Bless Up Bless Up Radio!

Coming on in fine style and featuring a quite massive it has to be said vinyl mix treasure trove of goodies are the Uncle Fee (Black Harmony Sound) sets currently airing at BlessUp Radio over on live365 ,you can follow these absolute sound system treasures by visiting the brand new forum just set up by Uncle Fee and Moni ..'the Bless Up' forum by visiting www.blessupradio.proboards.com/index.cgi
a friendly and informative forum in it's early days ,pop in and say Hi ,if you're a UK sound system from time fan then this is the place for you.
Check out their excellent station at www.live365.com/stations/ublong2me

Pama Int'l - Updates & Competitions

Win “I STILL LOVE YOU MORE” collectors vinyl

The next 7" vinyl single from Pama Intl – “I Still Love You More b/w Equality & Justice For All” (out on 26th Oct / iTunes on 19th Oct ‘09) is now in stock at their http://www.rockersrevolt.com/ shop. As with the last single 'Happenstance' there are only 300 of these made. All are hand-numbered and stamped. Happenstance came on red vinyl; this one is on yellow vinyl. This truly is a unique collector’s piece, and they have 200 of them available in their shop. The other 100 will be going into select retail stores on 26th Oct.

For your chance to win 1 of 3 signed copies of the single simply sign up to their mailing list at http://www.pamainternationaldownloads.co.uk/
Don't worry if you've already signed up to that list. You will be automatically entered into the competition, and your email address will only be stored once.
Competition closes on 31st October ‘09.

If you can't wait till then you can buy your copy now at
http://www.rockersrevolt.com/products-page/genre/pama-intl---i-still-love-%20you-more-7vinyl/

They also have a handful of copies left of the 'Happenstance' 7" http://
http://www.rockersrevolt.com/products-page/genre/pama-intl---happenstance-7-%20vinyl/

If you experience any difficulties ordering from the Rockers Revolt website email enquiries@rockersrevolt.com

PAMA OUTERNATIONAL album available to pre-order now

On 2 Nov ’09, Pama International will release their brand new album
Pama Outernational, through the Rockers Revolt label on Vinyl, CD and download. The album will be preceded by the soul-injected smash 'I Still Love You More' (out on 26th Oct, available for pre-order now from www.rockersrevolt.com).

The album is produced by Sean Flowerdew and John Collins (producer of The Specials iconic 'Ghost Town') and features Lynval Golding & Sir Horace Panter (The Specials). Releases have been scheduled around the world. The album will be available in through Proper Distribution (UK), Indigo (Germany), Bertus (Benelux), Family Affair (Italy), Harmonia (France), Planet Company (Australia/New Zealand),
Musical Occupation/Lawless Rcds (USA), Fontana North (Canada), Cartel
(Poland), Hitchhike (Greece), Showtime (Scandinavia) and more tba.

Reviews for the album have started to come in. Watch out for reviews in Q, Mojo, Echoes, Riddim, Rocksound, Rock N Reel, Bass Guitar Magazine, Clash, Big Cheese, Scootering, Notion, Metro, Record Collector, Blues Matters, Morning Star, 247, Outline, Do The Dog and more

"Pama Intl's seamless merging of the classic and the modern, makes them one of the most enjoyable UK reggae bands and this album, presents them at their best dressed." Echoes

"the band's most accomplished release to date...excellent" Do The Dog

"album of the month" Scootering

"Pama Outernational comes across like a house party deejayed by somebody with a very deft touch and an altogether adventurous selection policy, after a couple of tunes you’re not at all sure what you’re going to hear next, but you know enough to trust it implicitly." BBC.CO.UK

The first 50 people to pre-order the vinyl LP from Rockers Revolt will receive a personalised signed copy.

So what you waiting for go and pre-order now at

http://www.rockersrevolt.com/products-page/genre/pama-outernationalcd/VinylLPwww.rockersrevolt.com/products-page/genre/pama-outernational-%20vinyl-lp/

If you experience any difficulties ordering from the Rockers Revolt
website email enquiries@rockersrevolt.com

Amazon CD
www.amazon.co.uk/Pama-Outernational-International/dp/B002QQ7IN8/ref=sr_tr_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1254298271&sr=8-1

Rough Trade CD
www.roughtrade.com/site/shop_detail.lasso?search_type=sku&sku=319034


