Cut The Crap And Set I Free

The return of an anarcho punk outfit formed in 1980, with their first studio album in over two deacdes? 

A guest appearance from a much-missed revolutionary writer who passed away 18 months ago? 

A song seemingly named after the notorious final album by The Clash?

That'll be Conflict featuring Benjamin Zephaniah with Cut The Crap, then.

I have to admit that it was the second one that piqued my curiosity and hooked me in, but I'm glad it did.

Cut The Crap is a song of two halves: the first comes in with a clash of percussion, frenetic bass then full on aural pummel as vocalist Fiona Friel switches between shouting and spoken word vocals.

I am history!

My history, your history, our history.

It's not just black and white,

It's shared,

It's in us every day,

Bound by the chains of our mutual DNA.

We are all commodities, 

Yes, that is true.

But have you ever been bought and sold like cattle,

Treated like a chattel?

No, I didn't think so.

And for all the libraries and schools they built,

We'll never admonish them of their guilt,

Full of books filled with big white lies.

This is our history!

And then at 1:25, as Fiona is questioning herself ("But what do I know? Who am I to say?"), Benjamin appears on screen. the song's tempo changes down a gear and the notes of a melodica creep in. Fiona introduces the song's special guest

Listen to one who has felt your ignorance

A gentleman, a scholar, a poet

The song's second half then shifts into full on skank, as Benjamin delivers a monologue that gives the song (and this post) its title. 

I have not drunk your wine,

That blood you shed is mine,

Your paper I won't sign,

Cut the crap and set I free.

You offer me a share,

You're acting like you care,

But how did I get here?

Can we check the history.

You want me to look like you?

It's a fear you're going through,

What you offer me won't do.

Cut the crap and set I free.

All in all, an unexpected find but a great song that delivers on many levels. Possibly not enough of an enticement to purchase the full album, This Much Remains. That said, I am intrigued by the boxset limited edition of 300.

For a cool seventy notes, you get the album on vinyl (white), CD & cassette. In addition, there's a sticker, patch, tote bag, signed print, signed lyric sheet, A3 poster and badge set. 

Best of all though is the "Bottle of Conflict vegan chilli sauce". Not something you're going to find on the shelf at your local supermarket...but wouldn't it be great if you did?!

Gangsters, Gangsters, Everywhere Gangsters

Gangsters, the latest single from Mark Pritchard and Thom Yorke's Tall Tales album has arrived with a mesmerising / fascinating / irritating (delete as applicable) video by Jonathan Zawada.

I haven't yet heard the album, but it's piqued my curiosity and I will check it out at some point. This listen took me down a different - and more obvious - rabbit hole of songs with a gangster...with no prizes for guessing where it ends up.

A few special mentions: 

1) I've never seen the video for Gangsterville by Joe Strummer before, so that was a treat even if the audio quality is a bit hissy;

2) In case you don't already know, The Sinister Ducks were a super group, comprising Max Akropolis, Capt. José da Silva and Translucia Baboon, better known to you and me as Alex Green (Jazz Butcher), David J (Bauhaus) and Alan Moore (comics legend), with visuals by Kevin O'Neill (also a comics legend);

3) Up until about 5 minutes ago, I was convinced that the repeatedly sampled line in Gangster Trippin by Fatboy Slim was not "What we're doin' when a" but "Fluff with the women" and I am greatly disappointed to be corrected.

4) It doesn't get much better than the last song, does it?

Had I more time, I would have presented this as a Dubhed selection. Instead, enjoy the videos (where available) and some rather cracking tunes.

 
1) Gangsters: Mark Pritchard & Thom Yorke (2025)

2) Big Time Gangsters: Benjamin Zephaniah (1990)

3) Gangster: Dreadzone (2010)

4) Gangster: Electronic (1992)

5) Gangster Of Love Part I & II: Jimmy Norman (1968)

6) Gangster Of Love: Talking Heads (1991)

7) Gangsterville: Joe Strummer (1989)

8) Old Gangsters Never Die: The Sinister Ducks (1983)

9) Gangster Chronicle (Live @ Green Theatre, Kiev) (Cover of London Posse): Tricky ft. Bella Gotti (2014)

10) Cowboys & Gangsters: Gichy Dan's Beachwood #9 (1981)

11) Gangster Trippin: Fatboy Slim (1998)

12) Gangsters: The Special AKA (1979)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Growing In My Backyard

Sun is shining, bass is booming, rhythm is rocksteady...must be be another Sunday reggae and dub session.

