A Brief History Of Dub

... according to Adrian Sherwood, that is.

Having taken The Collapse Of Everything and The Grand Designer EP through the Bandcamp Friday checkout and looking forward to a weekend of Sherwood infused sounds, on a whim I've created a 45-minute Dubhed selection of Adrian's previous work with other artists.

Some old, some new, some familiar, some less. All heavy duty and guaranteed to satisfy your dub palette.

1) Jungle (Album Version By Lee 'Scratch' Perry & Adrian Sherwood): Lee 'Scratch' Perry & Dub Syndicate (1987)

2) Down In It (Singe) (Remix By Adrian Sherwood & Keith LeBlanc): Nine Inch Nails (1989)

3) Death Of A Party (12" Death) (Remix By Adrian Sherwood): Blur (1998)

4) To Let Go (Adrian Sherwood ON-U Sound ReMix): R34L, Mark Pistel, Adrian Sherwood (2022)

5) What Silence Knows (Unreleased Version By Adrian Sherwood & Style Scott): Shara Nelson (1994)

6) Danger Dub (Adrian Sherwood 'Reset In Dub’ Version): Panda Bear & Sonic Boom (2023)

1987: Time Boom x De Devil Dead: 1

1989: Down In It EP: 2

1994: Uptight EP: 5

1998: Bustin' + Dronin': 3

2022: To Let Go EP: 4

2023: Reset In Dub: 6

A Brief History Of Dub (44:59) (GD) (M)

Dub With Me And Then We'll Dub Together

In case you hadn't noticed, Adrian Sherwood's fourth solo album, The Collapse Of Everything, was released into the world on 22nd August.

At risk of predictability, Sunday seems to be frequently my go-to day for sharing dub excutsions on this weaving path through the musical landscape.

Therefore, it would be remiss of me to pass up these converging opportunities to spotlight Sherwood at the controls, with the videos for the first four songs (so far) from the album.

Starting with Dub Inspector (track 2), back for the opening title track, then back on course for The Well Is Poisoned (Dub) and Body Roll. Considering how long Adrian's been at this music lark, his ability to carve out fresh dub soundscapes is undiminished.

Aided and abetted by the usual On-U Sound suspects, including Doug Wimbish and Keith LeBlanc (RIP), with Horseman and Gaudi adding to the magic. 

Heck, even Brian Eno pops up with "guitar, vocals, effects" on The Well Is Poisoned (Dub), and there's some lovely sax and flute by Alex White from The Fat White Family on three of the four featured tracks.

The Collapse Of Everything Is available now on clear or standard black vinyl, as well as shiny disc and digital. 

If you can wait, there's another Bandcamp Friday in a couple of weeks (5th September) if you would like even more of your hard earned wonga to reach Mr. Sherwood.

The album's closing piece, The Grand Designer, was also the title track of 10" vinyl and digital EP release in June, with three other non-album cuts (one featuring the late, great Lee 'Scratch' Perry). Again, worth every penny.

And, if you're feeling splendiferously frivolous, why not splurge on a couple of Adrian's recent remixes for other artists? 

July saw Adrian's dub rendition of No Cigar by Shit Robot aka Marcus Lambkin, working with Joe Goddard and Al Doyle from Hot Chip and issued on the super hip DFA Records label.

The upcoming Bandcamp Friday will also mark the one-year anniversary of Echoes Of The Night, an EP by Pitch Black featuring four - count 'em, four - dubs by Adrian Sherwood, dating from (I think) 2020, all but one previously unreleased.

And I've not even mentioned the entire album of Adrian Sherwood dubs, Obscured By Version, brand new but delving into the archives of Dub Syndicate.

We're spoilt, really.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Had A Dream The Other Night

It's been nearly two years since the last selection dedicated to Dub Syndicate, which is far too long.  

 

The previous selection from July 2021, The Dub Is Coming, comprised 10 songs clocking in at 46:29 and covering On-U Sound releases between 1983 and 1996. By sheer coincidence, this selection is also 10 songs with a run time of 46:30, but this time I've cast my net a little wider.

