Niney The Observer

Various Artists – The Observer Roots Albums Collection

Posted on by jbass508

Various Artists – The Observer Roots Albums Collection

Doctor Bird Records

2CD/DL

Out now

2CD set featuring the productions of Niney The Observer, made up of two Freddie McGregor albums, The Ethiopians’ comeback set Slave Call and a collection of single sides entitled Reggae Mix Up. Ian Canty writes…

Much like the recent Gold Connection set of Lloyd Charmers’ work, The Observer Roots Albums Collection continues Doctor Bird’s ongoing Niney The Observer series. This time we have The Ethiopians’ Slave Call joined by a pair of key Freddie McGregor albums, plus a compilation set in Reggae Mix Up. But, as the collection’s title bears out, unlike the aforementioned R&B-themed Charmers’ set, most of what is contained is set firmly in the Roots Reggae camp.

The Observer Roots Album Collection begins with the ten offerings of the 1977 Slave Call LP by The Ethiopians. The group had enjoyed considerable success during the Rocksteady era, in particularly with their monster hit 45 Train To Skaville. Later Everything Crash found them moving towards the Original Reggae sound and after that they had many successes in Jamaica, something that was tragically curtailed when founder member Stephen Taylor was killed in a car accident in 1975. Band kingpin Leonard Dillion understandably retreated from performing for a time until Slave Call, cut with a new line up of The Ethiopians. This was a record that embraced Dillion’s growing Rastafarian beliefs and the Nyabinghi drum sound that was something of a musical trademark of the faith.

As we come to the first track on the LP Ethiopian National Anthem, the Rasta connection is made clear, with Nyabinghi percussion taking up the main musical thrust of the piece that is buttressed by bass and choral voices. The album’s title track fleshes out the musical palette towards an appealing Reggae sound, with purposely flat horn parps and Leonard’s soulful delivery ratcheting things up a notch. Guilty Conscience comes with all the energy and charm that informed the band’s best work and succeeds in bringing it all bang up to date, with the following Hurry On proving conclusively that it wasn’t a fluke. They both make for a easy transition from The Ethiopians’ late 60s recordings by drawing on their core strengths and then serving them up with a large helping of pure Roots attitude.

Nuh Follow Babylon utilises echo to neat effect and even at the most Dread point in their career, The Ethiopians could not resist reworking their most well-known tune for a new audience. Train To Skaville makes the jump into the 70s well enough and then a louche Culture moves with a stately, loping stride. Obeah Book is in a more strident Roots style, but next the Rasta twist on The Beatles’ Let It Be doesn’t work quite as well. Thankfully a brass-boosted I Love Jah ends what is a very creditable collection on a high note.

The second part of disc one is Mix Up, which collects fourteen Niney-produced single sides from Roots’ halcyon days of 1977 and 1978. It’s virtually a role call of top names, with The Heptones, Gregory Isaacs, Junior Delgado, Johnny Clarke, Ken Boothe and Delroy Wilson all putting in an appearance, but a few lesser known acts show up too.

We start off with a catchy Black Is The Highest Culture by Glasford Manning’s The Jewels and The Heptones’ nippy Through The Fire (I Come). The latter return on this disc for the effortlessly cool Move On and a jolly Book Of Rules. They also team up with Don “Tabby Diamond” Shaw for Well Hot aka Red Hot, a tune that comes with a solid hook and the organ glide is very pleasing too.

Niney’s smarts behind the boards and the playing of his crack studio players The Observers pay dividends here, he even revisits his breakthrough hit Blood And Fire with aplomb. Warrior by Johnny Clarke is pretty much everything one could wish for from a Dread Roots number, with a chiding Mr Know It All by Gregory Isaacs coming with some smart Dub touches. After a brilliantly performed Left With A Broken Heart by Ken Boothe and Niney & The Morwells’ impressive LP title track, it is left to Reggae George Davey (or Daley) to sign off disc one with an easy-going Trodding Along.

This leaves a lot for disc two to live up to, but luckily enough Freddie McGregor was well up to the task. The former child prodigy rose to prominence as Roots music was on the up and his 1979 platter Mr McGregor starts this part of the set. His Rasta ideals were of course informing his musical path, but by applying a measured and sunny approach the uncommitted could also enjoy it. We begin here with the sultry and stylish sufferers’ lament We Got Love, the ideal opening gambit and the Niney/Freddie-written Walls Of Jericho also cuts a real Roots Reggae dash.

