That was until it crackled all the way though after cleaning!!! Ffs
Atb
Kk
That was until it crackled all the way though after cleaning!!! Ffs
Atb
Kk
Brilliant album, my favourite of his.
Richard Hawley - Lowedges (2003)
Sheffield’s own Richard Hawley… this man doesn’t get the credit he deserves… this album is a beautiful thing.
First spin for this early 1980s spiritual jazz obscurity, first released on Nimbus West and now reissued in all its tumultuous glory by Pure Pleasure:
On original vinyl…
Alton Ellis - Mr Soul Of Jamaica (Music On Vinyl/Trojan)
An absolute gem recorded for Duke Reid at Treasure Isle Studio’s in the late sixties, one of the true greats in the history of Jamaican music Alton Ellis.
These recordings are never going to be on the lists of “audiophiles” but this MOV pressing is the best I’ve heard this record sound, miles better than my JA pressed Treasure Isle copy.
Not one to argue. But their best album given the polish it needed from a while back.
Totally captivating.
Toots & The Maytals - In The Dark (Music On Vinyl/Trojan)
See review below from reggae-vibes.com
The 1974 LP In The Dark is now re-released by Music On Vinyl. This well known Dutch reissue label (vinyl only!) has already released several Toots & The Maytals albums. Check Reggae Got Soul, From The Roots, Pass The Pipe, and Funky Kingston.
The set was the second LP that Chris Blackwell pushed to the international market. First, he issued Funky Kingston, then In The Dark and one year later he repackaged the two albums for a US release, aimed to introduce the group to a wider international audience. With a spiritual undertone and positive energy, From The Dark sounds more polished then previous albums such as From The Roots and Monkey Man. Lyrically, the opening track Got To Be There is undiluted gospel: “Got to be there, Just to answer to your name when the roll is called for your fate”. But there’s also room for a social commentary song like Time Tough: “I’ve got four hundred/month rent to pay, And I can’t find a job”. Outstanding song!
There’s an interesting cover version of John Denver’s world-wide country hit Take Me Home Country Roads. Toot’s solid version replaces ‘West Virginia’ with ‘West Jamaica’ in the lyrics. The inclusion of the late 1960s hit tune 54-46 Was My Number was a strong selling point. For the soul ballad fans, there’s Take A Look In The Mirror, not our cup of tea. The semi-autobiographical Having a Party is a soul-fueled track, the balladesque I See You sees Toots inna romantic mood. Fever vibrates with soul (listen to the horns) and funky grooves, a typical Toots & The Maytals dance tune! The album closer Sailing On is an obligate handclappin’ sing-a-long crossover song.
Toots & The Maytals - Unplugged On Strawberry Hill (Music On Vinyl)
I’ve not been familiar with this until now, really enjoyable and entertaining set, great fun to kick back with.
No DVD as per the original 2012 issue, but again a superb Record Industry pressing
These songs will never grow old, and this is Toots’ best album in years.
Angus Taylor 2012
Frederick “Toots” Hibbert is one of the great voices in popular music. His voice has remained timeless since he split from the golden harmonies of “Jerry” Matthias and “Raleigh” Gordon of the Maytals – even if the digital production of his later work has dated. But this acoustic revisit to his vintage hits is such an inspired idea that it’s a wonder no one thought of it before.
Recorded on Island patron Chris Blackwell’s colonial ex-plantation property Strawberry Hill, Unplugged marries the unique instrument that is Toots’ pipes with his own guitar plus percussion, bass and his daughter’s backing vocals. This being a scuffs-and-all live jam, Toots hangs loose with the lyrics, going off into revival-style exhortations and adlibs.
The mood is playful: Toots counts “one, two, nine, 10,” before the uplifting but foreboding Pressure Drop, and remarks that “This song is easy to play – not so easy to sing, though” of the mighty Monkey Man.
Even more recent material, like True Love Is Hard to Find (the title piece from 2004’s Grammy winning duet project), has a simple grit the studio cuts lack.
Also present are historic milestones: 1966 Jamaican Festival Song contest winner Bam Bam, and Do the Reggay (thought to be the debut use of the word on record – although Larry Marshall and Clancy Eccles have claims to the first tune in the style).
The major criticism is that, given it dovetails with 50 years of Jamaican Independence, more of the Maytals’ old ska numbers could have been included. The one example here, I’ll Never Grow Old, (with My New Name tacked on at the end) is a high point.
The album comes with a DVD containing three filmed recordings. There’s the Strawberry jam, a 1981 concert for German TV institution Rockpalast, and the informative – if uncritical – documentary Reggae Got Soul. Here, we hear that Toots wrote Monkey Man for then-producer Leslie Kong’s legendarily ugly brother.
Just as Toots’ fellow Kong label-mate Jimmy Cliff recently went back-to-basics and recorded a late landmark, Mr Hibbert has done the same. These songs will never grow old, and this is Toots’ best album in years.
Edit: the Reggae Got Soul doc has been broadcast by the BBC and on Iplayer, it’s also up on youtube
2019 remaster, on vinyl…
Alanis Morissette - “havoc and bright lights” (2012)