 

1998's Mellow & Colly was Dub Syndicate's first post-On-U Sound album, self-produced and released on Style Scott's own label, Lion And Roots, and mixed by the legend that is Scientist aka Overton Brown. Adrian Sherwood was back at the controls for subsequent albums up to and including Hard Food, posthumously issued in January 2015 following Scott's senseless murder three months previously.

Dub Syndicate's legacy lives on. The excellent 5CD box set Ambience In Dub 1982-1985 was released by On-U Sound in 2017, including Displaced Masters, a bonus disc containing outtakes and versions. The physical format is sold out but digital is available via Bandcamp at a frankly ridiculous £20.00 for 50 songs - that's 40p per track! If that's not incentive enough, the rest of their On-U back catalogue is £5.00 a pop for digital, whilst The Pounding System and Tunes From The Missing Channel have been repressed on vinyl for a very reasonable £16.00 each.

The later albums are also all worth your time though harder to find digitally. Whilst secondhand CD prices on Discogs are pretty decent, their location means some eye-watering shipping charges if you're ordering from the UK.

When I posted the previous Dub Syndicate selection, it was a grim, wet weekend and I was optimistic that Style and co. would bring back the sunshine with their good dub vibes. It worked on that occasion. I'm posting this on another grey, rain-lashed weekend and hoping today's selection works it's magic yet again. In dub we trust....

 

1) God Is A Man (Album Version: Dub Syndicate ft. Junior Reid (1998)

2) No Flash aka Socca (Version): Dub Syndicate (1983)

3) Yes Its Bless (Album Version): Dub Syndicate ft. Little David (2001)

4) Crucial Tony Tries To Rescue The Space Invaders (With Only 10p): Dub Syndicate (1982)

5) Red Sea (Album Version): Doctor Pablo & The Dub Syndicate (1984)

6) Kingston 14 (Album Version): Dub Syndicate ft. Gregory Isaacs (2004)

7) Jolly: Dub Syndicate (1984)

8) Green Stick: Dub Syndicate (1993)

9) Ascendent Part 4: Dub Syndicate (1983)

10) Love Addis Ababa (Album Version): Dub Syndicate (2015)

1982: The Pounding System (Ambience In Dub): 4

1983: One Way System: 9

1984: North Of The River Thames: 5

1984: Tunes From The Missing Channel: 7

1993: Echomania: 8

1998: Mellow & Colly: 1

2001: Acres Of Space: 3 

2004: No Bed Of Roses: 6

2015: Hard Food: 10

2017: Displaced Masters: Unreleased Versions From The Vault: 2

Had A Dream The Other Night (46:30) (KF) (Mega)

You can find The Dub Is Coming here.

I Am The Sky, Who Are You?

With a nod to C's comment about New Age Steppers on Thursday, I'd been planning a dub flavoured selection for Sunday anyway and I was consequently nudged towards Adrian Sherwood and On-U Sound.

The selection is book-ended by fresh music from this year, both by artists named Andy. The first features the late, great Andy Fairley, who departed in 1999 but whose voice and words were liberally used across On-U Sound releases in the 1990s, not least the incredible System Vertigo album released under his own name in 1992. This is one of two new tracks featured in the latest volume of the Pay It All Back series. The selection closes with Horace Andy, thankfully very much still with us and sounding in incredible form. Midnight Rocker is a highlight of 2022 and companion album Midnight Scorchers, out in mid-September, promises to be the same.

 

Another voice inextricably linked with On-U Sound is Bim Sherman, who pops up on Side Two twice. The first is a classic 10" side from Singers & Players, reworking one of Bim's songs from 1975 to great effect. Later, he features with Dub Syndicate with an alternate vocal version of Forever More, renamed Money Dealers. The original version was on 1984 album Tunes From The Missing Channel. This alternate version was finally made available in 2017 on the compilation Displaced Masters, which I bought as part of the Ambience In Dub 1982-1985 CD boxset. 

 

Speaking of CD boxsets, in 2021 On-U Sound released Stepping Into A New Age 1980-2012, a similarly beautifully packaged collection of New Age Steppers' albums. Problems is a cover of the 1977 song by Horace Andy featured on their 1981 debut Action Battlefield. Ari Up deftly goes from English to German vocals and back again, before the dub half drops like a ton of bricks, demolishing the song then building it back up. 

