Look out for five nice Harry J 7″s out now courtesy of the French outfit Only Roots. All come on replicas of Harry J’s original 70′s and 80′s labels: Cancer, Roosevelt and Harry J.
OR09 – Carl Dawkins – Dreadful Situation [Cancer]
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OR10 – Tinga Stewart – Coo Deh [Cancer]
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OR11 – Tommy Sheakspear – Rolling Stone [Roosevelt]
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OR12 – Pablo Nkomo – Du Misa Gunman [Harry J]
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OR13 – Teddy Irie – We Rule The Border [Harry J]
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The in demand Morning Sun by Al Barry and the Cimarrons is currently available on a repress 7″ on a facsimile Doctor Bird label. This is limited to 300 copies only so move fast if you want one.
This tune was made famous after being included in the soundtrack of the film This Is England, though original 1970 Doctor Bird copies are pretty much impossible to find and are well into three figures on ebay.
I understand this is fully licensed from Al Barry himself. Copies are available from enthucol on ebay.
Four singles reissued now on Bond Export three with production credits going to Clive Chin and Randy’s and one to Harry Mudie.
EW1974 – Freddie McKay – Won’t Get Away/Version (Impact! label)
Produced by Clive Chin and Eddie Wong and originally released on Eddie Wong’s Downtown label this is the next cut to Foot Of The Mountain by Dennis Brown. This has been reissued on a plain black and white Impact! label in recent years, this issue has the same catalogue number as that repress.
BE-010 – Peter Broggs – Vampire (Vank Out)/Version (Quarter Mile label)
Peter Broggs first tune, previously reissued circa 1997 by Bob Brooks of Reggae Revive this was first released on the Quarter Mile label (as Vampire) and on the Jah Man Label (as Vank Out) in the 70′s, both these original presses credited the artist under his real name, Henry James. Apparently recorded at Channel One and produced by Morris “CB” Edwards from Randy’s.
CC6361 – Upright Foundation – Wolf In Sheep Clothing (Wisdom Sounds)
A 1976 release, the Upright Brothers were basically the last incarnation of the Gaylads with Maurice Roberts, Randell and Hopeton Thaxter (or at least one of the latter). Presumably the Upright Foundation were a name chosen before they took the name the Psalms.
HM3167 – N. Elliott & N. Bailey – People Let Love Shine (AKA Morning Star) / The Jet Sets – Too Much 7″ (Afro)
By Noel Elliot and Noel(?) Bailey this was first released on the Globe label as Morning Star and then on Afro (and Moodisc in the UK) as People Let Love Shine. This dates from 1972.
Just out through Deadly Dragon Chat You Mouth by The Mighty Rulers – a lovely tune and stupidly rare till now, there are only 500 copies so don’t sleep on this dancehall people!
To mark it’s release they’ve done a new podcast. There is plenty of quality digital here, Check it out.
In just over a weeks time on Friday 4 May it’s the London International Ska Festival Deejay All Nighter. We’re really excited about this event as the Tighten Up Crew get to go head to head with Steve Rice of Downbeat Melody alongside Chris Lane. As we’ll all be playing on Steve’s superb Downbeat Melody Sound System we’ll have to be gentle but expect plenty of tough tough tunes all the same. As it’s part of the Ska Festival there will be plenty of 60′s sounds but all tastes will be catered for on the night.
There are three rooms of music in total with other highlights being Jerry Dammers, Dreadzone Soundsytem, Gladdy Wax and Tim Bilko Wells.
You can get advance tickets from the London International Ska Festival website. Check out the rest of the festival too; spread over 4 nights there is a whole series of artists lined up including Dandy Livingston, The Pioneers (George Dekker & Jackie Robinson), Dave Barker, Rico Rodriguez, Freddie Notes and Owen Grey.
Derrick Harriott – Walk The Streets (Derrick Harriott production)
Derrick Harriott wasn’t the greatest singer of the rocksteady era but he was certainly premier league. He had a remarkable knack for picking a tune and making it his own too, if he’d been in America in the same period he would have been a household name to equal the likes of Marvin Gaye.
Walk The Streets was originally recorded by The Tams as You Might As Well Forget Him, it’s a classic tale of heartbreak that works perfectly as rocksteady:
“Whoa, darling, you might as well forget him
For he’s gone, he’s said his last goodbye”.
Great stuff and hugely underrated.
Walk The Streets was originally issued on a Crystal 7″ in Jamaica and on Island in the UK. It is currently available on a Crystal 7″ from Dub Store.
