The great Cedric Im Brooks, Mystic Revelation meets Jazz meets Roots Reggae ..
Back in the early eighties Don Carlos cut the tune Nice Time ( Late Night Blues) it was an instant classic on the sound systems.
Now Pressure Sounds have unearthed these classic dub plate cuts of the riddim,
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More Pressure Sounds niceness from the Bunny Lee vaults. The often overlooked era when JA music was transitioning into the nascent Dance Hall Style.
“This compilation, showcasing the popular and the obscure, the experienced and the youthful, captures the energy of the early dancehall years, and stands as a testament to the musicians and singers who detonated this musical time bomb, a ‘Rub A Dub Revolution’”.
Excellent, comprehensive and informative notes, follow the link
Selectah!
“Solo album excursion from the legendary Jamaican trombonist. Brand new compositions by Vin on new original rhythm tracks from Nat Birchall & Al Breadwinner. All recorded old-school analogue style at the Bakery Studio in Manchester. Produced by Nat Birchall & Al Breadwinner, recorded and mixed by Al Breadwinner.”
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Really enjoying this new album from Marcia Griffiths - Timeless, revisiting and updating classic tracks from the Studio One catalogue
Over recent years Steve Barrow and Don Letts have been filming low budget interviews with many of the surviving artists, musicians and producers of Jamaica’s rich musical heritage.
Check them out on Palm Pictures youtube channel
Reggea on bbc4 now
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The lost reggae tapes.
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… and later @ 00:25, a prog on David Rodigan, its a repeat but I will still be watching.
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Yes this really is a must see..
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Really enjoyed that programme, especially the tale about Peter Tosh, his ganja pipe on the plane and his supposed meeting with President Carter about becoming the ‘minister for marijuana’ !!
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Check out the book Steppin Razor The Life Of Peter Tosh by John Masouri.
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Studio 17 The Lost Tapes is a fantastic documentary. Often documentarys like this on the history of JA music leave me sad.
Where other countries preserve their musical and cultural heritage, the JA authorities responsible for arts and culture seem to do little to protect and preserve such important places as its famous studios and venues. Whereas for example Stax, Motown, Sun etc are revered and now museums, the legendary studios of JA have been ignored and neglected. Studio One is closed and derelict, Treasure Isle long gone, Randys gone, Channel One an empty shell of a building, a crying shame
In recent times Italian Reggae artist Alborosie now resident in JA has been setting about rescuing legendary items of studio equipment which he says was sometimes dumped in skips, such as King Tubby’s two track tape machine or the mixing board from Harry J’s which Catch A Fire was recorded on. He commented how hardly anyone in JA cares about this stuff which he rescues and houses in his “museum” at his Shengen Studio. There was a 1Xtra broadcast of Rodigan being given a tour of the studio by Alborosie but it’s not currently available.
Well worth checking out as a companion to the Studio 17 documentary is the Impact (the Randy’s Studio 17 label) compilation put out by Soul Jazz many moons ago and still available..
https://soundsoftheuniverse.com/sjr/product/impact-reggae-funk-soul-from-impact-randy-s-records
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The so called Jamaican or original version of Catch A Fire is much better I think compared to the version that was released on Island by Chris Blackwell who added keyboard and guitar over dubs apparently to make it more palatable to a UK/ US audience unfamiliar with roots reggae.
Both are available on the DeLuxe version of the album.
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Agreed Jonn, I hardly ever listen to the over dubbed version these days. But it has to be remembered that Chris Blackwell was marketing to a Crossover/Rock audience and not necessarily making an “authentic” Jamaican sound. The Wailers weren’t necessarily happy with Blackwells marketing which ultimately contributed to their break up. The follow up Burnin’ was a much better record in terms of authenticity without overdub work from Rabbit Bundrick and others.
That said, it’s well documented that Bob Marley wanted a crossover sound and like many JA artists aspired to be a soul singer. Long before Chris Blackwell and the Catch A Fire LP, Bob Marley hooked up with Johnny Nash & Danny Simms JAD records and musicians like Hugh Masakela and Rabbit Bundrick joined Marley in JA working on a crossover style.
The 3 volumes of CD sets The Complete Wailers on the JAD label document much of this chapter especially Vol1 1967 - 1972 which shows them experimenting with Pop, Doo Wop, RnB, soul with hardly a hint of authentic reggae, a cover of The Archie’s Sugar Sugar for example.
Interesting round up of important studios, most of which have sadly disappeared
https://rateyourmusic.com/list/antreas72heep/the_most_important_studios_in_the_history_of_reggae/
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