 

With African Head Charge, I was sorely tempted to draw something from My Life In A Hole In The Ground, their incredible album from 1981. I've gone instead for Voodoo Of The Godsent, released three decades later, Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah and Adrian Sherwood's partnership showing no signs of slowing down. 

 

Speaking of partnerships, Lee 'Scratch' Perry & Dub Syndicate were surely a match made in heaven. Time Boom x De Devil Dead remains one of my favourite On-U Sound releases and I've gone here for the (almost) title track, which also supplies the name for today's selection.

 

A bit of a cheat as it appeared on Real World Records (founded by Peter Gabriel) rather than On-U Sound, but I felt I couldn't have an Adrian Sherwood selection without including a song from one his solo albums. Hari Up Hari is song two on Sherwood's 2003 debut, Never Trust A Hippy, and features pioneer of Indian fusion music Hariharan Anantha Subramani. 

 

Little Annie, previously Annie Anxiety, found a spiritual - and literal - home with Adrian Sherwood. According to her On-U Sound biog on Bandcamp, Annie lived in a shed at the bottom of Adrian's garden! Watch The World Go Bye originally featured on 1992's Short And Sweet, her third album and first under the Little Annie moniker. Watch The World Go Bye In Dub appears on the reworked, remixed and resequenced USA-only album, Short, Sweet And Dread, which you can also find on Bandcamp.

 

Rounding out the On-U Sound team is Audio Active, a Japanese experimental dub fusion band, starting as a solo vehicle for singer/songwriter Masa Osada before expanding to a full band in 1991. Sadly no longer active, several of the band's albums were produced by Adrian Sherwood, this track with additional programming support from David Harrow, another mainstay of the On-U Sound collective in the 1990s and continuing to produce his own wonderful electronic dub sounds to this day.

 

I've split today's selection into two vinyl-friendly sides with a full Dubhed Selection to squeeze onto a virtual side of a C90, if you want the whole experience in one go.

 

Side One

1) Your Best Tune: Andy Fairley (2022)

2) Problems (Album Version By Adrian Sherwood) (Cover of Horace Andy): New Age Steppers (1981)

3) Badman Plan (Album Version By Adrian Sherwood): African Head Charge (2011)

4) De Devil Dead (Album Version By Lee 'Scratch' Perry & Adrian Sherwood): Lee 'Scratch' Perry & Dub Syndicate (1987)

5) Hari Up Hari: Adrian Sherwood ft. Hariharan (2003)

Side Two

1) Danger (10" Version By Adrian Sherwood): Singers & Players ft. Bim Sherman (1982)

2) Watch The World Go Bye In Dub (Album Version By David Harrow): Little Annie (1992)

3) Dub In An Abyss (Album Version By Audio Active & Adrian Sherwood): Audio Active ft. David Harrow (1995)

4) Money Dealers (Version By Adrian Sherwood): Dub Syndicate ft. Bim Sherman (1984)

5) Watch Over Them (Album Version By Adrian Sherwood): Horace Andy (2022)

1981: Action Battlefield: A2 

1982: Virgin/Danger EP: B1

1987: Time Boom x De Devil Dead: A4

1994: Short, Sweet And Dread: B2 

1994: Happy Happer: B3

2003: Never Trust A Hippy: A5

2011: Voodoo Of The Godsent: A3

2017: Displaced Masters: Unreleased Versions From The Vault: B4

2022: Midnight Rocker: B5

2022: Pay It All Back Vol. 8: A1

Side One (22:16)

Side Two (22:54)

Full Dubhed Selection (45:06)

Who?

Happy birthday to my friend, Shane, and unquestionably the World's Greatest Doctor Who Fan™

 

Having lit the blue touch paper with that last statement, I'm now going to stand back and distract you with some music. I did a previous birthday mixtape that wove in a number of Doctor Who-related songs and cover versions, but I didn't really feel I'd given it my all on that occasion.