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As a rule I don’t feature press releases here – what’s the point in rehashing stuff you can read in a dozen other places? But this is an exception – just too good not too mention…
A Gift to Jamaica: Beth Lesser’s new book to be available as a free Download
Rub-a-Dub Style: The Roots of Modern Dancehall by Beth Lesser
With the release of their 1979 hit 45, Rub-a-Dub Style, deejays Smiley and Michigan announced to the world that reggae music was undergoing a major change. Dancehall- based and inspired music was moving to the forefront, leaving roots and rockers behind. A new sound was taking over Jamaica. Rub-a-Dub Style: The Roots of Modern Dancehall, Beth Lesser’s latest book, covers the emergence of this “Dancehall” music in Jamaica in the 1980’s. Despite the vibrant scene that was emerging in Jamaica, the 80’s has remained an obscure, often neglected period in the examination of reggae’s development. Yet, it was this period of creativity and growth that not only set the stage for everything that is happening in reggae music today, but played a significant role in influencing hip-hop and rap music.
In her new publication, Ms. Lesser fills in the gap between the passing of Marley in 1981 and the dancehall explosion in the early 90′s, leading the reader through ten years of changes that brought dancehall music from the ghetto to international acclaim. This is the story of the 80’s as told through the eyes of the participants – the artists, musicians, producers, distributors, sound owners, radio jocks, engineers and fans. Rub-a-Dub Style covers this innovative period in Jamaican music that saw the introduction of pre-programmed instruments, the rise of sound system ‘specials’, the battle of ‘slackness’ v. ‘culture’, the emergence of female dancehall artists, the development of the sing-jay style and the domination of the market by deejays.
During the 1980’s, Beth and her husband, David Kingston, published Reggae Quarterly magazine. David was also the host of the award-winning program, Reggae Showcase, on CKLN, Toronto, from 1982 to 1992. Many of the artists passing through the city appeared for both interviews and live dancehall sessions on the air. Beth Lesser has previously written three books on reggae : King Jammys, ECW Press, Toronto, Canada, 2002; Dance Hall: The Rise of Dance Hall Culture, Soul Jazz, UK, 2008; The Legend of Sugar Minott, Muzik Tree, UK, 2011. In addition, Beth’s photographs continue to appear on LP and CD covers around the world, as well as in books, magazines, and films.
Rub-a-dub Style is being offered as a free download as an appreciation of Jamaica- its people and its culture, for the 2012 celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Jamaican independence. Ms. Lesser’s goal is to reach a wider readership and thus promote a greater understanding and appreciation of the efforts that these artists and musicians put into creating such a powerful and dynamic expression of Jamaican culture.
Because there is no cost involved in obtaining the Rub-a-Dub Style, Ms. Lesser hopes that those who are able will consider contributing something to the artists and organizations mentioned in the publication, to help keep them active and working, and the music flowing.
Rub-a-Dub style will be available April 30 as a free download and, for a donation of $1, from most E book distributors including Amazon and Chapters (A price is required by Amazon etc. in order for them to make an E Book available to the public). All donations will go directly to support projects by Jamaican artists and producers. There will also be an option to buy a hard copy as print on demand from various book vendors. In order to allow Rub-a-Dub Style to be affordable as print-on-demand, it contains no photographs.
Sunrise records return with their third instalment of the entire A and B sides of the Blue Beat label. This release is the second and final edition covering 1961 (they’ve previously issued one volume for 1960 and a first part for 1961). It’s frustrating that these are unlikely to reach the golden years of the mid 60′s due to changes in the law. Still, we shall be grateful for what we’ve got which on this occasion is another musical history lesson that showcases many of the most important tracks in the early days of the Jamaican music industry and from a UK perspective the most important label for Jamaican releases for nearly all of the 1960′s.
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Rico Rodriguez & Busters All Stars – Luke Lane Shuffle
As Phil Etgart’s excellent sleeve notes point out; on this issue the dominance of Duke Reid and Coxsone Dodd is now very apparent with the only significant challenger being Prince Buster (Buster was always well represented on Blue Beat and in later years he was the number one producer for the label).
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The Mellow Cats & Count Ossie’s Warricka’s – Rock A Man Soul
As you’d expect the sounds here carry on where they left of on the last volume with a mix of jumpy R&B and proto ska shuffle tunes alongside the odd ballad and door wop influenced sounds. The sound quality is a mix too with some tunes sounding really great and others less so, clearly betraying that a clean vinyl source was not always forthcoming, nothing is unlistenable though and given the age of the recordings the lack of pristine audio sources is understandable. It might be hard work to listen to both CD’s without a break but there are plenty of quality tunes here that make a purchase more than worthwhile.
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The Drumbago All Stars – Corn Bread & Butter
The Story Of Blue Beat 1961 Part 2 is released on 23 April 2012.
Look out for five nice Harry J 7″s out now courtesy of the French outfit Only Roots. All come on replicas of Harry J’s original 70′s and 80′s labels: Cancer, Roosevelt and Harry J.
Derrick Harriott – Walk The Streets (Derrick Harriott production)
Sunrise records return with their third instalment of the entire A and B sides of the Blue Beat label. This release is the second and final edition covering 1961 (they’ve previously issued one volume for 1960 and a first part for 1961). It’s frustrating that these are unlikely to reach the golden years of the mid 60′s due to 
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