Dub / Reggae: An Idiot's Guide

Beyond that, a personal semi-obscuro favorite of mine is Junior Byles' retrospective _Curlylocks_, on Heartbeat.

And finally: a few months back I put together tracklists for Even Tougher Than Tough: Jamaican Classics 1962-95, my own self-styled sequel to the Island box mentioned above. (Tracklists are available here.) If anyone's got suggestions for improvement, let's have 'em.

However, this being said, I think that you could say that everyone who likes dub likes reggae, and everyone who likes reggae would probably like dub, if they knew what it was.

Want some good stuff?

I agree with everything that has been said, but I'd also recommend:

If Deejay was your trade - Various (Blood and Fire) Mad Professor vs. Massive Attack - No Protection Horace Andy - In the Light and In the Light Dub Prince Alla - Only Love Can Conquer Sizzla - Reggae Max

Some of my favourites, not not exactly a comprehensive selection.

Pick up the Rough Guide 100 Essential Reggae CDS. It makes for great reading and is a lovely conversation starter.

U

SOUND

There's lots of great earlier reggae too: I'm particularly fond of Clancy Eccles's productions, Amalgamated-era Joe Gibbs, a lot of Bunny Lee stuff and Winston 'Niney' Holness, probably the heaviest of the early reggae fellows.

A step back a little further to rocksteady can't do any harm, either: the golden age of Treasure Isle.

The other thing I think should be mentioned in this thread is Studio 1. The greatest body of work in Jamaican music bar none. You can never go wrong with the series of "Best of Studio 1" compilations which Heartbeat put out which span early reggae to roots stuff. LPs? I's start with "Bob Andy's Songbook", Cedric 'IM' Brooks's "Flash Forward", "The Wailing Souls" and "Bobby Bobylon" by Freddie Macgregor. But there's loads more to be found.

My other *real* thing at the moment is 70s Gregory Isaacs. More Gregory. Gregory, Horace Andy and Junior Byles are three of my top 10 voices ever.

The first version I had of that LP (which was a taped version of a Jamaican pressing on Joe Gibbs with the primarily yellow sleeve and a colour version of the photo) had a little reprise / dub of the last track on the second side. Just about 45 seconds of wild dubbing on "Under Heavy Manners". I've heard vinyl and CD reissues on Gibbs and never found another version with that little coda, and it upsets me a little. Anyone have any versions which do have the little end bit? (BTW, it's not the same as the various dub versions I have of the rhythm).

mj, do you have "Prophecy Reveal" by Bo Jangles? I know it was re- pressed a while back but I've never found it. Is it on the "Money In My Pocket" rhythm?

I work for a publishing company and we will be reissuing Beth Lesser's "King Jammy" - it is the definitive book on 80s dancehall. Beth is also a photographer--her work has appeared in the Rough Guide, among other publications.

Just for interest sake, is anyone on this thread (or any dub/reggae fans) intrigued?

Bim Sherman's 'Miracle', while not exactly Reggae, is still utterly wonderful.

The first dub album? I forget, but one of them. One of the craziest too. Mad loping grooves, everything and the kitchen sink samples before there were samples.

Lee Scratch Perry--Super Ape

Primo mid-70s Scratch. Smooth, rootsical, deep, hypnotic...

But never mind me and my minor griping. Have I thanked you all for your recommendations yet? I haven't gone out and bought anything, mind you, but when I do, you'll be the 10th or 11th to know.

You just can't get it loud enough at home. It's gotta be so heavy that you can feel the bass from your fingers through to your toes. I'd pay $25 for that--then again, I'm Canadian. Don't know whether I'd pay $25 US.

Bring on the Scratch, Jammy, and Tubby...and forward the bass.

Thanks for the Echo Dek rec, that is some good shit. What’s a good reggae book?

Lloyd Bradley's book, which is called Bass Music in the UK and This Is Reggae Music in the US, is justly celebrated with the caveat that he's against anything post-roots

I also remember liking David Katz's oral history Solid Foundation, though it's been a long time. I haven't read his Scratch bio but I believe it's fairly well regarded.