So, here it is, over an hour of Doctor Who music, mostly variations on Ron Grainer's theme tune, taking in electronica, techno, dubstep, glitterbeat, disco, dub, psychedelia and synth pop.

Tom Baker (aka the "Fourth Doctor") kicks off proceedings with links from BBC2's Doctor Who Night in 1999, before launching into the "new" theme tune that heralded the 1980s and the transition from his seven-year tenure to the (then) youngest ever Doctor Who lead, Peter Davison. It also marked the end of Doctor Who on Saturday nights, until the show's resurrection in 2005.

Dalek i was co-founded by Alan Gill, David Hughes & David Balfe in 1977 and continued until the early 1980s, releasing what I think was a posthumous third and final cassette-only album in 1986. Alan Gill is possibly better known for his brief stint with The Teardrop Explodes in 1980-1981, during which he co-wrote the band's biggest hit, Reward, #6 in the UK in January 1981.

I think four-piece band Mankind were hoping to emulate the success of Meco's discofied version of the Star Wars theme in 1977. They didn't quite, but I was surprised to find that the song managed a respectable #25 and 12 weeks on the UK chart in 1977. More than the song perhaps deserved, but a darn sight better than the Who Cares charity single nearly a decade later. Believe me, the 12" version of that one by Ian Levine is even worse, but at least there's an instrumental on the flipside. It may come as a shock to read that Hans Zimmer no longer includes his contribution to this song on his CV.

Pretty much all of the other 1960s and 1970s selections are taken from Who Is Dr. Who, a quirky collection of cash-in singles, including Frazer Hines (aka (time) travelling companion Jamie McCrimmon & Emmerdale stalwart Joe Sugden) singing in character - but without a Scottish accent - such choice lines as

 

I'm the pride of the Highlands, that's the truth

I do all my travelling in a telephone booth

 

However, Frazer Hines is outdone by "Third Doctor", Jon Pertwee, who delivers what I can only describe as the full William Shatner on his also in character riff over the Doctor Who theme. The record-buying public were clearly unimpressed by either effort, though Pertwee had his revenge in 1980 by crashing Worzel Gummidge into the UK Top 40.

The Sea Devils are one of the greatest Doctor Who creations ever and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop were at the top of their game, providing some out-there and sphincter-troubling incidental music, this serial no exception. Orbital have made no secret of Doctor Who's influence on their music and Paul Hartnoll went one step further by remixing The Sea Devils theme (first broadcast 26th February 1972, fact fans) in 2013 for the show's 50th anniversary. In a lovely bit of symmetry, The Sea Devils will return at Easter for Jodie Whitaker's penultimate appearance as the "Thirteenth Doctor" and the 50th anniversary of their first appearance.

 

Orbital also had a go at the Doctor Who theme tune on their 2001 album The Altogether, but I've included a rousing live version from their triumphant return to Glastonbury in 2010, featuring the then-new "Eleventh Doctor", Matt Smith. 

If a song's been recorded in any other genre, chances are that there will eventually be a reggae and/or dub version along in due course. Depending on your perspective, this is either generally a good thing or complete horseshit, to be avoided at all costs. First up is Dr. Blue & The Time Travellers put through a dubstep rinse by Skream, followed by Dub Syndicate's 1984 collaboration with another Doctor (Pablo), dovetailing into Bristol's Smerins Anti-Social Club, featuring the late ragga MC Tenor Fly.

 

There is an actual piece of music from the series itself, a theme for the character Nyssa, who joined at the tail end of Tom Baker's run and continued for most of Peter Davison's. Prior to Doctor Who, Peter Davison was perhaps best known as Tristan Farnon in the popular BBC adaptation of All Creatures Great and Small. For people of a certain age, he'll also be remembered for writing and performing the theme tune to kids' TV series Button Moon. Davison's daughter Georgia Moffett appeared in a 2008 episode of Doctor Who and ended up marrying "Tenth Doctor", David Tennant. 

