol Brown, who debuted in 1975 with Touch Me Baby single on the Jam-Rock imprint, make her Just Enough a real highlight of this collection and Delroy Wilson delivers quality as usual on a convincing cover of the Elvis hit Suspicion. Ruddy Thomas was a member of Joe Gibbs’ Professionals and also a reliable solo act. An expansive Reggae backing rhythm helps his Rain From The Sky thrive, with The In Crowd’s Errol Walker’s All My Love To Give benefitting from an effective and novel production sound too. The disc ends with the jumping It’s Alright by Leroy Brown, which has some neat Dub moves thrown in towards the end.

A year after Barbara Jones Sings Hit Songs In Reggae Style, Doreen Shaffer’s nine track album Wonderful Sounds was issued. Doreen had already had a long and eventful career before this 1984 release, getting her start alongside Jackie Opel and also singing with The Skatalites (with whom she still performs today) in the early 1960s. Fast forward through the years and Wonderful Sounds begins with a bouncy modernised recut of Golden Love, which she had originally cut with Opel. Eternal Love, another one of her duets with Jackie, is also versioned in a sultry fashion at the end of this long player.

That’s Life, written by Delano Stewart back in the 1960s, is nicely sung and an easy going Shaffer/Dwight Pinkney co-write Memories has Doreen’s echo-laden vocals plus a ringing guitar intro combining well. The backing rhythm of I Cried A Tear is very lively, even if the song itself is a well-worn 1950s staple and a cut of the great Laurel Aitken’s Ska number I Remember follows and gets a nice workout. There are a few mawkish moments on Wonderful Sounds (Could I Have This Dance is the worst offender), but this is a warm and pleasant record and I couldn’t help rooting for Doreen throughout.

12 bonus tracks accompany Wonderful Sounds on this second disc. The In Crowd return to start things off with the lilting beat of Getting Cozy and Carol Brown’s cool Feel So Good is another ace from her. Her song Whenever, which crops up later on this same platter, is good too and confirms her as a star of this set. Rula Brown doesn’t appear to be any relation, but his I Don’t Wanna Live My Life Without Love is an appealing enough Pop Reggae nugget and he does well on the lithe Reggae Down On It, which finishes off this disc. People Are Doing It Every Day by Delroy Wilson and Freddie McKay’s Oh Carol are similarly enjoyable and sunny in outlook.

Former African Brother Tony Tuff scores with the more or less straight Reggae tune I’ll Have To Get You and Bobbie Floyd & Marie Baines team up for a romantic run through of Hold Me. Boris Gardiner already had a big reputation as a bass player before he began taking a lead on vocals and would go onto score a number one hit in the UK with I Wanna Wake Up With You. That was two years before Eighteen Yellow Roses which features here and this track shows he was well on his way to Pop success.

It almost goes without saying that if the harder-edged heavy 1970s Roots sound is your preference, Revue Presents Symphonies Of Love may not be for you. However, if you have an liking for Pop Reggae, there is a lot here that may interest and entertain you. Lovers’ Rock was crucial in providing a female perspective in a male-dominated Reggae scene and the best entries here are fine examples of the style. They are chock-full of soul, craft and pure joy and that is worth a lot.

Various Artists – Revue Presents Symphonies Of Love 1980 – 1985 is available here

Ruddy Thomas – First Time Around

Posted on by jbass508

Ruddy Thomas – First Time Around

Doctor Bird

2CD/DL

Out now

Reissue of Ruddy Thomas’ very popular 1981 debut album along with 11 bonus tracks, plus a second disc drawn from various artists who recorded Romantic Reggae sides for Joe Gibbs. Ian Canty writes…

As a rule, when considering Reggae’s development in the late 1970s, there tends to be a concentration on Dub, Roots and the birth of Dancehall at the expense of anything else. To be fair Lovers’ Rock, largely a UK phenomenon, gets a look in too. But beyond all of that there was a large market in Jamaica for tunes that were less challenging, often Reggae renderings of old standards or current Pop hits. These easy-going efforts could be described as Jamaican Easy Listening, but now they tend to be tagged as Romantic Reggae.

Producer Joe Gibbs and Engineer Errol Thompson, aka The Mighty Two, found themselves right at Reggae’s cutting edge at the time. But even they recorded many sides at this very Pop and accessible setting. One of their biggest Romantic Reggae artists was one Randolph “Ruddy” Thomas.

He had made his recording debut at the age of 22 in 1973 under the name Flick Wilson with the Free Education For All single, cut for Count Shelley. After that he recorded for many Kingston producers including Coxsone Dood and Duke Reid, before arriving at the Joe Gibbs organisation during 1977. As well as featuring for Gibbs as an artist, he kept himself busy as a percussionist and backing vocalist for other performers on Gibbs’ roster. In addition, Ruddy scoured the local scene for any talented acts and oversaw recording sessions too. But it was his prowess at the mic that saw him gain the title of The Song Bird Of Reggae, the subtitle of this set.

