Keep The Fire Burning Inside

Some heavyweight grooves to make you move, courtesy of 14 reggae and dub legends.

All of these songs originate in 1975, although I can't be certain that the individual versions used here date from that year. 

Such is the task of trying to date releases when many Jamaican 7" singles bore very little info, let alone the year of release. I guess they weren't considering that half a century later, saddoes like me would be trawling the internet, trying to track down the merest snippet of info about a song. "Internet"? What's an "internet"?!

No matter, what binds them all together is a bass, skank, skunk and a trunk full of quality tunes. Some of the finest voices to ever grace vinyl, from Pat Kelly to Susan Cadogan to Gregory Isaacs to Bim Sherman to Louisa Mark and U-Roy.

Augustus Pablo appears twice, the second appearance via Baby I Love You So, my introduction to the great man via the cover version by Colourbox in 1986.

And Burning Spear's Marcus Garvey is one of the greatest albums of all time.

1) 555 Crown Street (Single Version): Augustus Pablo

2) There's A Song (Sing About Love): Pat Kelly

3) King Tubby's Badness Dub: King Tubby

4) Carry Go Bring Come (Discomix): Justin Hinds & The Dominoes

5) Fever (Live) (Cover of Little Willie John): Susan Cadogan

6) Darkest Night: James Eastwood

7) Dreadlocks Love Affair: Gregory Isaacs

8) Resting Place: Burning Spear

9) Danger (Album Version): Bim Sherman

10) Jah Jah Jehoviah: Ronnie Davis

11) Baby I Love You So: Jacob Miller & Augustus Pablo

12) Blue Boots (Album Version): Eric Donaldson

13) All My Loving (Cover of The Beatles): Louisa Mark

14) Joyful Locks: U-Roy

1975: Marcus Garvey: 8

1990: Crucial Cuts II: 9

199x: Classics: 2

1998: Breakout (bonus tracks): 13

1998: Trojan Dub Box Set: 3

2003: Cool Ruler: The Definitive Collection: 7

2004: The Bunny 'Striker' Lee Story: 14

2005: Tom Middleton Presents Crazy Covers Vol 1: Cosmosonica: 5

2005: Trojan Roots Reggae Box Set: Forward Jah Jah Children: 10

2006: The Essential Augustus Pablo: 1, 11

2007: Sun Is Shining (Mojo magazine promo CD): 6

2009: Emmett's 10/09 Playlist (Art Decade blog): 12

2015: Reggae Discomixes: 22 Essential Extended Mixes: 4

Keep The Fire Burning Inside (46:28) (GD) (M)

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)

Lovers Rock

Inspired by watching Steve McQueen's Lovers Rock (finally!) and loved up following the recent brace of excellent love-themed mixes over at The Vinyl Villain from Jez* and JC himself, today's selection features a groovy kind of love (though thankfully no Phil Collins).

 

Mrs. K & I have made a very belated visit to Steve McQueen's Small Axe series of films, originally premiered on BBC One in late 2020. No excuse for leaving it so long, really, as they are an absolute joy in film-making and storytelling, with an excellent cast. Lovers Rock is the second of five films and both have been essential viewing so far.

Despite a deep love of reggae and dub, I cannot pretend to be an expert in any way, but I'm reasonably confident that the lovers rock label legitimately applies to all of today's featured artists. Some - Janet Kay, Carroll Thompson, Marcia Griffiths, Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, Horace Andy, Pat Kelly - I have loved for a long, long time. Others have been more recent discoveries, several via Mojo magazine's "How To Buy...Lovers Rock" - Jean Adebambo, Vivian Weathers, Jimmy Lindsay, 15 16 17, Candy McKenzie and Love Joys. All are an aural delight for the ears, with sweet vocals complemented by rocksteady rhythms and joyous basslines.

 

Apologies for pops, crackles and skips on some songs. No apologies for the sheer quality of the tunes.

1) Lovers Rock JA. Style: Freddie McGregor (1981)

2) Breakfast In Bed (Cover of Dusty Springfield): Candy McKenzie (1977)

3) Sweet, Bitter Love (Album Version By Lloyd Charmers): Marcia Griffiths (1974) 

4) Stoned In Love (Cover of 'I'm Stone In Love With You' by The Stylistics): Pat Kelly (1979)

5) Black Pride: Brown Sugar (1977)

6) Money In My Pocket (Pt.1) (Single Version By Joe Gibbs): Dennis Brown (1979)

7) Let Me Rock You Now (12" Version By Lloyd Barnes): Love Joys (1982)

8) Steal Away Girl: Sugar Minott (1980)

9) No, You Don't Know (Album Version): Carroll Thompson (1981)

10) Caught You In A Lie / Pt. 2 Caught Dubbing (12" Version By Sir Coxsone): Louisa Mark (1975)

11) Black Skin Boys: 15 16 17 (1977)

12) The Way You Walk: Vivian Weathers (1978)

13) Something's On My Mind (Album Version By Tad A. Dawkins & Sylvan Morris): Horace Andy (1980)

14) Something Nice: Gregory Isaacs (1975)

15) Look At Me, I'm In Love: Sylvia Tella (1981)

16) Pipe Dreams (Album Version By Desmond Lyken): Jean Adebambo (1983)

17) Love Was Never Meant For Me: Jimmy Lindsay (1979)

18) Silly Games (Album Version By Dennis Bovell): Janet Kay (1982)

 

Lovers Rock (1:07:23) (GD) (M) 

 

* Jez is also responsible for A History Of Dubious Taste, another of my regular, essential reads when exploring the blogosphere.