 

Any self-respecting Who selection should not be without The Timelords' Doctorin' The Tardis, a UK #1 smash in 1988, ironically a year before the TV show was placed on hiatus (bar a TV movie) until 2005. The Timelords consisted of Jimi Cauty (aka Lord Rock aka Rockman Rock) and Bill Drummond (aka Timeboy aka Kingboy D), who were also behind The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu and The KLF. The Timelords' "frontperson" was Ford Timelord, a talking American police car who provided interviews on behalf of the band. I've unsurprisingly sidestepped the remixes featuring Gary Glitter, but you get two versions here: a minimal, largely faithful take on the theme tune and the full-on Harry Enfield-aping glam rock stomp of the extended 12" mix.

 

Tom Baker pops up again to say goodbye, before we end with - what else? - Delia Derbyshire's groundbreaking original arrangement. Nearly 60 years on, it still sounds like nothing else on this world...or any other, for that matter.

 

This selection's dedicated to Shane, but I hope that there's something here to intrigue or entertain everyone. If not, rest assured that normal service will resume on Friday.

1) "Good evening, I've been expecting you": Tom Baker (1999)

2) Doctor Who Theme: Peter Howell / The BBC Radiophonic Workshop (1980)

3) Dalek I Love You (Destiny): Dalek i (1980)

4) Dr. Who (Full Length Version): Mankind (1978)

5) Dr. Who Dub (Skreamix By Oliver Jones): Dr. Blue & The Time Travellers (2010)

6) Daleks And Thals: Malcolm Lockyer & Orchestra (1965)

7) "Stay where you are!": The Daleks (1964/1965) *

8) Landing Of The Daleks (Uncensored Morse Version): The Earthlings (1965)

9) Doctor ? (Live @ Glastonbury): Orbital ft. Matt Smith (2010)

10) Doctorin' The Tardis (Minimal) (120 BPM): The Timelords (1988)

11) Time Traveller: Frazer Hines (1967)

12) Who Is The Doctor: Jon Pertwee (1972)

13) The Sea Devils (Remix By Paul Hartnoll): Malcolm Clarke / The BBC Radiophonic Workshop (2013)

14) Dr. Who?: Doctor Pablo & The Dub Syndicate (1984)

15) Doctor Who (Version): Smerins Anti-Social Club ft. Tenor Fly (2011)

16) Nyssa's Theme: Roger Limb / The BBC Radiophonic Workshop (1981)

17) Theme From "Button Moon": Peter Davison & Sandra Dickinson (1980)

18) Doctorin' The Tardis (Extended): The Timelords (1988)

19) "I really should get a watch": Tom Baker (1999)

20) Doctor Who (Original Theme): Delia Derbyshire / BBC Radiophonic Workshop (1963)

 

* In addition to "Exterminate!", *You will obey!" and "We are superior beings!", Daleks like to say "Stay where you are!". A lot.

 

Who? (1:02:14) (GD) (M)

Now These Winter Skies Turn Blue And Bright

Again eschewing a 'best of' list, today's selection is a drop in the ocean of artists, songs and albums that I've discovered, found again after a very long gap or just replaced with a CD or digital version during 2021. Most of the 'new' discoveries are thanks to the brilliant blogs that have proved a lifeline for my musical and mental health, some of which are listed to the right. At the time of writing, my favourite reissue this year is the beautiful 5CD New Age Steppers collection, Stepping Into A New Age 1980-2012, followed very closely by the 2CD expanded reissue of The Beloved's Happiness. A belated purchase of SAULT's back catalogue at the same time as this year's 'NINE' has been a gift that keeps on giving. My bank balance hates me but, aurally speaking, it's been an embarrassment of riches this year.