He scored as a soloist with a 1978 cover of Dobby Dobson’s Rocksteady classic Loving Pauper, which was a massive hit in Jamaica. Many popular singles followed, but it wasn’t until 1981 that he was to release his own album, First Time Around. Ruddy continued to record after this and maintained his position as a first-rate interpreter of songs right through into the 21st century. Tragically he died of a heart attack at the age of 54 whilst performing at Port Antonio in June 2006.

Beginning with an affable take of the Denice Williams hit That’s What Friends Are For and a Reggae Pop reimagining of The Beatles’ Ticket To Ride, First Time Around is a pleasant if pretty cosy collection. Poorer Side Of Town throws in some country guitar onto a tight rhythm though and Ruddy imbues it with some very soulful and well-judged vocals. You can tell by Loving Pauper’s beautifully cool treatment that it was nailed on for the charts, unsurprisingly it’s the highlight of the LP. The Jacksons’ Disco hit Shake Your Body gets a reworking that relies on a jerky almost Boss Reggae beat, though the take of Elton John’s Little Jeannie is as MOR as Reggae can be.

Ruddy is a fine singer though and on something like Go On you wonder why he didn’t go down the straight Soul route, though this strident beat does have a slight crossover feel with Roots. From here the album does peter out a bit, with a trio of nice enough but hardly distinctive offerings. Although First Time Around is a serviceable collection of its kind, I couldn’t help but wish Gibbs and Thomspon had pushed Ruddy into some more adventurous settings. I’m sure he would have prospered on something a little more challenging than standard love songs.

Eleven bonus tracks from Ruddy Thomas’ singles for Gibbs are added to this CD, starting with a bright take of The Paragons’ tearjerker Memories (By The Score). Feeling Soul and a coolly accomplished Just A Holiday are another pair of Rocksteady tunes that are suitably updated for Ruddy to apply his velvet tones to and the Billy Paul cover Let’s Make A Baby is as smooth as you like. Alton Ellis’ I Can’t Stop Now gets a trombone-driven work-out and this disc ends with a laidback duet with Marcia Aitken on the Roberta Flack/Donny Hathaway smash Emotions.

The second disc of this set is titled Reggae For Lovers and features some of the more romantics waxing to emanate from Gibbs’ Retirement Crescent Studio. Ruddy Thomas is present with the busy (Riding On A High And) Windy Day and a cover of Smokey Robinson’s UK number one Being With You, but elsewhere we have some fairly big names chipping in along the way. Chief among those would be The Mighty Diamonds, who version Curtis Mayfield’s Gypsy Woman adeptly and give an excellent Party Time their customary cool and flair.

Earth & Stone, born Albert Bailey and Clinton Howell, endow us with the neatly constructed and tough rhythm of Why Girl and Alter You by Wayne Wide is a very sunny groove indeed. Former Clarendonian Freddie McGregor chalked up a few UK hits in the mid-1980s including Just Don’t Want To Be Lonely and Nice First Sight Loving, his track here, is a highly attractive and well performed number. Graduating from Channel One came Hugh Griffiths, who features with a great and impassioned Everyday Is Just A Holiday and then we have David Isaacs, who enjoyed a fruitful association with Lee Perry in the Boss Reggae era. His Gonna Get You grants the listener a large helping of good vibes.

After enjoying great success with The Sensations and The Uniques during the 1960s, Jimmy Riley struck out for a solo career. Hey You, which is included here, has a good rolling Neo-Rocksteady groove. It is good to hear Shirley McLean present a much needed female perspective on Something Precious and though Nehamiah Heild would go onto international success with Who Let The Dogs Out by The Baha Men, he was pretty much an unknown quantity at the time of the light but appealing Your Body’s Here With Me.

George Nooks racks up a quartet of entries on this disc, beginning with a languid and bright Since I Fell For You. He also kept himself busy with a DJ career under the handle Prince Mohammed. On this disc George also covers The Detroit Spinners’ big UK hit Working My Way Back To You and Left With A Broken Heart. The latter is the final offering of the set, a lengthy item which is adorned with strange space ray gun-style blasts.

First Time Around highlights the strengths of Joe Gibbs’ Romantic Reggae dabbling well enough. Much of it is fairly lightweight and a long way from the Dub/Roots that inhabited the same time span. But for some this will be just the goodtime type of Reggae Pop that they were looking for and being marshalled The Mighty Two means that the musicality keeps things moving along freshly. Ruddy Thomas was a fine vocalist and a huge star in 1970s in Jamaica. Without doubt he deserves this kind of collection in his honour.

