2026 Volts Of Holt

John Holt is a legend, pure and simple.

I was introduced to John Holt's music via Blondie's #1 single The Tide Is High, a song he co-wrote in 1967 with Tyrone Evans and Howard Barrett for their group The Paragons.

Going solo shortly afterwards, John expanded from reggae and rocksteady into lovers rock and roots reggae, becoming as popular for his cover versions as his original songs.

Today's selection is half and half self-penned songs and reinterpretations, spanning John's post-Paragons ventures in 1968, his groundbreaking 1973 album 1000 Volts Of Holt through to 1976 and the equally essential 2000 Volts Of Holt.

I've paired 1969 classic Ali Baba with one of the unreleased King Tubby dubs, created in the 1970s but unreleased for two decades. The selection also samples John's productive partnership with Arthur 'Duke' Reid, Bunny 'Striker' Lee and Keith Hudson, to name a few.

I was in a pretty good mood already, about ten times better for listening to this. Thanks, John.

1) The Treasure Of Love (Album Version By Bunny 'Striker' Lee) (1972)

2) Touch Me In The Morning (Album Version By Keith Bonsoir & Tony Ashfield) (Cover of Diana Ross) (1976)

3) Never, Never, Never (Album Version By Tony Ashfield & Trevor Newman) (Cover of 'Grande Grande Grande' by Mina) (1973)

4) I'll Be Lonely (Single Version By Arthur 'Duke' Reid): Jay & Joya (John Holt & Joya Landis) ft. Tommy McCook & The Supersonics (1968)

5) Pledging My Love (Album Version By Bunny 'Striker' Lee) (1972)

6) Ali Baba (Single Version By Arthur 'Duke' Reid) (1969)

7) Borderline Dub (Ali Baba Version By Bunny 'Striker' Lee): King Tubby & John Holt (197x)

8) Share My Rest (Single Version By Keith Hudson) (1970)

9) I Will (Album Version By Keith Bonsoir & Tony Ashfield) (Cover of The Beatles) (1976)

10) Girl From Ipanema (Jamaican Mix By Tony Ashfield & Trevor Newman) (Cover of Os Cariocas) (1973)

11) I've Been Admiring You (Album Version By Bunny 'Striker' Lee & Lord Koos) (1974)

12) I'd Love You To Want Me (Album Version By Tony Ashfield & Trevor Newman) (Cover of Lobo) (1973)

13) Rain From The Skies (Single Version By Prince Buster) (Cover of Adam Wade): John Holt ft. Prince Buster All Stars (1972)

14) Fancy Make Up (Single Version By Bunny 'Striker' Lee): Dennis Brown & John Holt (1971)

15) All The Love I've Got (Single Version By Bunny 'Striker' Lee) (Cover of 'Gonna Give Her All the Love I've Got' by Jimmy Ruffin) (1970)

1968: I'll Be Lonely EP: 4

1969: Ali Baba EP: 6

1970: Change Partners/Give Her All The Love I've Got EP by Peter Austin/John Holt: 15

1970: Share My Rest/Allways EP by John Holt/Al Brown: 8

1971: Fancy Make Up EP: 14

1972: Pledging My Love: 1, 5

1972: Rain From The Skies EP: 13

1973: 1000 Volts Of Holt: 3, 12

1974: Don't Break Your Promise: 11

1976: 2000 Volts Of Holt: 2, 9

1994: Augustus Pablo Presents King Tubby: 20 Unreleased Dubs By The Late Great King Tubby: 7

2009: 1000 Volts Of Holt (Deluxe Edition) (2x CD): 10

2026 Volts Of Holt (44:05) (GD) (M)

Don't Want To Mess Around

I have a couple of gig reviews to post, but they're taking on a life on their own and need some more work so they'll make an appearance later in the week.

 

My fall back, as ever, is reggae and dub and I hope you'll agree that it's stepped up and delivered. Five decades of riddims and rhymes taking in some musical heavyweights and contemporary inspirations. Derrick Morgan technically manages to sneak in two appearances, the second via a dub courtesy of Augustus Pablo. 

Sadly, some of these great artists are no longer with us, though many are and continue to produce great sounds. I'm seeing one of them next month, so expect a gig review here...when I've caught up on the backlog!

 

1) Revolution (Single Version): Dennis Brown (1983)

2) I Was Appointed (Album Version): Junior Murvin (1977)

3) Great Musical Battle: Derrick Morgan (1973)

4) Cleopatra King Size: Jah Wobble & ft. Temple Of Sound (2002)

5) The Gorgon Of Dubs & Horns: Tommy McCook & The Aggrovators (1975)

6) Rough Rider Dub: Augustus Pablo (????)