1) We Persuade Ourselves We Are Immortal (Album Version): The Amorphous Androgynous & Peter Hammill (2020)

2) What It Is (Album Version): Angel Olsen (2019)

3) December Sunlight (Remixed 2020) (Cover of The The): Anna Domino (2020)

4) Men Like You (Album Version): Archive (2002)

5) The Sun Rising (Evening Session Remix): The Beloved (1989)

6) Touch (Album Version By Trevor Morais): Benjamin Zephaniah (2005)

7) Insomniacs Tonight (Extended Mix By Blancmange & Benge): Blancmange (2020)

8) She's A Mystery: Dot Allison ft. Keith Tenniswood (2012)

9) Hi-Fi Gets A Pounding (Pts. 1 & 2): Dub Syndicate (1982)

10) Heartbreak House: Hifi Sean ft. Maggie De Monde (2016)

11) Train Is Coming: Iklan ft. Law Holt (2020)

12) Charles XII Of Sweden (Tamworth Session): Julian Cope & The Teardrop Explodes (1989)

13) Wounded Animal: New Age Steppers (2012)

14) Positive Force Dub (Remix By Prince Fatty): Nostalgia 77 (2014)

15) Homage To A Memory (EKAC Demo): The Porch Song Anthology (2006)

16) J.J.'s: Port Sulphur (2020)

17) Tonight: Prince Fatty ft. Big Youth & Earl Sixteen (2019)

18) Andalucia: Psychemagik (2012)

19) Get Up (Live @ Orlando Arena, Florida, 29-30 April 1989): R.E.M. (1989)

20) Fearless: SAULT (2020)

21) Danger (Edit): Smith & Mighty ft. Kelz & Rudy Lee) (2002)

2002: You All Look The Same To Me: 4

2005: Naked: 6

2011: Songs For A Green World: The Classic 1989 Broadcast: 19

2012: Pioneers 01: 8

2014: Prince Fatty Meets Nostalgia 77 In The Kingdom Of Dub: 14

2016: Ft.: 10 

2016: Spell Of The Trembling Earth (Grande Edition): 15

2017: Ambience In Dub 1982-1985: 9

2017: Psychemagik Archive 2009-2017: 18

2019: In The Viper's Shadow: 17

2020: Album Number 1 Featuring Law Holt: 11

2020: Compendium: 16

2020: Connected Sequences: 21

2020: East And West/North And South (Collaborations 1984-2020) (Deluxe Edition): 3 

2020: Expanded Mindset: 7

2020: Happiness/Wolf Studios 1988-1990 (Special Edition): 5

2020: UNTITLED (Rise): 20

2020: We Persuade Ourselves We Are Immortal: 1

2021: Cold War Psychedelia: 12

2021: Song Of The Lark And Other Far Memories: 2 

2021: Stepping Into A New Age 1980-2012: 13

 

Now These Winter Skies Turn Blue And Bright (1:31:50)

It's Like I'm All Wide Awake In A Dream

Bim Sherman, born in 1952 and named Jarrett Lloyd Tomlinson Vincent, passed on 17th November 2000. It's hard to believe it's been so long as his music is never far from my ears. As mentioned yesterday, I've been steadily updating and expanding my On-U Sound collection each Bandcamp Friday and, inevitably, that has meant more Bim Sherman, who was a frequent collaborator with Adrian Sherwood and the On-U stable.

Today's selection is a fairly random collection of (mostly) Bim Sherman guest spots and team ups, showcasing that whether it's a full vocal or merely oohs and aahs, he would lift any song that he appeared on. A unique and much-missed talent.

 

1) It Must Be A Dream / Dreaming Dub: Bim Sherman (1980)

2) My Woman (Groove Corporation Mix): Bim Sherman (1997)

3) Too Much Workload: Singers & Players ft. Bim Sherman (1982) 

4) Island Paradise (White Mix): Jah Wobble ft. Bim Sherman (1987)

5) My Sunshine (Tony Assassin Mix): Block 16 ft. Bim Sherman (2002)

6) Freaks Of Nature (Natural Dub Mix By Youth & Ott): Dub Trees ft. Bim Sherman (2000)

7) Nu Rizla: Adrian Sherwood ft. Bim Sherman (2006)

8) Repetitive Beats (Mind & Movement Control - On-U Sound) (Remix By Adrian Sherwood & Skip McDonald): Retribution ft. Bim Sherman & Little Axe (1994)

9) Solid As A Rock (Hexadecimal Edit By Steve Osborne): Bim Sherman (1996)

10) Can't Stop Jumping (10" Version By Adrian Sherwood): Dub Syndicate ft. Bim Sherman (1983)

 