Hometown rockers Talisman get things off to a superb start with the 11-minute 12" mix of Dole Age, originally a vinyl side in 1981, introduced to a whole new audience (me included) with the excellent 2011 compilation The Bristol Reggae Explosion 1978-1983. An essential purchase.

From there, it's a mix of 20th and 21st century sounds. The latter is represented by all-female combo Tight Spot with an unreleased song discovered and released by Happy People Records on 7" vinyl in 2021. An album highlight of the same year was Clarion Call by Xan Tyler and Mad Professor, delivering sharp lyrics with sweet rhythms. Rhoda Dakar delivers a David Bowie classic with aplomb, offering up a dubbed out version on the flipside. And three legends come together, with Horace Andy teaming up with Sly & Robbie for a modern dub colossus.

There's a brief stop in the 1990s to witness Benjamin Zephaniah and The Hazardous Dub Company with a cautionary tale that sadly resonates three decades later.

Back then to the 1970s and 1980s, a veritable who's who of reggae, lovers rock and dub legends, with Bob Marley & The Wailers versus a pre-'Scratch' Lee Perry, Louisa Mark, Tapper Zukie, Sylvia Tella and King Tubby dubbing up Yabby You. 

 

In 2021, Happy People also offered up a deep cut vinyl 7" by G.T. Moore & The Reggae Guitars. Remembered as the first white group to attempt an authentic reggae sound on record, their self-titled debut in 1974 closed with a version of Bob Dylan's Knocking On Heaven's Door. Sound familiar? Well, this guy had a hit with an 'inspired' version less than a year later...

Ending the selection the only way possible, Black Uhuru sing the praises of Sinsemilla, the title track of their third album from 1980 and the record that crossed over to a global audience. Michael Rose, Sharon 'Puma' Jones and Derrick 'Duckie' Simpson telling it how it is, Sly & Robbie laying it down. It doesn't get much better than this.

 

1) Dole Age (12" Mix By Talisman & UK Scientist aka Richard Grassby-Lewis): Talisman (1981)

2) Air Tight (Version By Spero Anthony): Tight Spot (2003)

3) Like Birds: Xan Tyler & Mad Professor (2021)

4) Spell (Album Version By Lloyd Charmers & Maxi Million): Sylvia Tella (1981)

5) The Man Who Dubbed The World (Cover of David Bowie): Rhoda Dakar (2022)

6) I'm Alive Dub: Horace Andy + Sly & Robbie (2006)

7) Allies (Album Version By Dr. Love & Dennis Rootical): Benjamin Zephaniah & The Hazardous Dub Company (1995)

8) Firey Dub (Version By King Tubby): Yabby You (1977)

9) Rush I Some Dub: Tapper Zukie (1977)

10) Sun Is Shining (Dub) (Version By Bob Marley & Lee Perry): Bob Marley & The Wailers (1971)

11) Keep It Like It Is (Album Version By Clement 'Bush Ranger' Bushay): Louisa Mark (1981)

12) People (Who Killed People) (Album Version By Gerald Thomas Moore & Tony Braunagel): G.T. Moore & The Reggae Guitars (1975)

13) Sinsemilla (Album Version By Sly & Robbie): Black Uhuru (1980)

1971: Soul Revolution Part II ('Rhythm' Version): 10

1975: Reggae Blue: 12

1977: King Tubby Meet Vivian Jackson (Yabby You): 8

1977: Tapper Zukie In Dub: 9

1980: Sinsemilla: 13

1981: Breakout: 11

1981: Dole Age EP: 1

1981: Spell: 4 

1995: Back To Roots: 7 

2006: Dubbin' It Up: 6

2021: Clarion Call: 3

2021: Time Heals Everything EP: 2

2022: The Man Who Sold The World EP: 5

Growing In My Backyard (57:45) (GD) (M)

Loving Each Other Is The Ting To Do

Celebrating Benjamin Zephaniah, 15th April 1958 to 6th December 2023.

 

This came as a real shock. Diagnosed with a brain tumour eight weeks previously and gone far, far too soon. Born Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Springer in Birmingham, of Barbadian and Jamaican heritage, he first performed poetry at age 11 and adopted the name Zephaniah soon after.

