More choice coming soon

LUCIANO part1

2012-01-27T04:14:00.000-08:00

You could say that Luciano is easy to listen too but he is by no means easy listening. He has crafted a form of classic roots style that is both modern and old fashioned....in other words his music is timeless. Luciano has earned the nick-name, or I should say been given the honorary title of Messenjah. His lyrical purpose is devout Rastafarian teachings but he never comes off as preachy. A delicate balance. Jahmessenger walks the path of Black Unity, Repatriation to Mother Africa, and Empowerment of the Black Individual. So comfortable is he in his own skin that he can deliver a cover of a pop song and make it relevant. Every disc seems to contain one or two of these interesting choices. While Luciano's biggest recorded statements like the disc Child Of A King or the recent United States of Africa reach your ears through the efforts of VP Records a lot of his early gems can still be found on the now defunct Jetstar label. Like most stars of Reggae Luciano owes no allegiance to any one record label and has recorded for them all. He does however seem to favor VP Records for the massive drops. Most of the time.

A pound of JAH THOMAS

2012-01-27T04:00:00.000-08:00

Until legislation legalizes being under the influence of Jah Thomas's DANCE HALL STYLEE, don't drive with it booming through your car speakers, you will be stopped by the law and you will have to explain why your car is filled up with ganja smoke and yet nobody present puffed a spliff. Try talking your way out of why your eyes are bloodshot red and yet again explain that you haven't inhaled any of the intoxicating aroma of herb.
Blame it on Jah Thomas....!

So thick and heavy was the Sensi fog during the original session back 1982 that more than twenty-five years later you can still get a contact high from the second smoke!

So slow Rub-A-Dub all of your 5 senses from the safety of your couch.
This musical dope was grown by Jah Thomas at Channel One Studios. Harvested by the Roots Radics Band and then rolled by Scientist at King Tubbys.

MORE CHOICE...SOON

2012-01-19T05:33:00.000-08:00

I have in the works a review of Luciano's amazing CHILD OF A KING disc. I listened intently too it in honor of Martin Luther King's Day. Different time and place...but their message is the same. I finished up that Busy Signal post reviewing his brilliant LOADED disc that I started in what seems like years ago. I will refresh it soon....

MODERN FOOL!

2012-01-19T05:19:00.000-08:00

I am almost a half century old! Too prove I'm not a complete living fossil I downloaded some Reggae Apps to my IPad2. I'm field testing 'em now. My Lady Saw has a free app that was written a ways back and seems interesting enough. Ce'Cile has an app for her latest drop, Jamaicanization, that looks really well crafted with lots of extra goodies! The only draw back is I already have the disc downloaded from I-Tunes and the app costs $7.99. So if ya haven't bought her latest (shame on you) buy it in app form.

Sheldon Campbell has a fan app for .99 cents that I am too cheap too pay for! For now anyway. The online magazine UNITED REGGAE has a FREE mobile device app that puts me instantly in touch with the latest Reggae news reporting. I have no excuse now. Still searching and learning my new toy.

THE JIM SCREECHY RIDDIM

2011-12-28T11:17:00.000-08:00

I still can't figure how to preview individual tunes. We know I certainly don't know how to review tunes.
Blogger has idiot proofed loading videos from youtube. So to show off my new found skill...SPICE'S weird and wonderful take on the JIM SCREECHY RIDDIM. Damn, that tune (and video) is just absolutely ridiculous in every way!
Been a few years and I'm stilling not getting bored with it! Last count is...712,361 views.

Some big names work over this SOCA Riddim. Dancehall names like AIDONIA and BEENIE MAN. As well home turf talent like BUNJIE GARLIN and FAY-ANN LYONS.

ABOUT TIME!

2011-12-28T11:00:00.000-08:00

Speaking of ladies...