It's Like I'm All Wide Awake In A Dream (54:00)

7 To 10 Inches

Side 1 of a mixtape, originally recorded 4th October 1997, collecting tracks from various 7" and 10" vinyl records, pops and crackles intact on several. Sounds a bit like my take on an indie disco, though in reality the only songs I'm likely to have heard out in Bristol at places like the Kandi Klub or the PIG Club (an acronym for Punk Indie Goth, naturally) would have been the album version of Head Like A Hole and possibly Love Removal Machine. I saw Back To The Planet on the Lime Lizard stage at the first Phoenix Festival in 1993. I don't think we hung around for the whole set as we wanted to get back to the main stage for Faith No More, but they were one of the better crusty bands. The Food Christmas EP saw labelmates Jesus Jones, Crazyhead and Diesel Park West covering each other's songs. Mekons' Rock 'n' Roll and Birth School Work Death by The Godfathers remain firm favourite albums of the 1980s, whilst a production credit by Adrian Sherwood and Flood was a pretty safe bet for a purchase, back in the day. The limited edition double pack 7" single of April Skies is a typical example of how great The Jesus & Mary Chain are as a singles band. Bo Diddley Is Jesus is the last of four excellent songs on the single, but is a perfect opener here. There'll be more J&MC brilliance when I eventually get to posting Side 2...

 

Side One (45:07)

1) Bo Diddley Is Jesus: The Jesus & Mary Chain (April Skies 2x 7") (1987)

2) (I'm Gonna) Cry Myself Blind (Album Version): Primal Scream ft. Denise Johnson ((I'm Gonna) Cry Myself Blind 10") (1994)

3) It's So Hard: The Godfathers (Sounds Waves 2 promo 7") (1988)

4) Heaven And Back (Album Version): Mekons (The Dream And Lie Of... 10") (1989)

5) Montreal: The Wedding Present (Montreal 7") (1997)

6) Daydream (Dub Mix By Adrian Sherwood): Back To The Planet (Daydream 7") (1993)

7) 2001 Love (Part 1) (Single Version By Adrian Sherwood, Skip McDonald & Style Scott): Dub Syndicate ft. Allen Ginsberg (What Happened? 10") (1993)

8) Head Like A Hole (Copper) (Remix By Trent Reznor & Flood): Nine Inch Nails (Head Like A Hole 10") (1991)

9) Love Removal Machine (Album Version By Rick Rubin & George Drakoulias): The Cult (Love Removal Machine 2x 7") (1987)

10) I Don't Want That Kind Of Love (Cover of Crazyhead): Jesus Jones (The Food Christmas EP 7") (1989)

11) Ascend (Single Mix By Flood): Nitzer Ebb (Ascend 2x 10") (1992)

Side One (45:07)

Dub Revelutions

I woke up this morning to the extremely sad news that Lee 'Scratch' Perry died yesterday (29th). The BBC obituary doesn't even begin to do justice to the man's influence, as artist, producer, remixer, collaborator, eccentric and innovator, but how do you attempt to encapsulate a life and career that profoundly changed music and continues to inspire and influence right now? 

I have a deep love of reggae and dub so Perry's work features heavily in my music collection and whilst his output and quality control was less consistent in the 1990s and 2000s, his collaborations with Adrian Sherwood and The Orb in the last decade marked a creative high. I had never managed to see Lee 'Scratch' Perry in concert and planned to see him in Gloucester in November.

I don't have any standalone Lee 'Scratch' Perry mixtapes that I could post here today, so I've hastily cobbled together a tribute selection in the last hour and a half. Some obvious choices are omitted: nothing by Bob Marley & The Wailers or The Clash and no Police & Thieves (although Bad Weed uses the same riddim). I've included some of Perry's more unexpected remixes: Sign Your Name was a #2 hit in the UK in January 1988 and I wonder what TTD's mainstream fans made of the 'Scratch' remix 12", peppered with animal sounds and dub effects. NYC band Gang Gang Dance was also an unusual choice, but Perry toasts over the top and makes it his own. The selection spans his early singles in the late 1960s through to his 2019 album Rainford and last year's appearance on Denise Sherwood's debut solo album. It's only a flavour of the man's genius but given the haste in compiling the selection, I think it hangs together pretty well.