PAMA INTERNATIONAL - OUTERNATIONAL TOUR pt.1

Pama are delighted to say they have a host of favourite UK bands, DJs and sound systems joining them on the first leg of their UK tour, including; the return of legendary ska/rap/funk outfit Maroon Town, DJ Wrongtom (best known for his work with Hard Fi & recent killer Roots Manuva dubs), the mighty Axis Sound System, Do The Dog's Jimmy the Squirrel, Funkdub DJs, Urban Roots Sound System, the old school ska & rocksteady stylings of Erin Bardwell Collective, and our very own Springline Jamaica signing HASSLE plus loads more. It prove to be a fantastic tour

Pama Intl's line up for this tour includes mainstays Sean Flowerdew and Finny (Loafers, Special Beat), Dready D (African Headcharge), Lenny Bignell (Acid Jazz soulsters Lord Large) and Andi McClean (U Roy, Gregory Isaacs, Frankie Paul). Lyvnal Golding (The Specials) will be joining the band at Poole, Birmingham and Bristol, in-between tour duties with The Specials.

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Win PAMA INTERNATIONAL tickets - Courtesy of Music-news.com.
Pama are giving away four pairs of tickets for their up and coming UK tour and copies of the Pama Outernational album. For your chance to win go to

www.music-news.com/ShowCompetition.asp?nCompetitionID=910

Oh and don’t forget, make a date in your diaries….. on Saturday 19th December at the Newcastle Live Theatre you can catch Springline’s very own HASSLE in support!!
(Full tour dates posted last month)

Box Office 0191 2321232 http://www.live.org.uk/


Want to be in a Video?
Would you like to be part of a Pama Intl video? Well they will be shooting their first ever video at a secret location on Saturday 17 October, in London. If you're around at about 8pm, and would like to be in the video just drop them an email to

video@pamainternational.co.uk for details.

All new myspace
Pama’s myspace page has just had a make over, and on it you can hear 'Equality & Justice For All'. If not already a friend there pop over and take a look and join the revolution!
www.myspace.com/pamainternational
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Baijie - ‘That’s Life’ EP

The comparatively new and exciting Jamaican record label Truckback Records, who have been primarily making a name for themselves in Dancehall circles thanks to the creation of the popular Gearbox, Dashboard and Sparkplug riddims, which have featured such artists as Beenie Man, Mr. Vegas, Elephant Man and Shaq The MC to name but a few, are now adding some rootsy flavours to the mix. First up and available now from itunes is an EP from Baijie entitled ‘That’s Life’. The EP contains 3 quality modern, roots reggae, styled tunes taken from his forth coming LP ‘Equilibrium’. The tunes, despite their contempory feel, still manage to hearken back to the classic sounds of yesteryear, with bubbly and throbbing bass lines complimented by bright, yet subtle choppy keyboards. Lyrically strong Baijie tackles the subjects of rising crime, poverty, failing government, environmental issues and not forgetting praising Jah, and encouraging a more spiritual existence.
This is a strong opening EP from Baijie and if this is a taste of things to come from him then the release of ‘Equilibrium’ promises to be a joyous event.