7) Virus Return: David Harrow (2020)

8) My God: African Head Charge (1990)

9) Super Charge: Jackie Mittoo (1977)

10) Own Man: Lee Perry & The Upsetters (1975)

11) D.U.B. D.U.B. (12" Version): UB40 (1984)

 

1973: Great Musical Battle EP: 3 

1975: Cookin': 5

1975: Revolution Dub: 10

1977: Police & Thieves: 2

1983: Revolution EP: 1

1984: Riddle Me EP: 11

1990: Songs Of Praise: 8

2002: Shout At The Devil: 4

2003: Champion In The Area: 9

2004: The Bunny 'Striker' Lee Story: 6

2020: Virus Dubs: 7

Don't Want To Mess Around (45:36) (KF) (Mega)

Tomorrow Is Promised To No One

We're well overdue for some reggae and dub sounds and, given the past 18 hours of continuous rain here at home, time to generate some indoor sunshine at least. Today's selection is fifteen tracks spanning six decades in a smidge under sixty minutes.

A Happy Dub from 1975 will immediately sound familiar. Tommy McCook & The Aggrovators deliver a dub of I'm Gonna Put It On (Feel The Spirit) by Johnny Clarke from the same year, itself a version of Put It On by Bob Marley & The Wailers, with a liberal helping of Ring Of Fire by Johnny Cash for added flavour. Very tasty indeed.

 

It's not the only cover: in addition to African Head Charge's electronic dub spin on a traditional song, Val Bennett covers The Dave Brubeck Quartet, whilst Radio Riddler (aka Brian Leiser and Frank Benbini from Fun Lovin' Criminals) deliver some Purple Reggae with a cover of Prince & The Revolution.

 

There are a few remixes thrown in from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s by François Kevorkian, Mad Professor and Central Nervous System, alongside the original masters Bunny Lee, King Tubby and Lee 'Scratch' Perry.

 

Adrian Sherwood is at the controls for three tracks: a couple of stone cold classics from African Head Charge and Singers & Players and a new song from Country Dub artist Jeb Loy Nichols from the latest (volume 8) in the excellent Pay It All Back series on On-U Sound.

 

Playing this on a soggy Sunday morning had the desired effect: twenty five minutes in, the rain stopped and the sun started to pierce through the haze. May the sun shine brightly - but not searingly - on your day, wherever you are.

 

1) A Happy Dub: Tommy McCook & The Aggrovators (1975)

2) What Does A Man Do All Day?: Jeb Loy Nichols (2022)

3) Getting Cozy (12" Mix By Phil Mathias): The In Crowd (1979)

4) Give You All The Love (Mad Professor Dubtronic Mix): Mishka (1999)

5) The Russians Are Coming (Cover of 'Take Five' by The Dave Brubeck Quartet): Val Bennett (1967)

6) Stebeni's Theme (Cover of traditional song): African Head Charge (1981)

7) Rasta Congo Dub: The Congos (2006)

8) Roots Radical (12" Version By François Kevorkian): Jimmy Cliff (1983)

9) Dub So: The Upsetters (1978)

10) My Woman (Part 1): Bim Sherman (1979)

11) Show Us The Way: Dennis Brown (1975)

12) Take Me With U (Cover of Prince & The Revolution): Radio Riddler ft. Deborah Bonham (2014)

13) Make A Joyful Noise: Singers & Players (1984)

14) D-60 Fights The Evil Force (Dub) (Remix By Central Nervous System aka Joe Fearon): The Dead 60s (2005)

15) Ordinary Version Dub: Impact All Stars (1973)

1967: The Russians Are Coming EP: 5 

1973: Java Java Java Java: 15

1975: Just Dennis: 11

1975: King Tubby Meets The Agrovators At Dub Station: 1

1978: Think So EP (by The Meditations): 9

1979: Getting Cozy / Marcus Garvey Back In Town EP: 3

1979: Lovers Leap: 10

1981: My Life In A Hole In The Ground: 6 

1983: Treat The Youths Right EP: 8

1984: Leaps & Bounds: 13

1999: Give You All The Love EP: 4 

2005: The Dead 60s / Space Invader Dub (ltd 2x CD): 14

2012: Dub Feast: 7

2014: Purple Reggae: 12

2022: Pay It All Back Vol. 8: 2

 

Tomorrow Is Promised To No One (59:59) (GD) (M)

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)