Farewell then to Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Alien Starman and Dub Revolutionary.

 

1) Cloak & Dagger: Lee 'Scratch' Perry & The Upsetters ft. Tommy McCook (1973)

2) Rockhead: Lee 'Scratch' Perry (2008)

3) Bad Weed (Discomix By Lee 'Scratch' Perry): Junior Murvin (1977)

4) Return Of Django: The Upsetters (1969)

5) Chase The Devil (Adrian Sherwood Dub): Dubblestandart ft. Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Coshiva & Emch (2014) 

6) Sign Your Name (Lee 'Scratch' Perry Remix): Terence Trent D'Arby (1988)

7) Doctor On The Go: Lee Perry & The Upsetters (1975)

8) Last Train To Doomsville: Dub Syndicate ft. Lee 'Scratch' Perry (1988)

9) MindKilla (Lee 'Scratch' Perry Remix): Gang Gang Dance (2011)

10) I Am The Upsetter: Lee King Perry (1968)

11) Run Evil Spirit (Album Version By Lee 'Scratch' Perry & Adrian Sherwood): Lee 'Scratch' Perry (2019)

12) Ball Of Fire: The Orb ft. Lee 'Scratch' Perry (2012)

13) Music Shall Live (Album Version By Adrian Sherwood & Vital Elements): Denise Sherwood ft. Lee 'Scratch' Perry (2020) 

14) Dr. Lee, PhD (Album Version By Beastie Boys & Mario Caldato Jr.): Beastie Boys ft. Lee 'Scratch' Perry & Money Mark (1998)

15) Allergic To Lies (Album Version By Adrian Sherwood & Lee 'Scratch' Perry): Lee 'Scratch' Perry & Dub Syndicate (1987)

16) Dub Revelutions: Lee Perry & The Upsetters (1975) 

 

Dub Revelutions (A Tribute To Lee 'Scratch' Perry) (1:15:08) 

The Dub Is Coming

It feels like most of the sunny, bright warm days this summer have been confined to the working week, when I'm stuck indoors and too busy to enjoy it. In an attempt to blow away the bad vibes of another grey, soggy Saturday, with the sun struggling to shine through, here's an imaginary two sides of Dub Syndicate. Let's face it, when you add Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Congo Ashanti Roy, Bim Sherman, Fats Comet and Doctor Pablo, with Adrian Sherwood on the mix, you cannot go wrong. Pops and crackles on some songs from the original 10" vinyl, but I'm (fairly) sure I've avoided any jumps and skips...

 

Side One

1) What Happened? (10" Mix): Dub Syndicate (1993)

2) Night Train (Album Version): Lee 'Scratch' Perry & Dub Syndicate (1987)

3) The Show Is Coming: Dub Syndicate ft. Fats Comet (1985)

4) Keep You Dancing (10" Version): Dub Syndicate ft. Bim Sherman (1983)

Side Two

5) Fight The Power: Dub Syndicate (1991)

6) Jungle (Wall Of China) (Version): Lee 'Scratch' Perry & Dub Syndicate (1987)

7) Japanese Record (Remix): Dub Syndicate (1996)

8) 2001 Love (Part 2): Dub Syndicate (1993)

9) Mafia (D.J. Scruff Remix) (Cover of Lloyd Parks/Black Expression Band): Dub Syndicate ft. Bim Sherman (1996)

10) Pressurized: Doctor Pablo & The Dub Syndicate (1984)

 

Side One (23:07) (Box) (Mega)

Side Two (23:22) (Box) (Mega)
 

An extensive Dub Syndicate back catalogue is available on Bandcamp. Ambience In Dub 1982-1985, which collects the first four albums plus a bonus disc of previously unreleased dubs, is highly recommended. Stoned Immaculate and Echomania are also essential albums but, really, you need them all in your life.

Sadly, on 9th October 2014, Lincoln "Style" Scott was found dead after shots were heard at his house in Manchester, Jamaica. A tragic, senseless loss.