Dub / Reggae: An Idiot's Guide

re: congos being overrated

this is truly an idiot's guide

well, elan, ni gistubus non disputandum and all that. and i feel olde saying i've listened to lots of reggae over the last 25+ years and that record did not hold up for me

haha, maybe not for me then.

De gustibus non est disputandum = GREAT PHRASE and certainly true. Except here, since Heart Of The Congos, is indisputably fantastic.

(j/k)

This is sooooooo fantastic:

http://www.discogs.com/release/223248

i heard this a long time ago and wasn't into it. i'll have to give it another chance

Do you no like Scientist, am0n?

re: congos being overrated

this is truly an idiot's guide

well, elan, ni gistubus non disputandum and all that. and i feel olde saying i've listened to lots of reggae over the last 25+ years and that record did not hold up for me

-- outdoor_miner,

I'll probably be shot down for this as well but I'm not a huge fan of that record either. There's only so much falsetto I can take in one sitting. I still love Perry's production on it of course.

Real question for non-Congos fans. Do you generally like Jamaican harmony groups (Mighty Diamonds, Gladiators, Abyssinians, Meditations, Royals, Wailers, etc) or are you mostly a fan of solo singers and deejays?

I'd have to say the latter, but mainly because I've heard very little from those groups unfortunately.

@Alex: nah i like scientist, i probably heard that before i was into that kind of 80s/junjo period stuff

on separate note - i really can't hang with those uk reggae bands, steel pulse, uhuru, etc. rock guitar solos? - no thanks

Uhuru are def. not UK.

Also don't remember too many solos on Love Crisis, Showcase, Sinsemilla, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner. Seriously great Sly & Robbie stuff though (actually the first is Jammy, I think, but still.)

ahah i'm confusing them with Aswad

see that steel pulse youtube upthread re: guitar solo

I'm not a huge UK reggae band fan actually. I much prefer the lover's stuff from the same period.

Aswad's Live and Direct is a total jam, probably the only Aswad you need to own. Misty in Roots are my favourite British reggae act, pretty much all of their stuff is worthwhile.

you're right, outdoor miner, i was just going for the cheap shot over one of my favorite collection of songs.

see that steel pulse youtube upthread re: guitar solo

i agree on that, but the studio shit is better.

BTW for some prime slices of pre-digital dancehall try these currently cheap comps of Uptempo label stuff (featuring classics like "Golden Hen" and "Lazer Beam" and plenty of other rarer goodness.)

Ernie B's! That place is the shit, I've bought a bunch there lately.

It's the best webshop around (by a huge margin.) Everything is cheapest prices around, ships quick and everything they say they have they actually have (with one exception like two years ago.)

king jammy book arrived, looks really nice. kind of short but they added excerpts from some old reggae mag to pad it out. more than worth the little i paid in any case.

anyone seen this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPz6lAa4y-I
looks excellent judging from the trailer but the list of names featured at the end leads me to believe it might be full of crap electronica acts bigging up lee perry

also this blog has a sick linval thompson dub album that i've never heard of for download here

http://agonyshorthand.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/original_rockers_fr-768759.jpg

I dunno, Am0n, it seems that in addition to the 'crap electronica acts' the most important figures (that are still alive) are featured: http://www.dubechoes.com/?page_id=5

I wonder if this will ever make the UK. Film distribution in this country is notoriously crap.

Thanks for the tip, anyway. And Original Rockers is a truly fantastic record!

http://members.shaw.ca/dublp3/scientistandjammystrikebackA.JPG

ahhhhh so many copyright violations

Currently listening to Scientist & Prince Jammy's awesome Dub Landing (which I got for $6 from Ernie B's.) Seriously stellar stuff.

hmmm I don't have that one. god there's so much of this stuff.

Seriously nothing but good on Auralux. Everything that was out on the label at the time was at last year's big sale for $5-6 a piece.

i think i have dub landing vol. 2?

this one is really good too http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=26101 its actually a scientist album even though it says coxsone etc. on the cover

Actually the CD is Dub Landing 1 & 2. There is another Scientist/Jammy disc on Auralux too called DC Dub Connection, I think. That came out last couple of months.

http://www.timbuktunes.com/covers/cover-5060130070972.jpg

one of the better things i've heard recently. lazer beam dub hell yeah

dood Ernie B's is selling that Jammy and Scientist Strike Back LP for $150.

someone recommend where to start with the following:
U-Roy
I-Roy
Roots Radics Band
Sly and the Revolutionaries
Gregory Isaacs
solo Wailers stuff (besides Legalize It!)