Freddie’s emotive delivery is spot on for the entire album, a cool and catchy version of Little Roy’s Jah Can Count On I being joined by the winning Pop charm of Why Did You Do It? and an attractive but more Roots Zion Chant. A slow and sinuous rhythm powers Rastaman Camp, with a jaunty Do Good again demonstrating the Reggae/Pop appeal McGregor would eventually turn into international hits. Mr McGregor ends appropriately with Rasta Have Faith, a hovering organ-led sound.

For the second Fred LP presented on this disc, Showcase from 1981, a different approach is taken in that Niney’s extended Dub sections pad out the relatively low number of offerings aboard. An endearing take on the UK trend for romantic Reggae, Lovers Rock JA Style/Lovers Version, sets the tone marvellously. The lilting The Overseer/Overseer Version follows and Niney and his musicians apply just the right touch, something which is also the case on a bright Love One Another and Chant It Down/Chant It Version, the latter being possibly one of Freddie’s very best Roots numbers. Sitting In The Park/In The Park Version, a cover of Billy Stewart’s song, is a lovely note for the album to sign off on.

Despite containing the two LPs, there is still room for a couple of FM bonuses in the form of Follow This Ya Sound and Roman Soldiers Of Babylon. Both of these hammer home what a great combo Freddie and Niney’s set up was at the height of Roots Reggae.

For me this is one of the most enjoyable Doctor Bird releases in some time. Slave Call represents a convincing 1970s return for The Ethiopians and the two Freddie McGregor albums are uniformly excellent, making the second disc thoroughly essential. To put the cherry on top of the cake, most of the bonus tracks included are also endowed with similarly high quality. Niney was in his element at the time of Roots, he just knew instinctive what was right and added to that, he had a set of inspired musicians on hand to achieve just the right results. Put that together with artists of the stature of The Ethiopians or Freddie McGregor, you got gold. If you want to knew why Roots dominated Kingston music in the 70s, ample proof is here.

More info and ordering facilities for Various Artists – The Observer Roots Albums Collection can be found by clicking here

Various Artists – Niney The Observer Presents Jah Fire

Posted on by jbass508

Various Artists – Niney The Observer Presents Jah Fire

Doctor Bird Records

2CD/DL

Out now

New 2CD compilation of Niney productions from the halcyon days of Roots Reggae 1976-77, featuring Big Youth, Gregory Isaacs, Junior Delgado and many more DJs and singers. Ian Canty writes…

Following on from the recent Doctor Bird collections charting Niney The Observer’s work earlier in the 1970s, Jah Fire focusses on the time when Roots and Dub were the standard settings in Reggae circles. Winston Holness aka George Boswell had made waves in 1970 with Blood & Fire, but had actually started his production career back in the 60s when employed at first as a studio engineer. After working in the latter capacity in short order for Bunny Lee and Joe Gibbs, he struck out on his own with dawning of the new decade.

If the 1950s to the mid-60s had largely been a battle between heavy hitters Duke Reid and Coxsone Dodd with Prince Buster hovering around the fringes, the change from Ska to Rocksteady saw the Kingston production scene explode with fresh talent. Niney was at the forefront of this new wave and met each successive step forward by successfully adapting his style to it. Arguably by the time Roots rose to prominence, the producer was at the height of his powers.

Cool Ruler Gregory Isaacs’ poised and accomplished sound Rock On gives Jah Fire an ideal introduction and also a view into to the state of the art of Reggae in the mid-1970s. His dread smash Slave Master crops up later on this disc, confirming his vocal prowess. By this stage Niney was already well versed in the JA custom of getting the most out of a successful rhythm and next Christine Joy White takes Isaacs’ backing track and shapes it into the prime proto-Lovers Rock item On A Saturday Night.

I’m In Love by Horace Andy has an irrepressible bounce and a neat organ glide helps Cornel Campbell’s bright I Heart Is Clean make waves. Clint Eastwood aka Robert Brammer was in the early years of a long-running DJ career at the time he toasted on the talk-over cut of that rhythm Gate Number, but it is a good effort that shows the kind of promise that would stand him in good stead in the future. It’s always pleasing to hear Junior Delgado’s relaxed vocal stylings and here it is allied to full brass and a swinging vibe on I Am Still Thinking. Niney himself ducks under the pseudonym The Messiah for a baleful I Soon Know.

I Roy’s playful intro to Point Blank (Observer Style) is a joy and his Zion Trip also hits the right note, whereas Big Youth’s 6 Dead Nineteen Gone To Jail reveals itself as the perfect expression of “Heavy Manners” Jamaica voiced above Dennis’ Brown’s My Time. The more obscure Rockstones cut a classic Roots offering in Oh Jah Man and Wally “Field Marshall Buckers” Bucker lays down a fair DJ cut called Ambric on the Slave Master rhythm.