Ruddy Thomas – First Time Around is available here</strong>

The Heptones – Better Days & King Of My Town

Posted on by jbass508

The Heptones – Better Days & King Of My Town

Doctor Bird Records

2CD/DL

Out now

Two of the famed vocal trio’s well-received albums from the 1970s, with producer Niney The Observer’s Dub equivalent of Better Days Observation Of Life Dub among the bonuses included. Ian Canty writes…

Jamaica has thrown up many top-quality vocal groups over the years, but few can top The Heptones. They made their mark first at the height of Rocksteady, under the auspices of Coxsone Dood at Studio One. The original version of the band was made up of the talented lead singer and bass player Leroy Sibbles, plus back-up vocalists Barry Llewellyn and Earl Morgan. They enjoyed great success with Studio One and also later recorded for Chris Blackwell at Island and Lee Perry’s Black Ark.

Sibbles had departed for a solo career by the time of Better Days in 1978, being replaced by Naggo Morris and this new version of The Heptones hooked up with Winston “Niney The Observer” Holness at Channel One for this album. It leads off with an upbeat version of the Elvis Presley hit Suspicious Minds, which the band had already covered back in 1971 during their days with Coxsone. Another lively, Soul-tinged cover Crystal Blue Persuasion follows. Then we come to the first band original on the record in the form of a cool, lilting Land Of Love, with the tune being penned by Morgan, Llewellyn and the outgoing Sibbles.

No Bread On My Table aka Oh Jah shows The Heptones ably adjusting their stance for 1970s Roots, with deep vocals cast upon a sparkling and inventive musical backing. Niney’s production work really pays dividends here and then we come to the album’s title track Better Days, which again sounds thoroughly cutting edge for the time. It’s a great spiritual Reggae sound that is hugely impressive.

Both presenting an ideal showcase for The Heptones’ considerable vocals talents to shine are God Bless The Children and Ready Ready Baby, with the latter’s slow and steady beat being embellished by some well-deployed keyboard flourishes. These are essentially updates of Rocksteady, but work wonderfully. Every Day Life however has a different structure, relying heavily on percussion and bass in a way that mirrored Dub, while being its own thing. Mr. Do Over Man Song finds The Heptones journeying Roots-ward and Key To The Heart finishes the album with a mid-paced demonstration of their expert skills in reading a song.

On Better Days The Heptones shows no real signs of any complacency, coming over as being full of vitality and using modern techniques to bolster the core strengths of their vocals well. With Niney helming proceedings, it was natural that a Dub version of Better Days would emerge and this is what makes up the second half of the first disc. Starting off with a stripped-down Suspicious Minds retitled Mind Blowing Dub, Observation Of Life Dub hits just the right spot. Persuasion, a cut on Crystal Blue Persuasion, shows the sparing and well-judged use of piano on the original song brought to the fore.

Niney’s methods here are not as outlandish as some in Dub, but he conducts things with exquisite taste. He teases out guitar lines on Nuff Bread On Our Table expertly and with Jah’s Children In Style the organ is reduced to an eerie but memorable whisper. Finishing off by highlighting the delicate build and tight rhythm of Observer’s Style and the low-key bass adventure Lover’s Dub, Observation Of Life Dub makes a cracking companion piece to Better Days.

Better Days was followed up a year later in 1979 by King Of My Town, which kicks off with a Pop Reggae charmer entitled Watcha Gonna Do About It (not The Small Faces tune). They then cover The Mad Lads’ Boss Reggae number Losing You, with a horn section doing some fine work. Then Behold skanks along nicely before a dread Holy Mount Zion confirms that The Heptones had really made themselves at home in Roots. Earl Morgan’s song Motherless Child is full of Soul power, with Prisoner Girl picking a winding path in a cool vocal group style.

King Of My Town itself comes next, brassy and full of impact and African Child is a beautifully performed nugget of moody Roots Reggae. Trials And Tribulations and Which Side Are You come next and account themselves well in the same fashion. It is a shame that this smart album of wonderfully sung Roots ends with a rather gimmicky version of The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night.

The final part of Better Days & King Of My Town is a series of seven 12 inch Disco mixes recorded with Niney. These extended versions were all the rage at the time, custom built for the dancefloor. They add value to the set immediately with the skipping, relentless beat of the mighty Through The Fire I Come. Its flipside Move On works well with some sharp Dub moves and a stylish Book Of Rules really stands out. As a conclusion we get four longer mixes of album tracks, with the versions of Crystal Blue Persuasion and Every Day Life coming right out of the top drawer.

This set comes complete with a detailed history of the band in the liner notes and the usual sharp Doctor Bird design work. It would have been nice to have a little more info on the albums themselves, but I suppose that The Heptones tell their own story through the music. Better Days & King Of My Town catch the band at the best of their post-Leroy Sibble incarnation, when along with Niney they adjusted their approach to fit naturally into the Roots Reggae era. There’s magic here.

