Sunday Dubby Sunday

Time to paws and relax with some sunny Sunday sounds from the last half-century.

A mix of familiar and unfamiliar, old and new, borrowed and blue, the common theme is that this top notch dub, perfect for soundtracking a day of doing as little or as much as you like.

Notably fewer complaints from the neighbours when this is booming from the Casa K sound system, too...

1) Rock In Dub: The Roots Radics ft. Gladstone Anderson (1982)

2) Dub Spring: Alien Dread (2017)

3) Secours Dub: Muflon Dub Sound System (2013)

4) Heart Beat Dub: Sly, Robbie & The Revolutionaries (1975)

5) Dub Of Correction: Jonah Dan / Alpha & Omega (2003)

6) Ariwacumbé ShaunVox Dub (Remix By Mad Professor): Frente Cumbiero (2010)

7) Iron Bar Dub (Album Version): Linton Kwesi Johnson (1980)

8) Go On Dub (Adrian Sherwood 'Reset In Dub’ Version): Panda Bear & Sonic Boom (2023)

9) Step It Up in Dub: King Tubby & Friends (1979)

10) Rasta Dub: Horace Andy (1977)

11) Harmoniser Dub: Dennis Bovell (1976)

12) Dub Of CCTV (Wolsey White Dub) (Remix By Gran Tourismo): Hard-Fi (2006)

1975: Hardcore Dub: 4

1977: In The Light Dub: 10

1980: LKJ In Dub: 7

1982: Radical Dub Session: 1

1994: Dub Gone Crazy: The Evolution Of Dub At King Tubby's 1975-1979: 9

2003: Decibel: More Cuts And Dubs 1976-1983: 11

2003: Spirit Of The Ancients: 5

2006: In Operation: CCTVersions: 12

2010: Frente Cumbiero Meets Mad Professor: 6

2013: Rassemblement: 3

2017: Conquering Dub (Expanded Edition): 2

2023: Reset In Dub: 8

Sunday Dubby Sunday (46:39) (GD) (M)

Decayed IV: 2006

Side 1 of a completely made up cassette compilation, stepping through the 2000s.

When approaching this post, 2006 didn't particularly stand out. I was half way though my first 3-year stint as a blogger, still with less than 100 posts by year end. 

However, it proved to be a helpful reminder of what I got up to in 2006, mostly going to comedy clubs and the theatre with Mrs. K, by the look of it. Little surprise, as the excellent Comedy Box at the Hen & Chicken pub was at the end of our street, and Bristol city centre was a short walk away.

Comedy shows in 2006 included Adam Hills, Mark Thomas, Matt Welcome, Omid Djalili, Richard Herring and, er, Russell Brand.

Theatre-wise, we experienced 

Air Guitar by Peter Kesterston

Nights At The Circus by Angela Carter, adapted by Tom Morris and Emma Rice

Present Laughter by Noël Coward, starring Simon Callow

Restoration by Edward Bond

The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter

The Taming Of The Shrew by William Shakespeare

Jesus Christ, It’s Christmas by Bristol-based theatre company Paper Aeroplane

and, er. Scrooge, based on the 1970 film musical by Leslie Bricusse and starring Shane Richie ...and yes, he did shout "Taxi for Walford!" at the end.

I also enjoyed reading a fair few books, such as 

American Ghosts & Old World Wonders by Angela Carter

Black Hole by Charles Burns

N.P. by Banana Yoshimoto

Feeding Frenzy by Will Self

Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid On Earth by Chris Ware
Planet Karen by Karen Ellis

Whoa Nellie! by Jaime Hernandez

and The Fountain At The Centre Of The World by Robert Newman... actually, that one was shit, and the former star of The Mary Whitehouse Experience was a creepy sleazeball when we saw him perform stand-up around the same time.

As for TV, we were both obsessed with Lost and Dog The Bounty Hunter, Saxondale and Nathan Barley. To be honest, the latter two were me, Mrs. K wasn't at all bothered by them.

2006 was Clan K's first experience of Go Ape in the Forest of Dean; tree tops, rope walks and zip slides, it was a blast. 