I've written previously that it was an inspirational English teacher at secondary school, who burst our predominantly white working- & middle-class suburban bubble by incorporating the poetry of Benjamin Zephaniah and Linton Kwesi Johnson into our studies, a life changing moment for me.

 

Here then is a selection of Benjamin's words set to music across several EPs and albums spanning the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. Sixty five minutes of dub poetry, a minute for each year of Benjamin Zephaniah's life.

Sonically, it's a roll call of talent. 1983's debut album Rasta featured The Wailers performing for the first time since Bob Marley's death. Producers have included Mad Professor, The Sea aka Corin Pennington, Paul 'Groucho' Smykle and  Trevor Morais. Aside from The Wailers, Benjamin has been accompanied by Talvin Singh, Dennis Bovell, Andy Sheppard, The Hazardous Dub Company and Howard Jones (yes, the very same).

Rest in poetry, Benjamin, rest in peace, Zephaniah, rest in power.

1) Things We Say (2005)

2) In Times Like These (1996)

3) President (2017)

4) Progress (1990)

5) Sadhu: David Lowe's Dreamcatcher ft. Benjamin Zephaniah (2006)

6) Free South Afrika (Illegal) (1983)

7) Everybody Hav A Gun (1990)

8) Luv Warrior (1996)

9) Earth Liberation Sound (2017)

10) History (1990)

11) Roots And Culture (1996)

12) I Don't Like (1982)

13) I Love Me Mudder (1983)

14) Cool Down (2017)

15) Self Defense (1995)

16) Our Fathers (2005)

17) "what is a poem?" (2018) 

1982: Dub Ranting EP: 12

1983: Rasta: 6

1989: Rasta (bonus tracks) (Switzerland): 13

1990: Us An Dem: 4, 7, 10

1995: Back To Roots: 15

1996: Belly Of The Beast: 2, 8, 11

2005: Naked: 1, 16

2006: What...Is In Between?: 5

2017: Revolutionary Minds: 3, 9, 14

2018: John Robb In Conversation With Benjamin Zephaniah: 17

 

Loving Each Other Is The Ting To Do (1:05:13) (KF) (Mega)

You can find From Fantasy To Reality, my 2021 Dubhed selection featuring Benjamin Zephaniah and Linton Kwesi Johnson, right here.

In 1995, Tim Simenon released Clear, his third album as Bomb The Bass and arguably his finest work to date. The record ends with Empire, featuring Benjamin Zephaniah and Sinéad O'Connor, another incredible creative talent sadly lost too young this year.

Search You Tube and you'll find plenty of Benjamin Zephaniah performances. Money sees Benjamin walking and talking through Newcastle in 1991, very much a snapshot of the time but unfortunately resonating just as much in 2023.

 

 

There's also a wealth of interviews available online. If you have an hour to spare, then I'd heartily recommend John Robb in conversation with Benjamin Zephaniah from 2018. It's a joy.

 

 

I Love Me Mudder (1982) 

 

I love me mudder and me mudder love me

we come so far from over de sea

we heard dat de streets were paved with gold

sometime it hot sometime it cold,

 

 I love me mudder and me mudder love me

 we try fe live in harmony

 well, you may call her Valerie

 but to me she is my mummy.

 

 She shouts at me daddy so loud some time

she don't smoke weed and she don't drink wine

 she always does the best she can

 she works so hard down inna England,

 

 She's always singing some kind of song

 she have big muscles an she very very strong.

 she likes pussy cats an she love cashew nuts

 she don't bother with no ifs and buts.

 

 I love me mudder and me mudder love me

we come so far from over de sea

 we heard dat de streets were paved with gold

 sometime it hot sometime it cold,

 

 I love her and she love me too

 and dis is a love I know is true

 my friends, I'm talking to you

 me and me mudder, we love you too

Note: these are the words in the recorded in the version featured in this selection. The final verse of the original poem - and inspiration for today's post title - are

I love her and she love me too

 and dis is a love I know is true

 my family unit extends to you

 loving each other is the ting to do

Nothing Compares

Celebrating Shuhada Sadaqat aka Sinéad O'Connor, 8th December 1966 to 26th July 2023. 

So much has been written about her in the hours since her passing, that I feel that there's nothing meaningful that I can add, other than she was an inspiration, fierce and defiant and passionate in the face of criticism, abuse and attack. I was heartbroken as she endured so many tragedies and low points and I hope she is now at rest, in peace, in power.