Lay your hands on a copy of The Heptones, Better Days & King Of My Town here

Various – Top Ranking DJ Session Volumes 1&2

Posted on by jbass508

Various – Top Ranking DJ Session Volumes 1&2

Doctor Bird Records

2CD/DL

Out Now

New 2CD set built around tracks from the Top Ranking DJ Session albums from 1977 and 1979. Trinity, Big Youth and Clint Eastwood are among the toasters on hand to ride some of Joe Gibbs and Errol Thompson’s crucial mixes. Ian Canty writes…

The DJ vocal style has proved amazingly durable on the Jamaican music scene. Since its inception, when the pioneers of the form whipped up crowds at dances way back in the 1950s, it had made the leap from performance to vinyl in the next decade. U Roy’s tremendous success with Duke Reid had led the way in 1970 and many followed. By the time of the first Top Ranking DJ Session set in 1977, toasting had adapted itself to the Dub/Roots environment with a graceful ease. As Joe Gibbs and Errol Thompson’s productions were at the forefront of Reggae at the time, there aren’t many better places to look for ice cool Roots DJ versions.

This set fits in with Doctor Bird’s many other Joe Gibbs releases that have emerged during the past few years like a jigsaw. As this is the case, both Top Ranking albums are cut down, with the missing items being previously compiled by DB elsewhere. I can see the sense in that modus operandi, in that it leaves room for many bonus tracks and committed followers will not buy tunes more than once. But the other side of it is you don’t actually get the album as it was. If you were someone who had the LP back in the 70s and just wanted an upgrade of that, you may well feel a little disappointed.

As a consequence, Volume 1 which begins this set is cut down to six offerings. Trinity’s sure touch and the Dub effects on the title track are provide an instant delight. Here a famous lager gets namechecked atop the rhythm of The Techniques’ moody Rocksteady belter Love Is Not A Gamble. His loping Commercial Business follows after a sunny musical backing helps I Roy’s cool recut of a Meditations’ number Trust No Shadow After Dark make a real mark.

Big Youth was another big name DJ and he offers up the brilliant Dubwise Equal Rights Style, cut on a Dennis Brown rhythm and later posts the echo-laden Big Fast Car. Shorty The President, who first broke through with President A Mash Up Resident back in ’72, is the final DJ featured on Volume 1 and proves his worth on Natty Pass His G.C.E., using a sturdy old Studio One backing to good effect and referencing the “Heavy Manners” that were an oppressive part of the turbulent times of 1970s JA.

Then we are into the bonus tracks, which make up the vast majority of disc one. Trinity’s brother Clint Eastwood, who would make a big impact in the Dancehall era alongside General Saint, utilises the Uptown Top Ranking/Three Piece Suit on his Badder Than You. This number downplays the achievements of Dillinger and Trinity in comparison with Mr Eastwood himself in classic rap bragging style and he also appears with a smooth drift in Production Plan, which is built on the classic Rocksteady of The Mad Lads’ Ten To One.

Marvin Pitterson aka Mr Bojangles gives us the great Jah Joy, endowed with some nippy wordplay and an unstoppable momentum. Though Mr B had a truncated DJ career he shows up well here, expertly voicing the radical Prophesy Reveal atop Culture’s Two Sevens Clash. His Selassise I Cup uses the old Reggae standby of a comic horse race commentary given a Roots twist, as does his Producer’s Trophy.

The Dub skills of Errol T show up well again on Ranking Joe’s Ask Me No Questions, one that mixes Jazz trumpet and bare bones Dub marvellously and seems to debate the merits of milk and cocoa, among other things. Famous DJ Lester “Dillinger” Bullock posted a big hit with Cocaine In My Brain in 1976 and displays his talent here on an impressive Bellevue Patient.

Decade-old brass is pressed back into service on Prince Hammer’s swinging, languid beat Dread Locks Thing. He returns on this disc with a neat Roots tune Natty On Top.
Fellow Reggae royal Prince Mohammed gives us an effervescent Informer and his Ten Years Late wends its way along in fine fashion. Kojak & Liza’s Different Style, another riff on Three Piece Suit, ends this disc with aplomb.

On disc two we venture forward two years to the second and final collection of Top Ranking. Only Nicodemus’ Jah Jah Train is missing here, giving a bit more coherence to this set. We begin with Nkrumah Jah Thomas’ pared-down Come Fi Si Yu Daughter, where he makes a real positive of the quieter, less boastful atmosphere. He would later flourish as a producer in his own right. U Brown’s star was in ascendancy at the time of the jolly charming Gau’wn A School, with of all things Theme From A Summer Place forming part of the musical attack.

One For The Money by Clint Eastwood bubbles with inspiration and along with Dillinger’s Kublicon feels like the state of the art of Reggae ’79. Lui Lepki, who might have been born Lou or Ron Lepkie (or Lepke), died tragically at the very young age of 30. His tune My Life is a great example of early Dancehall and Lee Van Cleef’s Beverley How You Love Me is simply a drum & bass plus toast treat, with scat singing “oinks” included. The obscure Weedy Dread sounds like a lively young DJ on his sole waxing Girls Of Today, making it a pity he didn’t record more. Bad Card by Trinity and I Roy’s laidback Set Me Free finish off Volume 2 with a couple of older DJs making a convincing effort to master the changing times.

