Any reggae heads?

[EasyGo]

I'm a hopeless reggae fiend. Anyone else dig on the reggae?

Just finished reading 'This is Reggae Music' by Lloyd Bradley (titled 'Bass Culture' in the original UK edition), which was an excellent read on the history of reggae. Also digging the 'Rough Guide to Reggae,' pretty much a big reference book with suggestions for listening.

Recent purchases:

1) Augustus Pablo 'East of the River Nile,' on Shanachie. One of the heaviest reggae albums ever. Apparently Augustus signalled to shift to using minor chords in reggae. A must-own.

2) 'Studio One Rockers,' 'Studio One Scorchers,' reissues of Studio One tracks on the Soul Jazz label. The book above emphasized the influence of Coxsone Dodd's Studio One, and this series of expertly compiled CDs is an excellent point of entry. From a recording engineer standpoint, it is incredible to hear the tracks Coxsone was able to produce in his 2 track studio. Devastating musicians and performances, vibe for miles.

If you dig on the reggae, tell us (or me) what's in your rotation.

Don

[percussion boy]

I like the 70s stuff a lot.

Lately it's been SATTA MASAGANA by the Abyssinians, REAL ENEMY by the Mighty Diamonds (later, uneven but tight), and for a sec I was into IN THE LIGHT by Horace Andy, but the CD was mastered by cretins (or else the source wasn't good). And of course various Scratch Perry stuff with singers.

Is the Rough Guide the alphabetical reference that LEAVES OUT the Mighty Diamonds? One of 'em does, very strange.

[cornsound]

hey, can somebody recommend some good DUB to me?....instrumental, authentic, etc. the crazier the better.

[EasyGo]

I'd love to hear that Abyssinians! I have read their name and that album a few times as a recommended title. I've heard a couple a tunes by the Mighty Diamonds. Didn't they do the original 'Pass the Kutchie'? (as opposed to 'Dutchie') Great harmonies if I remember correctly.

I'll have to check the Rough Guide to see if they were left out.

Horace Andy, now that's my motherfucker right there! He really has the kind of voice you hear once in lifetime. The cuts 'Skylarking,' 'Money Money,' 'Spying Glass,' 'Zion Gate,' those are the shit. He did this album 'Dancehall Style,' for the Wackie's label in New York, that is fucking brilliant (although not dancehall at all). It's got a killer dub recut of 'Money' that is worth the price of admission.

BTW, for anyone interested in reggae, www.turntablelab.com (under 'The Lab in Dub') is a great place to hear samples of reggae. Those guys are way into reggae, to the point of having samples of nearly everything they sell. If I ever get back to NYC, I will definitely visit their brick and mortar store, cuz their mail order is the shit.

[EasyGo]

hey, can somebody recommend some good DUB to me?....instrumental, authentic, etc. the crazier the better.

Hey Weezy. There are countless choices, but a good comp is

Dub Chill Out

I think some of the track listing information is incorrect, but this is a smashing dub compilation. King Tubby, Lee Perry, Prince Jammy, Sly & Robbie, et al, and great dubs of some of Horace Andy mentioned above.

[percussion boy]

Another vote for DUB CHILL OUT.

Mighty Diamonds did "Pass the Kouchie," & I like earlier stuff even better, especially RIGHT TIME COME.

The Morwells sound real good lately too.

[EasyGo]

Morwells, eh? Will have to check the Rough Guide for that.

Also been digging 'Don Letts Presents: The Mighty Trojan Sound'. 2CDs for like $16, loads of significant singles from the Bradley book I mentioned above.

[transmothra]

for great dub reggae, try any Black Uhuru album with the word "dub" in its title (they often release two versions of their albums). fantastic stuff! also Linton Kwesi Johnson, Lee "Scratch" Perry, and the Mad Professor. all total classics.

[I'm Painting Again]

Right now im feeling :

ISRAEL VIBRATION, the same song, ivibes in dub, anything

CONGOS, heart of the congos

i'm feeling Pressure sounds 012, PSALMS OF DRUMS, CARLTON PATTERSON + KING TUBBY.

King Tubby + Augustus Pablo + johnny lover +linval thompson and the aggrovators, ROD OF CORRECTION SHOWCASE, (clocktower/Abraham) this record has the extended mix of JAH JAH the CONQUEROR and the BROTHER MARCUS DUB with Johnny Clarke who wrote the song Blondie does..the tide is high but im holdin on..im gonna be your #1..

any of the Johnny Clarke stuff is real good i found an original 12" on the island of Tortola wile back..

the Morwells are hot..Africa we want to go..

also the Itals represent.

[aurelialuz]

horace andy is a killer on 'skylarking.' the album of the same name is pretty decent, basically all the tracks have that sound, killer all the way through, but that track is a stand out for sure. i bought some other stuff, must have been a little later, late 70's maybe, it was awful. wish i could remember the title.

don't have 'scorchers,' but studio one 'rockers' is awesome. michigan and smiley's 'eye of danger' is one of the heaviest things i've ever heard.

got the dave and ansell collins out last night. some of it's corny but some of it's really chill.

alex

[EasyGo]

horace andy is a killer on 'skylarking.' don't have 'scorchers,' but studio one 'rockers' is awesome. michigan

Oh hell yeah. If you have the 'Rockers' disc, it has Prince Jazzbo's 'Crabwalking' DJ version of 'Skylarking,' the same backing track but with bits of Horace Andy's original vocal interacting with Jazzbo's toasting. Hearing those tunes back to back makes me wanna break stuff! BAD ASS.

Apparently I have to check these Morwells folks.

[percussion boy]

Apparently I have to check these Morwells folks.

Most of the hits are on:

BEST OF THE MORWELLS (Nighthawk -- vinyl)

KINGSTON 12 TOUGHIE/A TRIBUTE TO BINGY BUNNY (RAS -- CD)

These two albums are like 90% the same. I like vinyl for reggae, myself.

"Skylarking" sounds interesting. So far I like Andy's voice, love his musicians, but the songwriting seems a little thin. That's just IN THE LIGHT, though . . .

[kaliyuga]

I have to add a third vote for Dub Chill Out - a great compilation which, along with 'Dubwise & Otherwise' on the Blood and Fire label, introduced me to this fascinating genre.

Other great dub sounds I would recommend -

Alpha & Omega - 'Dub Philosophy' - "digital-age" dub can sometimes turn me off due to sleek production values, but this British group does it up just right. Deep, dark grooves.

Dub Syndicate- 'Pounding System' - nice use of space and a surprisingly organic sound on this Adrian Sherwood project.

Possession - 'African Dub' - Jesus, this is a beautiful album! Bill Laswell produced and arranged for these 3 players (on Baliphone, Gony, and percussion) and the sound is as you would expect from him. Ah, bliss.

African Head Charge - 'Environmental Studies' - a strange gem here, but a damn fine record indeed.

Also: Trojan Dub Box 1 & 2, Damn near anything with King Tubby or Lee Perry's hands on it.

[EasyGo]

Trojan Dub Box 1 & 2, Damn near anything with King Tubby or Lee Perry's hands on it.

I dig that Trojan Dub Box, I guess number 1. Didn't realize there was a second. Sly and The Revolutionaries have some cool stuff on that box, along with the aforementioned Tubby and Scratch.

[kaliyuga]

djeasygo - I've only heard a little of Box 1, but Box 2 is so damned good that it can definitely stand on it's own. Have you heard any of the other Trojan sets? These are the only ones I've listened to, but the sets are so cheap I'm thinking of delving deeper into the series. Anyone here seen the Studio One Story on dvd? I need to rent that damn thing soon, it looks so great!