Although she changed her name several times, most recently in 2019, she continued to perform as Sinéad O'Connor. I only have a smattering of songs across her long and varied career, which is represented by the possibly more obscure choices on this selection. Twelve songs, half and half solo and collaborations, just over an hour and ending with an epic 13-minute remix of Fire On Babylon.

I have the album version of Nothing Compares 2 U (and a pretty dire Art Of Compilation remix from 1991), but I've included a 2019 performance on Irish TV which is the 'newest' song on this selection. The oldest - Heroine with The Edge from U2 - predates her debut album and appeared on the soundtrack to 1986 film Captive.

 

Shuhada Sadaqat has departed, but Sinéad O'Connor will live on through her music and the comfort, power and joy it's brought to so many.

 

1) What Your Soul Sings (Album Version): Massive Attack ft. Sinéad O'Connor (2003)

2) I Am Stretched On Your Grave (Apple Brightness Mix By Super DJ Dmitry & Jungle DJ Towa Towa) (Cover of 17th century Irish poem): Sinéad O'Connor (1990)

3) The Value Of Ignorance: Sinéad O'Connor (1990)

4)  I Would Die 4 U (Cover of Prince & The Revolution): Radio Riddler ft. Sinéad O'Connor (2014)

5) Dense Water, Deeper Down: Sinéad O'Connor (2014)

6) Empire: Bomb The Bass ft. Sinéad O'Connor & Benjamin Zephaniah (1995)

7) Heroine (Theme From 'Captive'): The Edge & Michael Brook ft. Sinéad O'Connor (1986)

8) I Want Your (Hands On Me) (Street Mix By Audio Two): Sinéad O'Connor ft. MC Lyte (1988)

9) Very Far From Home: Sinéad O'Connor (2012)

10) Nothing Compares 2 U (Live @ The Late Late Show, RTÉ One) (Cover of The Family): Sinéad O'Connor (2019)

11) Kindgom Of Rain: The The ft. Sinéad O'Connor (1989)

12) Fire On Babylon (Remix By John Reynolds): Sinéad O'Connor ft. Abdel Ali Slimani (1994)

1986: Captive OST: 7

1988: I Want Your (Hands On Me) EP: 8

1989: Mind Bomb: 11

1990: The Emperor's New Clothes EP: 2

1990: Three Babies EP: 3

1994: Thank You For Hearing Me EP: 12

1995: Clear: 6

2003: 100th Window: 1

2012: How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?: 9

2014: I'm Not Bossy, I'm The Boss: 5

2014: Purple Reggae: 4

2019: Live On The Late Late Show: 10

Nothing Compares (1:05:43) (KF) (Mega)

Mad Dub

An hour (more or less) of Mad Professor aka Neil Fraser to dub up your Sunday. 

 

Fourteen collaborations with or dubs for other artists, spanning an incredible four decades and providing a perfect excuse to sit down and chill out. Just like this ring-tailed lemur, that seemed largely indifferent to the agog Clan K standing just a couple of feet away at Wild Place in Bristol a couple of weekends ago.

Sticking with Bristol, the earliest song in this selection is by Restriction from 1983. The band featured Rob Smith (of Smith & Mighty and RSD fame) and came to my attention via the excellent compilations issued by Bristol Archive Records. 

Another Bristol act who really need no introduction is Massive Attack and, to be honest, I could easily have stuck with a Mad Professor selection just focusing on the many top-notch dubs he's produced for them since the 1990s. I have plumped for a Protection-era version but one which didn't appear on the companion album, instead popping up on a compilation to raise money for the charity Shelter. As an added bonus, it's a dub of Better Things, featuring Tracey Thorn. 

Sticking with the more obscure is Mad Professor's dubby vocal mix of Chapterhouse's 1991 song Mesmerise. I think it was one of several remixes of early 1990s indie acts commissioned exclusively for the 1999 film Splendor. I bought the soundtrack CD, I've never seen the film.

 

Slick Sixty make their second appearance this week (a Justin Robertson remix appeared in Friday's selection), not bad for an act who only released three singles, two promos and one album in their lifetime. 

Rather more well known but possibly an unexpected choice are Depeche Mode. Slowblow was a B-side to 1997 single It's No Good but Mad Professor's dub remained unreleased until the Depeche Mode Remixes 81···04 in 2004 and even then only as a limited 'rare tracks' download companion available on their official website. 