The remainder of Top Ranking DJ Session Volume 1 & 2 is made up of bonus tracks from Gibbs/Thompson productions from the same timeframe, featuring some of the stars of the first disc and a few fresh names. The lithe mid-pace of Forty Leg Dread by Prince Mohammed is a real winner and a phone call/argument gets Dillinger’s Out The Light underway. His impassioned War Is Over shows up well later on this disc too.

Trinity makes a pitch for the mainstream zeitgeist of the time with Starsky & Hutch, though I can’t remember them catching a bus in the TV series. Anyway, I dug the chilled Dub on Prince Hammer’s Orthodox Rock and Michael Campbell aka Mikey Dread is heard here before he become a cohort of The Clash, making his early steps in DJ Talkover by granting a sense of fun and gravity to Friend And Money. Naw Go A Them Burial by Keith “Prince Allah” Blake is a great Roots effort that is more sung than toasted and on the Satta A Masa Gana rhythm I Roy delivers big time on I Pray Thee.

Jah Grundy, who was born Stephen Weise, does a good job on Shaolin Disciples, equipped by Gibbs and Thompson with shivering strings and horns. After Dillinger’s relaxed and confident vocal on Racing Pool, the set concludes with Christmas Style by Kojak & Liza, with Three Piece Suit again providing the backing for a foray into Yuletide Reggae.

With the Joe Gibbs organisation behind them, the artists on Top Ranking DJ Session Volumes 1&2 excel. This is a great set of late 1970s Reggae, giving the listener a real feeling of how exciting it must have been to experience these DJs live on the mic at a dance. If you want to know what Reggae was all about 1977-1979 from scratch, you could do far worse than start right here.

You can locate a copy of Top Ranking DJ Session Volume 1 & 2 here

Various Artists – Catch-A-Fire: Treasure Isle Ska (1963-1965)

Posted on by jbass508

Various Artists – Catch-A-Fire: Treasure Isle Ska (1963-1965)

Doctor Bird

2CD/DL

Released 12 August 2022

47 track collection taken from the Treasure Isle archive of Ska recordings cut during the years 1963 to 1965. Included are contributions from the likes of Stranger Cole, Eric “Monty” Morris and Tommy McCook. Ian Canty writes

By the time that the music on Catch-A-Fire was recorded, Duke Reid had gone from making his first steps into music in the 1950s as an ex-Police officer with a sound system playing Rhythm & Blues records imported from the US, to being one of the two most successful producers in Jamaica. His recording set up was now employed in pumping out the hits in the exciting, breakneck style of Ska, JA’s first Pop indigenous music. Possessing his own studio facility at the Treasure Isle store at 33 Bond Street Kingston meant he could crank out these quality items at a fearsome rate.

Catch-A-Fire is very much a companion piece to the recent Ska-La-Rama set (reviewed here). It delves back a few years further for its material, but there is a continuity as a similar brand of Jazz and Blues-influenced Ska is utilised. The reason for this was probably that the style enjoyed a great run of success until 1967 – so the principle of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” was applied.

Trumpeter and band leader Baba Brooks was key to Duke Reid’s and Treasure Isle’s operations at the time, providing backing for many artists and also cutting his own material. He and his band start Catch-A-Fire with the very danceable instrumental Donkey City Part 1. Baba’s Country Town hurtles along and the exotic sound of Melody Jamboree uses a gentle Ska tempo as the structure for some extensive brass riffing. Jelly Bean is another sharp rhythm that provided a structure so Baba could float with his trumpet above and a very jolly Boat Ride provides a dose of enchanting fun. This first CD ends with the second part of Donkey City.

Stranger Cole was one of Reid’s big stars of Ska and his recordings pepper this set. His third single/calling card Stranger At The Door showcases his confident vocal style and he pairs up with a young Ken Boothe for a gospel-influenced We Are Rolling aka East And West. Conqueror was another of Cole’s great offerings, a good demonstration of his wonderfully unhurried delivery. Lloyd Brevett and Tommy McCook join Stranger to add their instrumental guile to the love song with a hint of R&B and Mento Millie Maw, plus a mournful Nothing Tried and Out Of Many. The smooth and wryly performed Oh How I Need You and a cheeky Little Boy Blue close out Stranger’s contributions to disc one.

The taste for R&B tunes was still strong in Jamaican music despite Ska’s ascendance to the top and indeed Dotty (Reid) & Bonnie’s (Frankson) slowies Loving You Always and Darling When are pretty much straightforward examples of the genre. Their Summer Dry is more of a good Ska duet, even if their Your Kisses goes back to the Blues.

Saxophonist Tommy McCook hooks up with the Baba Brooks Band for some cool blowing on Spider and the title of fellow Skatalite Don Drummond’s JFK’s Memory demonstrates Ska’s quickfire responses to the issues of the day, something that would continue on through Rocksteady and Reggae. The substantially less well-known artists The Melody Enchanters released four singles in the Ska era, of which Enchanted Ball/Sailor Boy in 1964 on Duke Reid’s Duchess imprint was the last. Both sides are here, with the dual vocal attack of Enchanted Ball suggesting the band consisted of a pair of singers. Other than that, information on them is scant to non-existant.