The Rough Guide to Reggae is quite good too, though obvs not a continuous narrative.

Michael Veal's Dub book is kind of dry but worth a look

Co-sign Lloyd Bradley, with the same caveats about the post-roots stuff (albeit I think in later editions he does revisit and revise his views of eg dancehall?). The recent '100 Days of Dub' by Martin 'Skyjuice' Blomqvist is getting very good reviews.

paolo otm

The Blomqvist book is OK. There are definitely a lot of records in there I didn't know about that I will check out, but it's hardly a deep dive. Each entry is like a paragraph. And I know that English is not the author's first language, but the writing (and copy editing) is pretty bad. That said, I realize its function is not necessarily to provide prose that dances off the page. The author's enthusiasm is persuasive, and his expertise is apparent. It's a good book for info, and worth getting if you want to add a few dozen titles to your dub wantlist, but not much more than that. You can read the whole thing in less than an hour.

I just re-read my post and realized it comes off a tad harsh, which was not my intention. I think anyone who bothered to click on this thread will benefit greatly from reading it. It's clearly a labor of love, emphasis on the love. I just would have liked to have seen a bit more research and a lot more copy editing.

Just noticed that Prince Far I's name is rendered as "Prince Farl" throughout the book

https://i.discogs.com/pa702HiTAXWZy1mm5XPJuCCEXKPXHbFFm8S6Um9jOT0/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:600/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTEwNzU5/NzQxLTE1MDM4MjIw/ODQtNDY2Ny5tcG8.jpeg

Greetings! My book "100 days of dub" was not meant to be an encyclopedia of dub records, it just me going through my collection, record by record, adding my thoughts on each album. It is written in a more conversational tone maybe but that is the way I like to discuss music. It can of course work as guide to those who want to know more and for those who already know.

My new book, "Reggae Disco 45" goes a bit deeper and includes label scans and sometimes more in depth information. This book focuses on the 12 inch and 10 inch format. Roots reggae music from the early 70´s and beyond. In the book I go through 600 + records over 470 pages. For those interested there are still copies available at Dubvendor, Lionvibes, Championsound records etc. A Limited press of 500 copies worldwide. Respect every time!!

sounds great!

it does!! and i really enjoyed 100 days of dub :)

Thanks, Skyjuice! I'll be picking this one up for sure. Nice work.

same. thanks, skyjuice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR9FroSWqRQ
Derrick Harriott - Go Away Dream

what a great tune

hope this is the right thread for it (never sure how to discern reggae from rocksteady etc)

since this seems to be the most active all-purpose reggae thread, i thought i'd post this here (in addition to the 'C/D Christmas music' thread).

i tried to make a mix of holiday reggae tunes that 1) i actually like and 2) focuses mostly on '60s rocksteady. there's some ska, mento, and early reggae ('70-'71) here too. thought some of you might enjoy it.

https://www.mixcloud.com/abschied/christmas-in-jamaica/

Really enjoying this mix. Have never heard any of these but I’ve liked them all so far. Thanks.

glad you like it! pretty much my target audience, lol

Cool, thanks!

My friend and I have a theory that no song or style of music can't be reggaefied. Beatles, metal, Christmas music ...

Listening now! Do you have a playlist?

yup, here you are

1. The Wailers - White Christmas [1965]
2. Richard Stoute - Rocksteady Christmas [1969]
3. Rico Rodriguez - Jingle Bells [1967]
4. Rueben Anderson - Christmas Time Again [1966]
5. The Kingstonians - Merry Christmas [1967]
6. Augustus Pablo - Snowball and Pudding [1971]
7. Granville Willams Orchestra - Santa Clause Is Ska-ing to Town [1965]
8. Owen Gray - Collins Greetings [1967]
9. Terry & the Hurricanes - Sleigh Jump [1967]
10. Trevor & the Maytones - Everyday Is Like a Holiday [1969]
11. Toots & the Maytals - Christmas Feeling Ska [1964]
12. Rico Rodriguez - Silent Night [1967]
13. Hopeton Lewis - Happy Christmas [1968]
14. The Ethiopians - Ding Dong Bell [1968]
15. Byron Lee & the Dragonaires - White Christmas [1969]
16. Ruddy & Sketto w/ Laurel Aitken - Christmas Blues [1962]
17. Alton Ellis & the Lipsticks - Merry Merry Christmas [1971]
18. Prince Buster & the Charmers - Long Winter [1965]
19. Don Cornel & the Eternals - Christmas Joy [1970]
20. Desmond Dekker & the Aces - Christmas Day [1968]

I put this on at my mother-in-law's and it was a hit, great mix!

yes indeed!