Check out these tunes by way of a couple of his videos

That’s Life

Global Warning

The Skatalites - A Profile

More than a band, the Skatalites were and are an institution, an aggregation of top-notch musicians who didn't merely define the sound of Jamaica, they were the sound of Jamaica across the '50s and '60s. Although the group existed in its original incarnation for less than 18 months, members brought their signature styles to hundreds upon hundreds of the island's releases. The Skatalites officially lined up as guitarist Jerome "Jah Jerry" Hinds, bassist Lloyd Brevett, teenaged pianist Donat Roy "Jackie" Mittoo, drummer Lloyd Knibbs, trumpeter Johnnie "Dizzie" Moore, Cuban-born tenor saxophonist Tommy McCook, alto saxophonists Lester Sterling and Cuban born Roland Alphonso, and trombonist Don Drummond. Moore, McCook, Sterling, and Drummond were all alumni of the Alpha Cottage School for Boys, an educational institution for troubled and troublesome boys in Kingston, run by the Catholic diocese. Besides the regular lashings of studies, the school was renowned for its music program, and over the years turned hundreds of wayward boys into performers of note. All four ended up playing the hotel circuit, churning out r&b and jazz covers for the tourists. Previous to the late '50s, this was Jamaica's only real music industry outside the mento scene, and as there were no local record labels, resorts were the only way for musicians to seriously ply their trade. The hotel bands were an ever-shifting conglomerate of players, but over time, they would crisscross each other's paths so often, that all became familiar with everyone else's style. Knibbs and Drummond, for example, had both once played with Eric Dean's Band. When Knibbs departed for The Sheiks, he joined a lineup that included Mittoo and Moore. However, new career opportunities presented themselves when local businessmen Duke Reid and Clement "Coxsonne" Dodd both launched record labels and the era of the sessionmen arrived in Jamaica. Although both McCook and Alphonso had previously cut acetates, this was the first time any of the future Skatalites would appear on vinyl. Between 1959, when Reid released his first vinyl single, and 1962, most of the band's future members worked regularly at Reid's Treasure Isle studio, playing on a swathe of rib, boogie, and ballad releases. The Heartbeat label's Ska After Ska After Ska bundles up an album's worth of this early material, as does the Dutch label Jamaica Gold, on Shuffle'n'Ska Time. In 1962, Dodd opened his own Studio One recording studio, and the future Skatalites now quickly gravitated in his direction as well. Joining them was McCook, who'd missed all the previous action, having left Jamaica in 1954 to join the house band at the Zanzibar Club in Nassau. The studio was inaugurated with the release of the album Jazz Jamaica From the Workshop, which featured McCook, Alphonso, Drummond, and guitarist Ernest Ranglin, amongst others. The Skatalites came to fruition in June 1964, according to the members' own reckoning, although they have given conflicting stories about just how it happened. Ranglin credits Moore, Knibbs credits himself, but there's no doubt who came up with the name -- that honor goes to McCook. Drafting in vocalists Jackie Opel, Tony DaCosta, Doreen Schaeffer, and calypso star Joseph "Lord Tanamo" Gordon, the group debuted live on June 27, 1964, at the Hi- Hat club in Rae Town. It didn't take long for the Skatalites to grab a residency at the Bournemouth Beach Club in Eastern Kingston, where they performed three nights a week, as well as a Sunday residency at the Orange Bowl on Orange Street. With the growth of Dodd's Studio One label, the group soon found themselves with almost more gigs than they could handle, touring the island as the backing band for most of the label's artists, whilst also performing on-stage themselves. It must have been grueling, the constant driving to and from venues and playing a minimum of two sets a night, but in truth, the Skatalites were having a whale of a time. And in between the gigs, the band seems to have spent virtually all their waking hours recording. Besides working for Dodd and Reid, the group also played on a multitude of records for Prince Buster and Duke and Justin Yap. The actual number of recordings they performed on is anyone's guess, an approximation made more difficult by the fact that the musicians normally went uncredited on the singles themselves. To add to the confusion, the Skatalites in the studio could be any of a number of musicians, not just the aforementioned lineup. Guitarist Ranglin, pianist Gladstone Anderson, trombonist Rico Rodriguez, and trumpeter Baba Brooks are just a few of the many men who took part in the Skatalites recording sessions.