Look Before You Leap by Glen Adams is a fine Ska parable and Words Of Wisdom by Eric Monty Morris find him dipping into the milieu as Rivers Of Babylon for lyrical inspiration. It also offers the salient advice that one should “keep your nose out of people’s business”.

On disc two of Catch-A-Fire we first encounter the warm sound of the title track by Baba Brooks. We catch up with many of the contributors to disc one again here and a few fresh names crop up too. Eric Morris returns with mid-paced and poised Mama No Fret and later posts a steady rhythm in Drop Your Sword and the easy charm of What A Man Doeth too. Stranger Cole reappears in duet with Patsy Dodd on a fast-paced Tom Dick And Harry and Miss B, where some sax from Tommy McCook plays a crucial role. Tommy also has his own fine offering My Business (though credited to Reid) on this disc and features strongly on The Skatalites’ groovy Around The World.

Stranger shows up solo with a touching He Who Feels It Knows It and Cherry May, where good vibes dominate and he’s in his element interpreting the emotion of the lyric in straight and then self-parodying comic ways. Corner Stone by Don Drummond is pretty much an instrumental Ska classic, with his Cool Smoke being a thick brew powered by that big band R&B/Jazz mixed with Ska sound, just ripe to work his trombone magic on.

Owen and Leon Silveras are featured with their big hit Fits Is On Me, which is a bundle of good-natured fun. Their second helping My Love For You though is pure R&B. Chuck Josephs and Joe White team up with the Brooks Band for the Proto-Rocksteady of Punch You Down and Bongo Man (Delroy) Byfield, who also recorded as King Rasta, is represented by his theme tune. Bongo Man is really a version of Sam Cooke’s Wonderful World, recast with plenty of bongo references. Gloria And The Dreamlets are another unknown quantity, but their Stay Where You Are is bursting full of life, a true rare jewel.

There is an outside chance that The Melodites, who sing a brassy winner in Vacation here, are the same outfit who released Travelling Home on the Calmac label in 1976, but the liner note puts forward the alternative notion that they may have been The Melody Enchanters from disc one under another moniker. A much bigger name in the form of Derrick Morgan puts in an appearance with the brisk and business-like Let Me Go and also is paired with Naomi Phillips for the rapidly-paced set closer Two Of A Kind.

It almost goes without saying is you will need to have an appreciation of old style Ska to get the best out of Catch-A-Fire. If so, you will have a whale of a time here. Apart from a few of the Dotty & Bonnie duets that were not really to my taste, it is pretty much wall to wall dancefloor-orientated greatness. Duke Reid had moved through the Ska era to a position of near-unchallengeable prominence and this collection shows him and his roster of top artists at their early to mid-1960s best.

Pick up a copy of Catch-A-Fire: Treasure Isle Ska (1963-1965) here

Various Artists – Reggae Masterpiece

Posted on by jbass508

Various Artists – Reggae Masterpiece

Doctor Bird

2CD/DL

Released 12 August 2022

Reissue of the classic Roots Reggae compilation from 1976, consisting of ten efforts drawn from the productions of Joe Gibbs and Errol Thompson. Also included are fourteen bonus tracks overseen by The Mighty Two, taken from the same timeframe. Ian Canty writes

1976 may have been the year of Punk in the UK, but it was also when Roots Reggae was at its height in Jamaica. Joe Gibbs was also in his element at around the same time, having built up a run of success after founding his Amalgamated label during the Rocksteady era. He had ridden every fresh wave in the Kingston music scene and, with the coming of the heavy Rasta-influenced Roots style and studio whizz Errol “E.T.” Thompson in his corner, Joe was all set to maintain his reputation as one of the producers at the very top of the class.

The Roots sound was powered by the Rastafarian faith that had took hold with many of the singers and players on the Kingston music scene. It also looked back to the cool tempi of Rocksteady and Folk’s storytelling songcraft for inspiration, welding that all together with state of the art Dub techniques. This Reggae Masterpiece LP found The Mighty Two i.e. Gibbs and Thompson working with some of big names, along with a few more obscure artists. The album is not by any means all Roots Reggae, as there is a balance applied between the tougher sounds and offerings that are somewhat lighter in message and performance.

Inner Circle singer Jacob Miller’s I’m A Natty opened the LP, actually cut to a Lee Perry rhythm for the song Soul Rebel that was originally recorded by Bob Marley And The Wailers. Odd electro squelches and synth washes have been added to update the backing, but all thoughts of who did what are put to one side as Miller’s cool vocal reads the song perfectly. Beverley Bailey’s 1975 single I Was In Love follows and seems like Proto-Lovers Rock. This is a thoroughly assured performance which makes one wonder quite why this appears to be her sole recording, with The Abyssinians’ 1972 dread classic Satta Amassa Gana providing the source material.