Thanks budo

love this, budo jesu, thank you

this is excellent, thx!

thanks for giving it a listen, i'm happy to hear it was enjoyed

For UK ilxors - Mad Professor is appearing on The Repair Shop tonight (!?), getting a processor repaired.

is budo jeru’s christmas mix simply the best christmas album ever? srs question

:D

listened to budo’s mix on the way out to my parent’s place for christmas dinner on monday. me and the mrs really enjoyed it

i regret not taking a bluetooth speaker to share with the fam

like it!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGLmOjymMDc

this is my favourite jamaican christmas song. it's kind of a sad one

I stumbled across this tonight (Repair Shop is our family zero effort TV) and it's sort of head-frying or dreamlike - Mad Professor brings in a phaser he'd got off Lee Perry and asks them to get it working. The electronics guy who usually just fixes radios and turntables is out of his depth, god love him. Not even a celebrity episode - it's stuck in with a dog-handling ex-copper getting his life-sized ceramic Alsatian repaired and an extremely rugby-playing man getting the rugby boots he got when he was 6 patched up.

iplayer link - "An intriguing 1970s electronic sound effect machine causes a commotion at the barn."

Whoops, meant to quote this:

For UK ilxors - Mad Professor is appearing on The Repair Shop tonight (!?), getting a processor repaired.

― Twelves, Wednesday, December 27, 2023 5:42 PM (two weeks ago) bookmarkflaglink

I want to thank this thread for recommending "Dadawah" LP. after my mom passed away it was the only thing I could bear to listen to, like, easing my way back into listening to music. Something about it is good for enduring

Condolences, D-40. I hear you, it's really hard to get back into music after losing someone close. When my dad passed, it took me a long time to play any record. Eventually, it was Pharoah Sanders' Harvest Time that stayed on repeat until I could listen to anything else. I'd argue that it's a similar feel to that Dadawah record.

yes, sorry to hear that D40, truly

picked this one up for a quid early today, hadn't heard it before but it's good!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmFs5Ldu1lk
Teddy Irie - Tear It Down

Yeah D-40 I would like to echo everyone's sympathies and add that when I was dealing with the long period between my dad's sudden hospitalization and his passing (about 18 months) one of the only types of music i could tolerate was dub. i listened to a LOT of King Tubby. Like hours per week. There's something special about how it lowers the heartrate I think? Idk.

Huh, I hadn't made that connection but since my Dad died almost 2 years ago I've gone deep into King Tubby, Augustus Pablo, Dr. Alimontado and recently picked up a STELLAR comp called "Step Forward Youth". You may be right that this music soothes the grieving soul.

I've been absorbed by the Joe Gibbs compilations Cherry Red has been putting out recently through their Doctor Bird imprint.

Joe Gibbs & the Professionals, 100 Years of Dub 2CD

Joe Gibbs & the Professionals, The 1970s Dub Albums Collection 4CD

United Dreadlocks Vols 1 & 2 - Joe Gibbs Roots Reggae 1976-1977 2CD

I just heard Gregory Isaacs' "Night Nurse" for the first time. It is amazing - give me more robo-reggae.

wow! i'd love to be hearing it for the 1st time. the dub of it is extraordinary too.

I will have to check that out. I swoon for that synth sound.

More robo-reggae? Here you go

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU2kjMMU0Sk

Yes! Thank you!

Lol @ that Atari sound on track 2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNzo2Jk77eU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL2Ll454OnA

chi ba wa wa