Mrs. K and I also visited the Relaxation Centre in Bristol, sampling the outdoor and indoor hot tubs, steam room, sauna and floatation room and we both felt unbelievably great afterwards. I then blew it all the same evening as my oldest friend Stuart was in town and mandatory ale quaffing in The Three Sugar Loaves and The White Lion ensued, including pints of the prophetically named Doom. 

Gig-wise, 2006 was pitifully limited to Julian Cope in February and the Ashton Court Festival in July.

I've written about this previously, but 2006 was the year that Mrs. K and I experienced unexpected headliners Simple Minds. The once-free festival now charged entry, but £9.00 per day was pretty good, considering the range of music on offer.

What wasn't pretty good was Jim Kerr and co. In my blog review, I wrote that "Don’t You Forget About Me, a dire cover of Van Morrison’s Gloria and the closing third encore (!) of Alive And Kicking were little more than extended karaoke tracks, with Kerr preferring the audience to do the work on the choruses."

It wasn't all bad: I cited the "sole redeeming moment [as the] rendition of New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) seemingly inspired by Utah Saints’ rousing mid-1990s cover version." 

In closing, I ruefully reflected that "Perhaps the festival is still a rites of passage for some, but my feelings towards Ashton Court were aptly personified by Jim Kerr: over priced, over the hill, out of touch and with an inflated sense of self-importance." Oh dear!

On a happier note, we had a fun holiday in Bulgaria in October.

But what else was going on in 2006. Here's a non-exhaustive and entirely subjective run through of some events (and non-events, I might argue).

1st January

The first UK #1 single of the year was That's My Goal by Shayne Ward. 

21st March

Twitter launched. Five days later, Elon Musk's company SpaceX's first launch of the Falcon 1 rocket crashed to Earth shortly after liftoff. Sixteen years, Musk acquired Twitter, with similar results, culturally speaking.

6th May

Grant McLennan of The Go-Betweens died of a heart attack at his home in Brisbane, Australia, aged just 48.

20th May

Finnish band Lordi won The Eurovision Song Contest with Hard Rock Hallelujah.

9th July

Italy beat France to win the FIFA World Cup.

24th August

The International Astronomical Union defines 'planet' at it's 26th General Assembly, consequently relegating Pluto to 'dwarf planet' status. Poor Pluto.

4th September

Steve Irwin, Australian TV legend and conservationist, is fatally stung in the heart by a stingray while filming underwater.

23rd November

Alexander Litvinenko, former Russian Federal Security Service officer and subsequent critic of the Putin administration, dies after being poisoned with Polonium-210. 

30th December

Saddam Hussein is executed by hanging for crimes against humanity.

31st December

The last UK #1 single of 2006 is A Moment Like This by Leona Lewis.

Yep, if we weren't facing the existential threat of talent shows like The X-Factor, music buying on physical formats was also under threat. Crazy by Gnarls Barkley became the first single to top the UK Singles Chart on download sales alone. Crazy remained at the top of the UK singles chart for nine weeks, the longest #1 spell for more than a decade. 

It's one of two #1's to appear in today's selection, albeit in a DIY extended version by DreamTime, whose music blog I was obsessed with at the time, even if the edits themselves were a bit hit and miss. Crazy definitely sits in the 'hit' camp for me.

The other #1 is by Arctic Monkeys, who also used the internet to their advantage, building up a groundswell of interest and support, which helped their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not become the fastest selling debut album in UK chart history at the time.

Aside from that, it's the usual eclectic mix of the well known and the wilfully obscure. And yes, although I committed the crime of not including The White Stripes, I have opted for Jack White's other band, The Raconteurs. Contrary sod, aren't I? Great song, though.

I missed The Go! Team at the Ashton Court Festival - they headlined the previous day - and I've still yet to see them live, but I love their gloriously joyful racket as much now as I did 20 years ago when I first heard them.

Muse and The Killers I'm less fussed by, but I do like the remixes featured here. Tahiti 80, Phoenix and Peter, Björn & John (with Victoria Bergsman) brings some European sunshine to proceedings. I finally got to see Peter at least live on stage, as the cornerstone of Robert Forster's Swedish Band in Cardiff last month.

I can’t promise the same level of diary diving tomorrow as I have done today, but 2007 will offer up another dozen examples of why the 2000s weren't so bad for music after all.