Horace Andy made his breakthrough in the 1960s, but truly came to prominence in the next decade. His Slave Drivers took its thrust direct from the Rasta faith and set it in an attractive, accessible context. At the other end of the scale, the multi-talented Lloyd Parks offers a cool version of The Temptations’ Ain’t Too Proud To Beg and he also dips into the Isley Brothers’ songbook later with For The Love Of You. After that reggae pop diversion we’re back to pure Roots with Sylford Walker’s Burn Babylon and No Man’s Land By Cornel Campbell. They both provide vital bulletins from the front line of Jamaica’s 1975 unrest and are damned listenable to boot.

David Scott, better known in musical circles as Scotty, pioneered the “singjay” style, but he doesn’t really employ it here on an update of Rocksteady totem Heptones Gonna Fight. Retitled We’re Gonna Fight, he actually does a great job singing sweetly on an appealing waxing. Am I That Easy To Forget seems an odd choice for a spot on Reggae Masterpiece, as the song was a MOR favourite penned back in 1958. Jimmy London performs the version here and it is very much in the “stringed-up” production style that was all over Reggae records hoping for the Pop charts back in 1970. As a result, it sounds a tad dated in this company.

Harry Hawks’ generally excellent liner notes don’t pin down exactly whether or not the Lone Ranger featured here on final track of the LP It Won’t Be Long is the famed DJ otherwise known as Anthony Waldron. As the set credits what is a good, rhythmic song to Waldron, we’ll have to take it at face value. In summary the Reggae Masterpiece album is a bit of an odd mixture of tough Rasta offerings seasoned with very Pop-orientated numbers, but the good stuff included is of high quality.

The bonus tracks added to this collection start with I Roy’s Knotty Knots, the very fun DJ cut of Jacob Miller’s I’m A Natty. Roy Samuel Reid, to give his full name, is really the star of these bonuses, featuring four times. He also gives us Fire Burn, cut over a Soul Vendors dub-wise rhythm and its flipside Sufferer’s Psalm ends this collection. His News Carrier takes the template of Leo Graham’s A Win Them (see below) and delivers a classy talk-over version.

The Cool Ruler himself Gregory Issacs comes next with a fine The End Of The World, set down on one of his rare visits to Joe Gibbs’ set-up. The song I Will actually dated from the early 1960s, despite its militant rhythm pattern. Jackie Brown uses the dog-eared material to put on a masterclass of romantic Reggae that perhaps isn’t really Roots but is very enjoyable. He just about works a similar trick with the even older Send Me The Pillow (You Dream On) later on. Shorty The President follows this one up with Big Man Bad, an impassioned DJ take.

Wally & Snuffy’s sole record was Dreader Mafia, originally released in 1975 on the Belmont imprint. A spoken word back and forth acts as a prelude to a nicely echo-laden DJ effort. Earth & Stone, actually a duo of Cliff Howell and Albert Bailey, for some reason went under the pseudonym John Toms for the organ-heavy and smart Natty Roots. The aforementioned A Win Them by The Bleechers’ vocalist Leo Graham has a delightfully rough sound, a great boast of a record. Later he is featured again with the energetic Not Giving Up, which sounds like it could have come out at the height of Boss Reggae. Which isn’t a criticism, because it is one of the best tracks on the set.

The Fantels, aka Leon Brown and Hal Lewinson, issued a slew of singles during the late 1970s and early 1980s. But their debut waxing Hooligan that is featured here is arguably their best, with the pair’s dual vocals working very well. Finishing up with have Gibbs’ bouncer Eno McLeod with a soulful and catchy I’ve Made Up My Mind and I Roy’s excellent DJ effort Sufferer’s Pain.

Overall this is a good set that highlight both the Roots and Pop sides of 1970s Reggae well. Gibbs and Thompson were at the height of their powers and had adapted to the Roots sound well. Their productions skills were well established by this time and with their backing musicians always right on the money, the artists had more than a good chance of coming up with something of worth. As Gibbs and Thompson could draw on singers of the calibre Miller, Andy, Graham and I Roy, success was more or less ensured.

Get Reggae Masterpiece here

Various Artists – Ska-La-Rama (1965-1966)

Posted on by jbass508

Various Artists – Ska-La-Rama (1965-1966)

Doctor Bird Records

2CD/DL

Out now

New 2CD set that focusses on Duke Reid’s Treasure Isle at the height of the Ska craze in the mid-1960s. Big hits from the likes of Derrick Morgan, trombone ace Don Drummond and Stranger Cole on the first disc are juxtaposed with rarer items from the vaults on the second, which includes 25 previously unreleased tracks. Ian Canty skanks along and writes…

By 1965 Treasure Isle was at the top of its game. Duke Reid had crossed over from running his Trojan sound system at dances playing US R&B recordings to producing Jamaica’s homegrown fare. This in turn had led to Ska, the island’s first indigenous pop style and the Duke and TI were right on the spot to prosper with this new form and they quickly became the market leaders alongside rival Coxsone Dodd’s Studio One.