What actually defines a Skatalites record? Many of their recordings were understandably released under the vocalist's name, not theirs. But what of Prince Buster's U.K. smash "Al Capone"? Buster may have intoned the title across the track, but wasn't it the Skatalites who truly made the song? Even amongst the group's own repertoire, the records were credited to the composer, not the band. Thus, the seminal "Guns of Navarone" was originally released under Roland Alphonso's name, not the Skatalites'. Modern archivists have attempted to address these injustices with compilations featuring the band, regardless of original accreditation. The West Side label's Skaravan -- Top Sounds From Top Deck, for example, is currently into the eighth CD of their Skatalites' compilations, all taken from their sessions for the YAP brothers, while Heartbeat's Foundation Ska bundles up a batch of Studio One cuts. Thankfully, the members' styles are so unique, as to be instantly recognizable within a few notes. In truth, most ska compilations are awash in the members' music, credited or not. That bouncy swing tempo, the jazzy brass, and the steady, skanking beat, all shout the Skatalites louder than any written credit, as easily heard on the vocal releases as on their own instrumentals. But the instrumentals were the group's glory. Songs like "Guns of Navarone," "Phoenix City," "Addis Ababa," "Silver Dollar," "Corner Stone," and "Blackberry Brandy," to name just a small handful of their most seminal cuts, not only defined the island's sound, but created a whole new genre of music -- ska. The group have ofttimes been quoted as saying their invention of ska was never intentional, but merely the byproduct of their flawed attempts at American r&b. But this self-deprecating explanation neglects the jazz and big band swing sound that was also crucial to ska in its original form. And anyone good enough to play in those styles would have little problem mastering r&b. What the Skatalites actually did was drag these older styles into the contemporary scene, merge it with modern r&b, and propel it into the mainstream via a faster syncopated island beat. And with it, the group's musical legacy spread around the world and across generations. But that must have seemed ridiculous at the very end of 1964. The Skatalites were playing at the La Parisienne club in Harbour View for New Year's Eve, a show that went on without Drummond. The trombonist had a history of mental illness and late that night, in a fit of rage, he stabbed his common-law wife and band vocalist, Marguerita, to death. Drummond was arrested and sent to Bellevue Sanitarium; he died there in 1969. The Skatalites continued on for six more months after this tragedy, but the spark was dying with it, and finally in July 1965, the members called it quits. Several from the group did continue playing together. Alphonso, Moore, Mittoo, and Brevett eventually formed The Soul Brothers, which later become the Soul Vendors. McCook formed The Supersonics, which was virtually Reid's house band at Treasure Isle Studio, and Sterling went off to work with producer "Sir" Clancy Collins. As their session work continued apace, inevitably many of the former members found themselves back working together. Then in 1975, most of the Skatalites reunited to record Brevett's solo album, African Roots. McCook, Alphonso, Sterling, Ranglin, Mittoo, and Knibbs all took part in the proceedings. Two years later, the Hot Lava album appeared, credited to Tommy McCook & the Skatalites, but in contrast to Brevett's "solo" album, this really was one. 1978's Jackie Mittoo may sound like a solo outing by the pianist, but actually features a clutch of former Skatalites. That same year, Island head Chris Blackwell convinced the members to reconvene again and recorded the Big Guns album. However, due to discord between the label man and McCook, the record sat on the shelf until 1984, when it was finally released as Return of the Big Guns. The previous year, the group had again reunited under the aegis of producer Bunny Lee for the Skatalites With Sly & Robbie & the Taxi Gang. It took a few more years for the members to finally agree they were a band again; in 1986 they made it official and began gigging regularly. In 1989, they toured the world as Bunny Wailer's backing band, and the next year performed the same service for Prince Buster. In 1993, an album of new material, Skavoovee, finally appeared. Now boasting a core lineup of McCook, Brevett, Sterling, and Knibbs, the album was highly acclaimed. Their timing was perfect as the U.S. was in the grips of ska fever, and the band's constant touring abroad had cemented a worldwide following. Over the intervening years, the Skatalites had returned to their jazz roots with a vengeance, but ska fans didn't mind one bit. Alphonso now permanently rejoined the Skatalites for 1994's Hi-Bop Ska: The 30th Anniversary Recording, which also featured such illustrious guests as former vocalist Doreen Schaeffer, Prince Buster, and Toots Hibbert, and an all-star gathering of jazz musicians. The album deservedly earned the band their first Grammy nomination. Even McCook's heart attack in 1995 barely slowed the group down. The band continued their hectic touring schedule without him until the tenor saxophonist rejoined them early the next year. However, even though he was forced off the road for good due to health problems a few weeks later, he was still able to record, and 1996's excellent Greetings From Skamania remains a tribute to his determination, and earned the group a second Grammy nomination. On May 5, 1998, the legendary saxophonist passed away; he was 71. Later that year, the Skatalites released Balls of Fire, on which the band re-created many of their old ska hits in their newer jazz style. That autumn, Alphonso collapsed on-stage at Hollywood's Key Club. He slipped into a coma soon after, and on November 20, he, too, died. But no matter how great the contributions of individual members, the Skatalites were always greater than the sum of their parts, and thus the band carried on. In 2000, they released Bashaka and their touring schedule continues unabated. While touring Europe in late2001, they reocrded yet again, resulting in the 2003 release of From Paris With Love. Each year brings another slew of compilations of their recordings from labels around the world. Decades on, their music remains timeless.