1) Big Day (Album Version): Tahiti 80

2) Young Folks (Album Version): Peter, Björn & John ft. Victoria Bergsman

3) Long Distance Call (25 Hours A Day Mix By Pierrick Devin): Phoenix

4) Cash Machine (Video Version 2): Hard-Fi

5) Why Won't You Give Me Your Love? (Album Version): The Zutons

6) Steady, As She Goes (Album Version): The Raconteurs

7) Crazy (DreamTime Mix): Gnarls Barkley

8) Ladyflash (Album Version): The Go! Team

9) Supermassive Black Hole (Team9 Remix By Neil Mason): Muse

10) Standing In The Way Of Control (Radio Edit): Gossip

11) When You Were Young (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Radio Edit By Stuart Price): The Killers

12) When The Sun Goes Down (Album Version): Arctic Monkeys

1st January 2006: Stars Of CCTV (#14): 4

22nd January 2006: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (#1): 12

5th February 2006: Thunder, Lightning, Strike (#26): 8

5th March 2006: Fosbury (# n/a): 1

26th March 2006: It's Never Been Like That (# n/a): 3

2nd April 2006: St. Elsewhere (#1): 7

9th April 2006: Tired Of Hanging Around (#9): 5

30th April 2006: Broken Boy Soldiers (#4): 6

25th June 2006: Black Holes & Revelations (#4): 9

13th August 2006: Writer's Block (#35): 2 *

24th September 2006: Sam's Town (#2): 11

5th November 2006: Standing In The Way Of Control (#64): 10 **

Side One (46:14) (GD) (M)

* Young Folks was subsequently re-released the following year and got to #13 in the week of 23rd September 2007

** Likewise, Standing In The Way Of Control got a second bite of the cherry when it returned to the charts the week of 4th March 2007 with a peak of #7

If you're hungry for more, why not sample my selections from 1986 and 1996?

Better Do Better Than That

Back in my previous blogging life, I ran a series called Jukebox Juicebox, which randomly reviewed my music purchases at the time. Not to be confused with The Juicebox Jukebox, who apparently "create awesomely positive, fun, educational children's music, videos, and books"

The inclusion of Better Do Better (Wrongtom Wild Inna 81 Version) by Hard-Fi in last Sunday's Dubhed Selection reminded me that I'd reviewed the single back in the day, which led me to dig out the original post from May 2006.

I'm re-presenting the whole thing, which takes in contemporary releases by Tiga and King Biscuit Time (Steve Mason) too. No edits other than the links, as several of the originals are now defunct, and some formatting here and there. 

I've also added the official videos, which I probably last saw nearly twenty years ago. Wow.

Hard-Fi "Better Do Better”

The Hard-Fi phenomenon has pretty much passed me by, not helped by the rather crap name and uninspiring sleeve designs. Yes, I know, never judge a book by it’s cover and all that… 

Anyway, this single caught my attention and it’s melody has been nagging at the back of my mind ever since. A slower number than the snippets of their Stars Of CCTV album I’ve heard so far, the song focuses on the return of an adulterous ex-girlfriend. 

Richard Archer’s lyrics are refreshingly direct - ‘Can you see me again? / Yeah right, you’ve been kicked out / Do you think that I’m that stupid?’ - and emotionally frank - ‘I cried so much / My face has never been the same’ - as the narrator realises that the wounds are still open, but steels his resolve to reject the girl he once loved. 

The flipside offers a dub by Wrongtom and The Stoneleigh Mountain Rockers, which strips both song and lyrics down to the basics – ‘You’re back, sitting on my doorstep / Your face makes me want to be sick / …it's a physical reaction...’ – making Better Do Better even more raw, in every sense of the word. 

All this, and gorgeous flourescent yellow seven-inch vinyl too. A great single that will undoubtedly repeat Hard-Fi’s success to date. 

Slow dance to this with your ex at the local disco and they'll get the message.

Tracklisting [7"]: 1. Better Do Better (Album Version) / 2. (Wrongtom Wild Inna 81 Version)

Visit the official Hard-Fi website

Jan 2025 update: I abviously didn't follow the UK singles chart at the time. Better Do Better crashed in at #14, providing the band with it's 5th Top 20 hit. However, byt the time I posted my review three weeks later, it had dropped to #46 and continued a slow but steady slide out of the Top 100. 