Ska-La-Rama starts with a first disc full of Treasure Isle’s biggest Ska tunes. Guitarist and band leader Lyn Taitt leads things off with his title track, a brassy and jumping version of The Magnificent Seven theme, with a different take being presented on disc two. This good start is followed by The Zodiacs, a four piece vocal group that gives us a breakneck dancer in Renegade.

The liner notes give a well-earned salute to trumpeter Baba Brooks, who featured on many of Duke Reid’s recordings during the Ska and Rocksteady eras. Unfortunately he seems to have been forgotten to such an extent that no one seems totally sure if he is alive or dead. The year he was born in is open to question too and the circumstances of his leaving the music industry appear to hinge on a shooting incident.

Independence Ska was one of his biggies and One Eyed Giant has one of his trademark of spoken word introductions, something taken from the lawn dances which may have been the germ that developed into the DJ talk-over style of years later. Duck Soup is in a similar mode, with of course his trumpet blasts hitting the right note and Teenage Ska, another of Baba’s smashes, is simply a classic of the type. His Vitamin A is a sure-fire winner too.

Tommy McCook and Roland Alphonso were instrumental greats that have been rather better served and documented over the years. The former’s old school jazz ska of Rocket Ship is enlivened by loud rocket launch samples and Roland’s Nuclear Weapon is a blend of a spooky introduction and effects plus a beautifully warm and endearing ska instro sound. Don Drummond was a truly inspired trombonist and here cuts an excellent trio in University Ska, Thoroughfare and Stampede, which are all red hot dance tunes.

Derrick Morgan was rising to prominence at the time and a typically busy Around The Corner as well as the cheeky Don’t Call Me Daddy are good vehicles for the man’s vocal talents. Morgan also crops up in a duet with Naomi Phillips on the touching lilt of I Wish I Were An Apple. Justin Hinds And The Dominoes were a long running Treasure Isle success story from Ska onwards and their skank Never Too Young, though a little dicey sound-wise, makes up for any roughness with charm in abundance.

Another star vocalist during the Ska years was Stranger Cole. He is represented on this first disc by a typically lively Koo Koo Doo, the nippy story song Run Joe and Toy Cat aka My Pussy, which no doubt was a great influence on Mrs Slocombe! He also in paired with Claudette Clarke on Seven Days, where the duo gel well at a slightly slower tempo.

Moving to an act a bit more obscure we have The Movers, a group led by Winston Dias, who supply an absolute gem in the soulful form of Jo Ann. The Clarendonians and The Silvertones are of course far better known, with them providing the guitar-enhanced R&B flavour of Your Are A Fool and a classy vocal group offering My True Confession respectively. This disc finishes with Roland Alphonso’s jazzy tribute to Drummond, Portrait To Don.

Disc two takes us into less familiar waters on the whole, though we begin with the first take of Baba Brooks’ Guns Fever, which was a very popular track in its released form. The Zodiacs return with the great I Can’t Do The Ska and their Wake Me, Shame Me is a crackerjack of a tune. Forty Miles Of Bad Road highlights Lyn Taitt’s six string skill and he also fronts the more brass-led Storm Warning.

A breezy My Lover Has Left Me and the romantic honey-dripper I Want A Lover shows again the inspired pairing of Derrick and Naomi in full effect and Smokey Ska (Take 2), Alcatraz and The Clock by Baba Brooks are brassy instrumentals set in that loveable old fashioned ska style. Generally all his work on Ska-La-Rama is first rate, making it all the more of a shame that he doesn’t seem to have recorded anything much after 1967.

The Movers place another item here with an energetically sung Oh Misery and Derrick Morgan confirms the high standing he was held in at the time on the near-calypso story with a moral How Do Your Know Your Friend. The milk-can sound of Justin Hinds & The Dominoes is much in evidence on alternate takes of their songs Peace And Love and Verona and Duke Reid himself takes a credit on a very danceable What A Bailing (Take 4).

For a large part performers from disc one are featured again, but The Spanishtonians score with the steady beat of You Wish Me Bad, which is blessed by some cool brass and Frank Cosmo turns up with the bristling hi-hat and horns of a jesting I’m All Alone. Brothers Owen & Leon Silvera team up on the cool blowing tune of Love Me Or Leave Me and Basil Caral And His Group put together a great harp and rhythm combination on The Army is Searching. The disc and collection fittingly ends with Baba Brooks’ After A Storm, with studio noise and a false start before we get a very brief snatch of a mid-tempo skank.

The great thing about what is included on Ska-La-Rama is that most of it sounds as good for enjoying and dancing as it did the day the records were cut. This is an old school sound for sure, but you can guarantee pretty much any of these numbers would get the dancefloor moving at any ska/reggae night even today. Treasure Isle and Duke Reid built things to last and the sheer energy and joy involved in their creation resounds down the years. A wonderful collection of Ska at its very peak.

If Ska-La-Rama sounds like your thing, you can find out more and buy it here