U-Roy = I like the Right Time Rockers album. . . some people swear by the Treasure Isle stuff, but I tend to prefer the stuff he's versioning
I-Roy = that Blood Fire collection is pure fire
Roots Radics = virtually everything released between 80-84 seriously you can't buy a record from this period where they weren't the backing band
The Revolutionaries = for 74-79 kind of the equivalent of the Roots Radics (although they changed names a bit and there are some other great backing groups although often these included Revolutionaries members).
Gregory Isaacs = everything up to and including Night Nurse (there are a few things post this esp. some Gussie Clarke and Tubby productions)
Bunny Wailer = Blackheart Man

Roots Radics and the Revolutionaries are basically impossible to recommend just one record, but if I had to I guess I'd say the Barrington Levy's Shaolin Temple and the Mighty Diamonds Right Time respectively.

Gregory Isaacs I guess I would start with Extra Classic (which Trojan released with some great if scratchy dubs), I guess, but really you can't go wrong with anything pre-83.

tttthx man!

actually I think I have that Barrington Levy - I am really bad at keeping who's on what record straight

Yeah it has about three different names too.

Roots Radics: http://www.roots-archives.com/artist/159

i love the Hugh Mundell - Mundell LP (http://www.roots-archives.com/release/459)
King Tubby - Dangerous Dub - http://www.roots-archives.com/release/1698
Linvall Thompson - Phoenix Dub - http://www.roots-archives.com/release/574
Rod Taylor - Where Is Your Love Mankind - http://www.roots-archives.com/release/351
Rod Taylor - Garden of Eden - http://www.roots-archives.com/release/4733
Scientist - Dub Landing 1+2
Scientist - Scientist Meets The Space Invaders [1981]
Scientist - Scientist Rids The World Of The Evil Curse Of The Vampires [1981]
Scientist - Scientist Wins The World Cup [1982]
Scientist & Jammy - Scientist & Jammy Strike Back [1983]
Scientist v. Prince Jammy - Big Showdown [1980]

Big Showdown is great.

-------------------
U-Roy

Dread Inna Babylon w/ Skin, Flesh + Bones, Soul Syndicate
http://www.roots-archives.com/release/914

I Roy, i don't know too much about but the WhapNBapN LP is an undiscovered gem of Disco/Dread proportions. if Morgan Geist ever caught wind of this LP, it would suddenly be the ultimate lost gem. it's a bit cheesy (0k, a lot cheesy) but it's also fascinating in parts.

i'd say just get the Blood and Fire reissues/compilations for U Roy/I Roy or If Deejay Was Your Trade comp.

------------------------------------------
Sly & Revolutionaries check the Roots Archives pages for Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespear seperately for a complete list of their contributions to jamaican music
http://www.roots-archives.com/artist/29

Barry Brown is one of my favs. but there are really too many great albums they've appeared on to list.

http://www.roots-archives.com/release/454

that barry brown is the shit

this one too http://www.roots-archives.com/release/843

I think I've said it on a half-a-dozen threads but I can't recommend Dub Landing 1 & 2 enough.

I-Roy = that Blood Fire collection is pure fire

The Don't Get Weary Joe Frazier song on this disc is fantastic and sly.

absolutely. Barry Brown is fantastic. the Johnny Clarke combo LP is great. i've recently spent a couple weeks tweaking my Reggae/Dub collection. editing ID3 tags to note backing band, mixer, label, year, artwork and dub album/vocal album counterpart if they weren't named similarly. it's been a wonderful way to appreciate the music. reggae in particular benefits from extended tagging since the backing band wasn't credited and lots of albums that say King Tubbys weren't actually mixed by Tubby.

AS I WOULD SAY!

http://www.soundstagedirect.com/media/linval_thompson_ride_on_dreadlocks.jpg

^underrated

It might be, but it is the least impressive of the Blood & Fire Bunny Lee comps (which makes it still great, but no where near of the class of the Tubby dubs or the Johnny Clarke and Cornell Campbell sets.)