Tiga “(Far From) Home”

The Canadian retro-futurist pop star is back with another slice from his Sexor album, featuring the seemingly unstoppable Soulwax. 

The original version sounds like the Human League fronted by Stephen ‘Tin Tin’ Duffy, whilst veteran producer Dave Bascombe beefs up the rhythm and melody for the radio mix on the CD single. 

A clutch of remixes wisely retain the vocals, but take the song in wonderfully different directions. Chicken Lips deliver a downtempo but extremely funky take. French duo Digitalism kick off with an intro not unlike Toni Basil’s Mickey, but rapidly entering dancesloor-shredding Chemical Brothers/DFA territory. 

Speaking of the latter, The DFA provide a further trademark mix (which is no bad thing, of course). What really pushes this take over the edge is a keyboard hook that sounds naggingly like Abba’s Gimme Gimme Gimme, as recently used in Madonna’s Hung Up. Four words: It. Works. Better Here. 

A version of Move My Body, the original of which was an exclusive on Erol Alkan’s Bugged Out mix compilation, maintains the quality for the dancefloor, with vocodered vocals and a nagging electro rhythm. 

The 12” vinyl versions offer the full ten-minute DFA remix plus a further Sexor Reprise by Tiga himself. A catchy song, offered in a variety of tempting formats. What are you waiting for? Indulge yourself!

Tracklisting [7”]: 1. (Far From) Home (Album Version By Tiga & Soulwax) / 2. (Chicken Lips Mix)
[CD5]: 1. (Far From) Home (Bascombe Radio Mix) / 2. (Digitalism Remix) / 3. (DFA Remix (Joakim Edit)) / 4. Move My Body (Version 2)

Visit the official Tiga website

Jan 2025 update: Undoubtedly boosted by my buying both the single on both 7" and CD, (Far From) Home debuted at #65...then disappeared from the UK Top 100 the following week. All of the subsequent singles and album listings on the Officlal Charts listing for Tiga are actually for US rapper Tyga. Come on, OC!

King Biscuit Time "Kwangchow"

A quick Google search revealed that Kwangchow is “a city on the Zhu Jiangi delta in southern China; the capital of Guangdong province and a major deep-water port”. My knowledge of world geography and history is pretty poor, so I’m not really much the wiser. 

As King Biscuit Time is the solo project of former Beta Band frontman Steve Mason, I didn’t expect the lyrics to enlighten me either. Opening chorus ‘How do you find a head when you got no fluid? / How do you find your heart when you feel no love?’, confirmed that expection. 

It may sound like faint praise but, if you’re a fan of the Beta Band or The Flaming Lips, then you’ll love this unconditionally. For the unconvinced, it’s difficult to know how to sell Kwangchow – and bonus track Tears Dry – other than to say that Mason is producing a more concise, coherent and generally more enjoyable version of his former band’s sound. 

If you remain unconvinced, then check out the remixes. The Doctors Of Love (no, never heard of them either) beef up the drum, ‘teardrop’ keyboard and piano parts to create a song that Primal Scream would kill to inlcude on their forthcoming album. 

Meanwhile, the Suicide D.O.G.Z remix creates a naggingly familiar Eastern-sounding beat, frequently looping the vocals to hypnotic effect. An exclusive Suicide D.O.G.Z remix on the Poptones website cranks up the rhythm and dubs the vocals to birth a sweaty floorfiller. A promising taster for forthcoming King Biscuit Time album Black Gold and an introduction to a couple of remixers to watch.

Tracklisting [CD5]: 1. Kwangchow (Album Version) / 2. Tears Dry / 3. (Doctors Of Love Remix) / 4. (Suicide D.O.G.Z - Faudels Hash Den Remix)

There is no official King Biscuit Time website, so go check out Steve Mason's instead.

Jan 2025 update: Very unlikely assisted by my CD single purchase and reach of my blog review, Kwangchow charted the following week at #84, the last time that King Biscuit Time - and Steve  Mason as a solo artist - cracked the UK Top 100 singles.. There is no justice in the (music) world.

In other diappointing news, the Poptones website is long gone and I seem to have lost the exclusive download-only Suicide D.O.G.Z remix along the way. Gutted!