~ Jo-Ann Greene, All Music Guide

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Shootin' Goon - Splottside Rocksteady

You know what it’s like you buy something from places like Amazon and then you constantly get emails saying “We noticed you liked this... so we are recommending this!” Well usually these things go straight in the bin, but on this instance the recommendation was for this Shootin' Goon’s ‘Splottside Rocksteady’. Now I first heard of this group while rediscovering my musical mojo back around the early 2000's on a great Do The Dog compilation titled This Are UK Ska (‘Back Again’) and also on another real good compilation from the Sucka Punch record label called Compunktion Vol1 (‘Wootini’).I really liked these tunes and thought I must investigate more, but for whatever reason I never did get round to buying this LP......until, thanks to that email from Amazon, now!
Shootin' Goon hailed from Cardiff around the late 1990s and early 2000's and were first signed to the Moon Ska Europe record label (on which this was originally released) before joining Good Clean Fun Records. After being unavailable for sometime this LP has now just been re-released on Cadiz.
The idea behind the title of the album is that Splott is an area of Cardiff, while the Rocksteady part however I'm not sure of because that is a million miles from what you get, as the pace on here rarely drops below frantic!! Their music style is Ska / Punk in the same vain of people like Less Than Jake, MU330, King Prawn and was once described somewhere as "Punk with horns". Indeed on its original release it got rave reviews in magazines like Kerrang and Fracture.
This LP shows off a band with a great, infectious energy, who can still keep things tuneful and melodic, and this has to be worth a punt just for their version of YMCA. I'm really glad I read that email now, and just a little disappointed I didn't take the plunge and get it first time round. So if you like dancing around, going nuts and bouncing off the walls to a Ska band with a good healthy chunk of Punk thrown in the mix, then don't like me miss out and go grab a copy now, this is the perfect goodtime soundtrack!

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"I thought I was at the f***ing circus!" - Bam Margera

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Tracklist
1. Rick Loves Jo
2. Bradley
3. My Art
4. Back Again
5. To Anyone
6. Prove Yourself
7. Wootini
8. Black and Blue
9. Fallin'
10. Changes
11. Creeps
12. Late Night Rumbles
13. Plain to See
14. YMCA

Reggae Gold 2009

When I first heard of this LP I thought to myself.....Gold....sounds like classic oldies.......dancehall....oh nice, lots of Barrington, Barry Brown, Lone Ranger that type of thing......well imagine my surprise then when I opened it up and found it was full of "dancehall" tunes from the past couple of years. Now I have to admit I'm a bit of a dinosaur, and like my reggae generally from the early 60's up to around the mid eighties, so I'm not fully in touch with today's artists. Still although a little disappointed I continued. This LP, a lot like a lot of similar LP's in this and the R&B / Club field, starts off with all the user friendly, popular hits right up front, before going to the darker and what I suppose has to be considered the more "underground" to the general record buying public, though I dare say most fans of these genres would start from the back and work to the front?
First up here is Estelle, yes she of 'American Boy' fame. This time she has Sean Paul helping her out rather than Kanye West. This as you'd expect is a very polished reggae R&B hybrid, with Estelles soft vocal being nicely complimented by Paul's 'Chat', and surprisingly to me I have to say I actually quite enjoy. This followed by Jasmine Sullivan, “I Need U Bad”, which is a stormin' little number. Again a reggae R&B cross but with a real in yer face bass riddim.
The next couple of tracks for me are just awful, what I'd call 'holiday reggae' tracks. The first up is by Brick & Lace and entitled 'Love Is Wicked'. Now I don't on the whole like to criticise things on here, if I don't like it I won't write it, after all this is a blog for hopeful promoting good vibes, but this song, while it might sound alright while if holidaying in the med, has those synth pan pipes and brass sounds, that sound like some dodgy cabaret act. The song lyrically is also very 'slack', but it is also very annoyingly catchy, and after a couple of listens I found my self singing "ya love is wicked, wicked" all the time...arrggghhh!! This is then followed by Serani's 'Playing Games', which just did nothing for me at all.
'So Special' by Mavado is a return to a tougher sounding dancehall style on what is a cut up of the previous tunes riddim I believe. From here on the user friendly style of the LP also tends to fade off some what, both musically and lyrically. Sure you still have the softer sounds of Beres Hammond's 'See you again', a tune that breaks away from the dancehall style format of the LP, as he delivers a classic easy flowing lovers rock tune. As too to some extent do Etana & Alborosie with the quite schmaltzy 'Blessings'. Also Queen Ifrica is here with her excellent soft acoustic melody 'Far Away', taken from her LP 'Welcome To Montego Bay', reviewed on here in September. However you also get the hard hitting Tarrus Riley 'Start A New', a song all about domestic violence, while Prodigal Son berates child rapists with 'Head Cyaan Hot So'. This is then followed by Busy Signal's 'Praise And Worship', which is a kind of medley of reworked gospel standards including Rivers of Babylon, When The Saints and Wings Of A Dove [no...not the Madness tune] and more. Was this intended to lighten the mood a bit?
Reggae Gold....well not really reggae in the purist sense in my mind, and most probably to many crossover tunes for fans of the genre, and as for gold well I doubt very much many of these will be regarded with great affection in a few years time. Despite this if you are a bit adventurous with diverse tastes then you may welcome this snap shot of modern reggae hybrids. By no means a classic but with more than a few nice tunes.