The anti-Police oppression number Flat Foot Hunting by Dillinger is a impressive demonstration of his verbose talents, with Glasford Manning helming The Jewels on One Lick. This band are also included on disc two for the ace Jah I single mix. Big Youth again shows up well on Four Sevens, which addresses Rasta ideology with regard to 1977 in a similar way to Culture’s Two Sevens Clash and Inner Circle’s Jacob Miller goes solo on the ice-cool Roots cut Moses. A very pleasing first disc ends with Bobby Ellis & The Observers’ Mento-tinged instrumental Doreth.

Jah Fire’s Disc two gets underway with a stylish Weeping by Junior Byles and I Roy’s DJ cut Water Rate follows. Horace Andy returns to voice Materialist with his trademark peerless high vocalising and also shows up well on Them Never Tell I. Leroy Smart’s languid Jah Is My Light has Niney applying a trebly and inventive touch on the boards and Hubert “Jah” Ford’s sole DJ recording for The Observer Hold Not Thy Peace Oh Jah may perhaps not be the best example of toasting ever, but it keyed right into the Roots attitude. Little Bop, who was otherwise known as George Clarke, talks his way through the Dub washes of Natty Dread Come Over after another Junior Byles prime cut in Can You Feel It.

Camp Road Skanking finds I Roy rhyming over Junior Delgado’s Up Camp Park, it comes over that he’s right at the top of the DJ tree with his contributions to this set. The talented Tyrone Taylor, who as the liner notes point out recorded a Johnny Rotten favourite in Sufferation which is also on this disc, scores with a sharp Pop Reggae number called I Got A Feeling. Zimbabwe by Niney’s studio act The Soul Syndicate is the kind of instrumental that could have emerged from Kingston at any time from the late 1960s. As a direct contrast I Roy’s Jamaican Girl brings us quickly up to date sound-wise afterwards.

The Rockstones’ Burn Me Out thrusts the old-time Reggae vocal group form right into the modern day, with Niney’s own title track finding him dealing in a Funky Reggae delight that is hot dancefloor fodder. US vocalist Dhalma shines on her tune Jah Jah I and Roll River Jordan is well up to the quality of the other I Roy pearls on this disc. A final offering here by Junior Byles King Of Babylon (One Love) confirms him as a star of this set and also makes one sad that mental health problems stopped him reaching his full potential. Niney dons The Messiah alias again for the solid Roots tune Confusion In A Babylon and I Roy signs this set off with Native Land, where he toasts a rumination on the “Monday’s Child” nursery rhyme over a Dub of the previous tune.

Although there have been a lot of comps of his production work put out by Doctor Bird over the last year or so, to me it makes pretty sound sense to put Niney’s single sides from 1976-77 together like they have been on Jah Fire. This was a key period for Roots Reggae and what is contained here demonstrates that Niney had his finger firmly on the pulse. The Junior Byles and I Roy contributions in particular make it worthwhile, but even some of the lesser known names shine and truly passable items are few and far between.

You can track down Various Artists – Niney The Observer Presents Jah Fire by clicking here

Niney The Observer Presents Dreadlocks Coming To Dinner – The Observer Singles 1973 – 1975

Posted on by jbass508

Niney The Observer Presents Dreadlocks Coming To Dinner – The Observer Singles 1973 – 1975

Doctor Bird Records

2CD/DL

Released 15 March 2024

2CD set compiling the production work Winston “Niney” Holness released on his Observer label’s 7 inch 45s from 1973 to 1975. Among the artists featured artists are U-Roy, Horace Andy, Junior Byles and Delroy Wilson. Ian Canty writes…

Niney The Observer had firmly established himself among the elite of Jamaican production by the time this new set Dreadlocks Coming To Dinner documents, after making his breakthrough with the Blood & Fire single in 1971. On his work he could draw on some of the island’s great vocal talents and backed them up with the instrumental nous of Tommy McCook, Chinna Smith, Val Bennett and others luminaries. His star was definitely on the rise at the same time the Roots influence came to prominence, which means some of his best work is here.

A silky gem in Ken Boothe’s Silver Words sets Dreadlocks Coming To Dinner going nicely. This compilation picks up the story from where the previous entry in The Observer Singles series Lightning & Thunder (read here) left off. On that collection, the fact that Niney liked to get the most out of a successful rhythm was made overt. This is soon underlined by Rasta No Born Ya by Sang Hugh, which is immediately followed by its thudding version The Bold One credited to Niney’s studio band The Observers. Hugh returns soon afterwards for No Portion A Gal, this time set at a swaying Rocksteady tempo.