Someday Roots, Sunday Culture

Today's selection is by way of compensation to Ernie at 27 Leggies for last Sunday's crushing disappointment of posting a mixtape side titled Roots 'n' Culture that was completely devoid of dub and reggae.

No red herrings here, with plenty of bass-heavy rhythms amongst the genre-hopping bakers' dozen of tunes. At least one tune from each of the last six decades and, as far as I can tell, all appearing here (in these versions at least) for the first time. 

Lee 'Scratch' Perry is hidden in plain sight, collaborating with Bob Marley on the opening song and reappearing as the Upsetter on the penultimate track. 

 

There are a trio of tunes from 1982, quite by accident, featuring UB40, Rico ably accompanied by The Specials and one of the greatest voices of all time, Bim Sherman.

 

As you may have guessed, International Beat was a spin-off from The Beat, their debut album produced by none other than Ranking Roger.

 

The 21st Century is well represented by Richard Norris, Adrian Sherwood and Prince Fatty, plus Wrongtom remixing Staines skankers Hard-Fi.

There are a couple of covers, with Rico and The Special AKA taking on the title track of Japanese jazz musician's Sadao Watanabe's 1979 album Morning Island.  

 

For Me You Are by Prince Fatty, Hollie Cook and Horseman has a rather more complicated history. The song was originally titled Bei Mir Bistu Shein and written by Jacob Jacobs and Sholom Secunda in 1932 for a Yiddish language comedy musical, I Would If I Could, performed by Aaron Lebedeff and Lucy Levin.

Five years later, Sammy Cahn and Saul Chaplin got their hands on the song, wrote English lyrics, Germanised the song title spelling and created a global hit for The Andrews Sisters with Bei Mir Bist Du Schön (Means That You're Grand)

 

The name of Prince Fatty's 2012 remake is an approximation of the original Yiddish to English song title translation, To Me You're Beautiful. 

 

Phew, history lesson over, time to enjoy the music!

1) Keep On Skanking: Bob Marley (1972)

2) Golden Morning Song: Bim Sherman (1982)

3) Better Do Better (Wrongtom Wild Inna 81 Version): Hard-Fi (2006)

4) Rock Steady: International Beat (1989)

5) Foundation Style: Richard Norris (2024)

6) Two Versions Of The Future: Adrian Sherwood (2006)

7) I Won't Close My Eyes (Remix): UB40 (1982)

8) Jah Vengeance / Jah Bible: Yabby You & Trinity (1980)

9) For Me You Are (Single Version) (Cover of Aaron Lebedeff & Lucy Levin / Andrews Sisters): Prince Fatty ft. Hollie Cook & Horseman (2012)

10) Tapper Roots: Tapper Zukie (1979)

11) Easy Dub: Alpha & Omega (1994)

12) Rumplesteelkin: Upsetter (1973)

13) Easter Island (Cover of 'Morning Island' by Sadao Watanabe): Rico ft. The Special AKA (1982)

 

1973: Rhythm Shower: 12

1979: Tapper Roots: 10

1980: Jah Jah Way: 8

1982: Across The Red Sea: 2 

1982: Jungle Music EP: 13

1982: UB44: 7

1989: The Hitting Line: 4

1990: The Best Of Bob Marley 1968-1972: 1 

1994: Safe In The Ark: 11

2006: Becoming A Cliché: 6

2006: Better Do Better EP: 3

2012: Prince Fatty Versus The Drunken Gambler: 9

2024: Oracle Sound Volume Three: 5

Someday Roots, Sunday Culture (47:54) (KF) (Mega)

When We Mash Up The Wicked One Plan

Some dub-inflected sounds to soothe your soul...

1) Duppy Conqueror v/5: Bob Marley & The Wailers (1971)

2) Autobiography (Of The Dread Operator): Singers & Players ft. Mikey Dread (1983)

3) Pe-We Special: Lee 'Scratch' Perry & The Upsetters (1973)

4) Insohreckshan Dub: Linton Kwesi Johnson (1984)

5) Cash Machine (Roots Manuva Dub Remix): Hard-Fi (2006)

6) Dub There: Horace Andy (1977)

7) Dubnology: Alien Dread (2004)

When We Mash Up The Wicked One Plan (29:26)