Tracklist:

01 Estelle featuring Sean Paul - Come over

02 Jazmine Sulliver - Need u bad

03 Brick & Lace - Love is wicked

04 Serani - Playing games

05 Mavado - So special

06 Elephant Man - Nuh linga

07 Jah Vinci - Watch your friends

08 Chino featuring Stephen "Di Genius" McGregor

09 Beres Hammond - See you again

10 Etana & Alborosie - Blessings

11 Tarrus Riley - Start a new

12 Queen Ifrica - Far away

13 Prodigal Son - Head cyaan hot so

14 Busy Signal - Praise and worship

15 Laden - Money over war

16 Elephant Man - Dance and sweep

17 T.O.K. - Couple up
18 I Wayne - Leave if you want to leave

Marlena Shaw - The Spice of Life

It maybe have turned 40yrs old this year but this is still a little gem of an LP, that i feel has stood the test of time well. Marlena Shaw may perhaps be better known and indeed thought of as a jazz singer, but I’d say this LP shows her in a more Bluesy / Soul style with a splash of Jazz to get the juices flowing. However this LP isn’t full of fluffy, popcorn, girlie soul, sure it contains the popular, mightily catchy and summer filled, Ashford and Simpson written classic ‘California Soul’, but this LP also finds a soul speaking of social injustice, politics, and feminism.
The whole affair kicks off with the mighty and much sampled ‘Women Of The Ghetto’, with its powerful, deeply hypnotic bass line driving the song while Marlena berates US politicians for their failings, while displaying a certain strength and pride. Next up is complete change of style as she takes on the blues standard ‘Stormy Monday’ with great aplomb. Then it’s back into soul mode for ‘Where Can I Go’, then Mowtownesque ‘I’m Satisfied’. ‘I Wish I Knew’ sees Marlena hit a joyous, gospel tambourine tappin’ inspired stride, with jazzy guitar compliment, before we get all dirty, groovy, funk on ‘Liberation Conversation’. Then it’s the afore mentioned ‘Cali Soul’ followed by her original version of one of her signature numbers "Go Away Little Boy", a really hot, jazzy number about an older woman trying to resist a younger man, me thinks...
"Looking Through the Eyes of Love" is a Bacharach, MOR sounding, big time tune, that, with that rousing chorus, I think could go down well with a northern soul crowd, if it hasn’t already, while ‘Anyone Can Move A Mountain’, a sweet soul ballad, finally brings the whole thing to a close.
What also sets this LP up for me is some extremely powerful arrangements by producers Richard Evans and Charles Stepney that help to give the best back drop and setting to Marlena’s powerful yet sweet vocals, while also the enlisting of Bobby Miller of the Dells to help write 3 of the songs on the record payed off as they are probably the strongest ones. ‘The Spice Of Life’ is aptly named and would be a welcome accompaniment to anyone’s record / CD rack.


Tracks :
1 Woman Of The Ghetto
2 Stormy Monday

3 Where Can I Go ?

4 I'm Satisfied
5 I Wish I Knew (How It Would Feel To Be Free)
6 Liberation Conversation
7 California Soul
8 Go Away, Little Boy