The selection draws to a close with Mad Professor's inspired partnership with Xan Tyler on one of my favourite albums of 2022, Clarion Call. This is a dub of their version of Townes Van Zandt's 1969 song Be Here To Love Me and available as a bonus track on the digital edition of Clarion Call. Recommended.

 

1) Love Is Stronger Than Pride (Mad Professor Mix): Sade (1992)

2) Life's A Beach (Mad Professor Dub): Django Django (2022)

3) Restriction (Single Version By Restriction & Mad Professor): Restriction (1983)

4) Jamaica (Mad Professor Dub): Van She (2012)

5) Analógica Dub (Remix By Mad Professor): Frente Cumbiero (2010)

6) Dubbing Home: Bob Andy & Mad Professor (1989)

7) Guilt-Edged (Single Version By Tony McDermott & Mad Professor): Champion Doug Veitch & The Igbira Nation (1984)

8) Margo's B&B (Mad Professor's B&B): Slick Sixty (1998)

9) Slowblow (Mad Professor Mix): Depeche Mode (1997)

10) Marijuana Dub: Mad Professor & Prince Fatty ft. Earl Sixteen (2015)

11) Suck Me Up Dub (Remix By Mad Professor): Massive Attack ft. Tracey Thorn (1995)

12) Mesmerise (The Mesmerising Vocal Mix By Mad Professor): Chapterhouse (1998)

13) Free South Africa (Dub) (Remix By Lindel Lewis & Mad Professor): Benjamin Zephaniah (1983)

14) Be Here To Dub Me (Cover of 'Be Here To Love Me' by Townes Van Zandt): Xan Tyler & Mad Professor (2021)

1984: Not The Heart EP: 7

1989: Bob Andy's Dub Book: As Revealed To Mad Professor: 6

1989: Rasta (bonus tracks) (Switzerland CD): 13

1992: Feel No Pain EP: 1

1997: Foundations: Coming Up From The Streets: 11

1998: The Wrestler EP: 8 

1999: Splendor OST: 12

2004: Depeche Mode Remixes 81···04 (Rare Tracks): 9

2010: Frente Cumbiero Meets Mad Professor: 5

2011: The Bristol Reggae Explosion 1978-1983: 3

2013: Modular Presents Modyssey: 4 

2015: Mad Professor Meets Prince Fatty In The Clone Theory: 10

2021: Clarion Call (bonus tracks): 14

2022: Django Django Meets Mad Professor: A Dub Rework: 2

Mad Dub (59:28) (Box) (Mega)

SunDub

Another Sunday dub excursion, with a generous helping of Rob Smith. Mad Professor and Prince Fatty, with a side serving of Adrian Sherwood, Youth and Gaudi.

 

1) Yak Dub: Alien Dread (2004)

2) Dub Mentality (Live @ Festimad Festival, Madrid, 2nd May 1998): Asian Dub Foundation (1998)

3) Free South Africa (Dub) (Remix By Lindel Lewis & Mad Professor): Benjamin Zephaniah (1983)

4) Bad Man (Dub By RSD aka Rob Smith): Horace Andy ft. Million Teeth (2013)

5) Ragga Muffin Style (Dub) (Remix By Rob Smith): Jah Stitch (2015)

6) North, East, West, South (Prince Fatty Dub): The Last Poets (2019)

7) Idi Amin Dub: Mad Professor & Prince Fatty (2015)

8) Afghani Dub (Version By Adrian Sherwood): The Mothmen (1981)

9) Kung Fu Battle Ina Brixton (Dub): Prince Fatty (2012)

10) Hip Dub: Vivian Weathers (1978)

11) Ganjaman (Deep Fried Dub Remix): Youth & Gaudi (2020)

1978: Bad Weather: 10

1981: Wild Paarty Sounds: 8

1989: Rasta (bonus tracks): 3

1998: Black White EP: 2

2012: Kung Fu Battle Ina Brixton EP: 9

2013: Broken Beats: 4

2015: Mad Professor Meets Prince Fatty In The Clone Theory: 7

2015: Mixwork In Dub: 5

2017: Conquering Dub (Expanded Edition): 1

2019: Understand What Dub Is: 6

2020: Astronaut Alchemists Remixes: 11

SunDub (42:57) (GD) (M)