Keyboard whizz Winston Wright supplies deep tones on a fast-moving Salt & Pepper, with Hubert Lee spinning out Hey Little Girl over a reassuringly knotty beat. Have Some Mercy, a touching R&B-tinged offering, lets Delroy Wilson show the touching vulnerability he could naturally evoke in his singing and next Different Fashion starts off as its mirror image, before becoming a smartly subtle Dub. Later Delroy offers a neat stepper in Half Way Up The Stairs and his easy going cover of Soul standard Sugar Pie (I Can’t Help Myself) swings on the back of some fine brass.

Niney himself cuts a dash with Hail I and Theophilus Beckford’s nephew Keeling does well on the coolly-voiced, self-penned Let Your Love Come (Tumbling Down On Me). Astley Bennett, which may have been a pseudonym for Roy Shirley, gives us the dread Children Of The Ghetto that The Observers Dub up in organ instro style next. He also has the other side of that single, a well-accomplished Leggo The Wrong, featured on disc two. Durable vocal trio The Mediators dig deep into the Roots sound for King Rasta and The Observers chip in via a great sound in New Style.

A chance to toast on Dennis Brown’s hit Westbound Train is DJ legend Big Youth’s cue for an ebullient Wild Goose Chase and its flipside/part 2 Ride On Ride On is also present. Again stressing Niney’s knack for repurposing of a popular rhythm, Ansel Collins’ keyboard skills are pressed into service on another version of it straight after titled Inbound Train, sax maestro Tommy McCook reuses it for for a One Train Load Of Collie and U Roy does a further talkover cut Train From The West. This disc concludes with Niney’s hypnotic scat singing gem Pressure Locks.

Over on disc two of Dreadlocks Coming To Dinner, Niney breaks the ice himself with dread duo Ital Correction and Selassie Ship. Then Clifton Howell and Albert Bailey aka Earth & Stone yield a class Roots goodie in the guise of Babylonian and The Reggae Crusaders, a short-lived band formed by Dennis Brown and Niney under his George Boswell alias, post the smart duet sound Bring The Couchie Come. The sturdy Blood & Fire was clearly an indestructible rhythm and comes in handy again for Big Youth’s pair Fire Bunn and Mr Finnigan here.

David “Natty Chase The Barber” Jahson’s For I is an odd but pleasing combination of Roots with 60s style Ska and prolific vocalist Roman Stewart, who got his start during the latter stages of the Rocksteady era, demonstrates his clear-voiced smarts on a Pop Reggae nugget called In The Morning. Delroy Wilson returns for the chiding False Rasta and the smooth and satisfying title track comes from a pre-Black Uhuru Michael Rose, who also features with a cool Clap The Ba Ba aka Clap The Barber.

The laidback African Train by Errol “Flabba” Holt is a treat and the stars keep coming with Max Romeo and Junior Byles showing up and showing out on an elegant Push De Broom and the sorrowful Bur O Boy respectively. Horace Andy ably demonstrates his singing skills on a very danceable Nice & Easy, which is accompanied by The Observers’ Dub Nice Version and Junior Delgado’s dread credentials are clearly evident on the classic Every Natty Wants To Go Home. Glasford/Glassford Manning, who also sang with The Jewels, scores with the very catchy Prophecy Call and Tommy McCook’s epic brass rhythm Zorro end up this set.

Dreadlocks Coming To Dinner does a creditable job in following up the previous Observer Singles set Lightning & Thunder. By 1975 the first experiments with 12 inch Reggae singles weren’t far off, but in the early part of the decade the 7″ format still ruled. Niney would be ready for that development, because as Dreadlocks Coming To Dinner proves time and again, he was at the cutting edge of Reggae from 1973 to 1975.

Lay your hands on Niney The Observer Presents Dreadlocks Coming To Dinner – The Observer Singles 1973 – 1975 by clicking here

Niney The Observer Presents Lightning & Thunder!

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Niney The Observer Presents Lightning & Thunder!

Doctor Bird Records

2CD/DL

Released 9 February 2024

New 2CD set collecting Winston “Niney” Holness productions from The Observer series of 45s cut from 1969 to 1972, key years in the development of Reggae. Ian Canty writes…

Just as the Reggae beat was rising to prominence, Winston Holness left his role as a sound engineer with Joe Gibbs to become a producer in his own right. After losing his thumb he had been bestowed with the nickname Niney and the fresh sound and fresh start worked for him like a dream. After toying with the handle The Destroyer he became Niney The Observer, which was an echo of/tribute to Lee Perry’s Upsetter title.