9 Looking Through The Eyes Of Love
10 Anyone Can Move A Mountain

Reggae Anthology - Niney The Observer: Roots With Quality

Quick confession to make, when someone mentions the name of Niney to me I automatically think of dub, but this 40 track double CD (released earlier this year on VP records) reminds me that not only was he a producer of quality dub, but also as the title suggests, he helped to create some quality roots as well! Showcased here are just some of his works with of the biggest names in reggae, Big Youth, Dennis Brown, Max Romeo, Gregory Isaacs, Horace Andy, Sugar Minott, and Ken Boothe to name but a few. The 1st disc for me is the stronger of the two if only for disc 2’s inclusion of the rather weak ‘Sweets for my Sweet’ by Jimmy Riely. That said disc 2 does contain possibly my favourite Niney produced track ‘Wolf And Leopards’ by Dennis Brown. Other top picks include Delroy Wilson’s ‘Rascal Man’ 'Rock Away' from Gregory Isaacs, and 'My Baby Is Gone' by Delroy Wilson.
A very nice compilation from one of Jamaica’s top producers who has produced classic tracks across the entire field of reggae, from earth shuddering bass heavy dubs to sweet as candy lovers rock, and of course along the way some fine quality roots!

Tracklisting

Disc One

1. Blood & Fire - Niney

2. Whole Lot Of Fire - Big Youth

3. The Coming Of Jah - Max Romeo

4. Rasta Bandwagon - Lee Perry / Max Romeo

5. Rascal Man (False Rasta) - Delroy Wilson

6. Rasta No Born Yah - Sang Hugh & The Lionaires

7. Guess Who's Coming To Dinner / Clap The Barber - Michael Rose

8. The Way Reason - Delroy Wilson

9. Bring The Couchie Come - The Reggae Crusaders

10. I Need Your Loving - Slim Smith

11. Rock Away - Gregory Isaacs

12. Silverwords - Ken Boothe

13. My Baby Is Gone - Delroy Wilson

14. Here I Come - Dennis Brown

15. Jah Come Here - I Roy

16. Warrior - Johnny Clarke

17. Whip Them Jah - Ranking Trevor

18. Every Natty - Junior Delgado

19. Weeping - Junior Byles

20. Sufferation – Tyrone Taylor

Disc Two

1. Wolf And Leopards / Nosey Joe - Dennis Brown / Bongo Herman

2. Slave Master - The Captives

3. Chant It Down - Freddie McGregor

4. Jah Is My Light - Leroy Smart

5. No More Will I Roam - Dennis Brown

6. Materialist - Horace Andy

7. Moses - Jacob Miller

8. Prophecy Call - Glasford Manning

9. Mutiny - Niney

10. I Jah I - The Jewels

11. Slave Call - The Ethiopians

12. Temptation, Botheration &Tribulation - The Heptones

13. Roots With Quality - Third World

14. Tease My Love - Freddie McGregor

15. Lover's Race - Sugar Minott

16. Mr. Sun - Don Carlos

17. Thank You Mama - Barry Brown

18. Lover's Rock JA Style - Freddie McGregor

19. Sweets For My Sweets - Jimmy Riley

20. Money Friend - Leroy Smart / Baby Wayne

Mungos News!

Friday 25th September saw the return of Mungo's Hi Fi Sound System to the Artschool after a four month summer break and also marked the last time that Mungo's will play a Friday night there. The occasion was marked by a brilliant guest mc in the shape of Solo Banton. He has worked for a long time on Sound Systems in London, but is only just emerging on the international scene. Having worked extensively with the Reality Shock crew he has gone on to release some great tunes for the Jahtari and Police in Helicopter labels, which you should check via the links below. Also their resident mc’s Scotty and Zeb are going from strength to strength and the three of them together provided a proper quality session!!

Solo Banton's Myspace

YOUTUBE
Talk to me
No joke ting
Walk like Rasta video
Solo getting mixed by Dougie Wardrop
Thunda clap dub video

Mungo's Hi Fi are going to busy on the road for the next couple of months or so with shows booked for the following dates with more TBC.

2nd October Riddim CollisionLyon, France
3rd October Monster Bass at the Black SwanBristol, England
4th October Dancehall ScienceLeeds, England
9th Octoberot 301 with Kenny Knots Amsterdam, Netherlands
9th October klub sir3ne with Zeb and ScottyVienna, Austria
9th October Haile Silesia Katowice, Poland
16th OctoberLa Salle Bois de l’AuneMarseille, France
17th October ARTSCHOOL with Liquid Wicked (Dub-4 & Von-D, Cool and Deadly, Paris)Glasgow, Scotland
22nd October The Magnet ClubLiverpool, England
24th OctoberKassablanca Jena, Germany

7th November Warehouse Dance with Reggae Roast London, England
13th November New BohemiaLeeds, England
21st November ARTSCHOOL WITH BRIGADIER JERRYGlasgow, Scotland
27th November Tour of Mexico