The novice producer made his bow in 1969 on the Destroyer label and the stylish set of productions that followed meant that Niney swiftly became a name to watch on Kingston’s music scene. In particular 1970’s popular 45 Blood And Fire was a big step forward for him, scoring a big hit in Jamaica and cementing his status. It’s this early stage in his career that is documented by Lightning & Thunder!.

A solid Skinhead Reggae stomper in the form of organ instro Pepper Seed by guitarist Ranny Williams & The Spokes coaxes the set into motion. The ghostly tones of Music Police by The Sound Dimension, also known as The Soul Vendors, represents a cool follow up and Skanky by Leroy “Horsemouth” Wallace has the famous drummer featured on a piece that is rendered in a DJ style. Niney’s own track Cocaine Doctor is equipped with a sturdy Reggae rhythm, before we return to toasting sounds with Bawling For Mercy by Dennis Alcapone & Lizzy. The pair return on this disc, skilfully jousting on a fiery Mr. Brown’s Coffin.

Apollo Rocket allows Lloyd Willis a showcase for his wah wah guitar skills alongside rudimentary piano and Omega by Niney is a further cut on the same rhythm. Then comes the mighty Blood & Fire, which retains its apocalyptic impact all these years on. It was a theme Niney returned to on title track Lightning & Thunder, Mud & Water and Brimstone & Fire, all of which are included. A neat sound in Message To The Ungodly draws us finally away from the rhythm and Niney is credited along with legendary vocal group The Heptones on a version of the Curtis Mayfield song Keep On Pushing.

Veteran vocalist Eric Monty Morris crops up with Strong Man Medley and Tommy McCook puts his tenor sax skills to good use on Psalms 9 To Keep In Mind, also on the Blood & Fire template. You’re going to have to care for that rhythm a lot to get the best out of this first disc, as it is pressed into service yet again on The Observers’ Chapter 10, but the Funk-flecked toast ace Observing The Ave. offers something a little different. This is immediately followed by a version called Everyday Music (Everyday People) and the disc is concluded by spiritual sound Pick Your Cards by Niney and The Coming Of Jah. The latter is a sharp and steady skank where the great Max Romeo makes a telling contribution.

The catchy sound of The Road To Zion from 1971 starts the second disc of this set. The old Gospel standard Down By The Riverside gets redone Rasta style as Hiding By The Riverside, with an instrumental Dub called The Red Sea following on. Dennis Alcapone is back with DJ cut Rebel Ride and Niney pairs up again with Max Romeo for the languid ganja hymn Ally & Ailaloo. The latter gets a whooping nine versions on the rhythm to accompany it. Reggaematic by Niney & The Observers and the obscure Captain Jack Morgan’s Pop A Water are both in a cool DJ style that makes them the best of these variations on the theme. Also the high-pitched voice on Ital Buddy by The Virgins is certainly novel.

A ribald Wet Panty has Niney & The Observers has a hoarse, hollering vocal set to a mid-tempo beat and Max Romeo is also featured his own with the pleasingly knotty sound of Rasta Band Wagon, which Niney & The Observers re-tread slightly slowed down as When Jah Speaks. Beg In The Gutter and also In The Gutter are drawn from the same source, but Max’s Time Hard aka Promises reveals itself as a brassy treat. Synth squelches mark out Honey Baby, which is a Soul/Reggae hybrid that resembles Dave Barker’s work. Forward Pipe aka Chalk Farm Special is its instrumental take and This features more of Ken Elliott’s electronic swirls, presumably laid down at the studio off the Northern Line. This rounds off this set.

Lightning & Thunder! has an extensive reuse of rhythms that can tend to make stretches of this set come over as a little samey. Issuing variations on a successful theme was already an old Kingston standby by 1969/70/71. But the way Niney highlighted small changes and opened up sounds overlooked elsewhere appears to prefigure the Dub explosion that was still some way off.

The old guard of Coxsone Dodd and Duke Reid found themselves in competition with a host of new producers with their own ideas about what was good for the dance and Niney was at the forefront of this new breed of studio boffins. His stock was firmly on the rise in the timeframe documented by Lightning & Thunder! and highly enjoyable proof of his unique work is here in detail.

Find out more about Niney The Observer Presents Lightning & Thunder! 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

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