I read somewhere that CHERINE ANDERSON is getting ready to drop a real deal full record on us! She teased the hell out of us with this short INTRODUCTION EP. Love her ironic take on MOVIE STAR. A sly choice of tune and riddim. She started out making moving pictures as youth silly. DANCEHALL QUEEN and ONE LOVE. Required viewing.

Eons ago way back in prehistoric 2007 she dropped a duet with Chuck Fenda. That big tune COMING OVER was a tasty appetizer and could be found nestled neatly in the middle of Fenda's LIVING FIRE disc. All good then. Still good now...so they made male/female chemistry again this year in 2011 with the single CALL ON ME.

Very cool that for her birthday...she gives us a gift! A mix-tape featuring a mix of old and new. Haven't heard it? Find here for free...

http://www.cherineanderson.com/

I want so much more from this singer!

DONE HER WAY

2011-12-28T10:32:00.000-08:00

I did something rare awhile back. I bought Mi Lady Saw's MY WAY CD the day it hit stores. I always wait for the feeding frenzy to die out before moving in. But with her there was no way I was gonna idle my moments patiently away. I hopped in my car and drove to the local trendy independent. I dropped exact change. I played MY WAY on heavy rotation all day. I loved it and then mysteriously and completely empty headed, I filed it in the section reserved only for unloved orphaned discs.

Recently...I asked myself why. Is it equal to WALK OUT or PASSION? Nope but in no way should this disc be shunned!

I hear a lot more New York than Kingston in this disc. Electro beats creeping in on the mix. There is even an old school feel too it. Some of the Riddims remind me of 1980's MANTRONIX. Remember them?
So...then, that's a good thing! Yeah, after listening to this record again for some motivation while I beat my face on the ground (army slang for push-ups) I was finally able to wrap my mind around it. I should of waited for it to go cold before I bought it hot in the charts.

There is no moral to my story.

NEVER ENOUGH COOL RULER

2011-12-28T08:35:00.000-08:00

I feel sorry for dem yutes today. Dem too cool for this Lovers Rock business. Dem only wanna Gun Spree talk and Pum Pum lyrics. Where is the poetry in that? Lovers Rock deh say is for likkle school girls and "sentimental ole fools". GREGORY ISAACS is wah Grandma listen to .

Yeah...it's dem yutes loss.

In the wake of Gregory's passing many "best of" see the light of day. Most are good but a few really stand out. This TAD'S release will have your heart breaking and your eyes tearing.

ISAACS old record label AFRICAN MUSEUM struck a deal with TAD's before JAH reached down from Heaven and tapped Gregory's soul on the shoulder. So this be the official best!

Of course reggae giant VP Records couldn't sit still. And this is the product of their squirming.

Big big tunes. A lot of the same big big tunes. So price or brand loyalty are the tings to consider. Both sets contain the essentials.

Even if the Cool Ruler just read off the ladies names out of a phone book and backed it over with a smooth Riddim I would be happy.

Now imagine if Gregory recited Willie the Shake's Romeo et Juliette.

It would of been the greatest love song of all time...

I will gave respect to TROJAN RECORDS. In the old days before digital remastering...their collection was unmatched.

The forever EXTRA CLASSIC. Long outta print.

Something for everyone..

2011-12-28T07:59:00.000-08:00

I hadn't been over to COURTNEY JOHN'S official dot-com in a little while so I figured I'd stop in. Only thing more behind the times than my blog are these official artist/star pages. Need proof? Check out producer Dave Kelly's homepage for his madhouserecords. The Production crew are still big upping Baby Cham's GHETTO STORY like it just dropped yesterday! In Reggae terms that was like two life times ago. Where the hell is BABY CHAM anyway? (They're out to call me a liar...they have since added a tiny blurb mentioning last year's killer single with MICHAEL ROSE AND BOUNTY KILLER.)

Remember me?

Back to MR. JOHN...Alright his management updated the page. All new on his site is a free download of the smash tune HEY JAMAICA.

MR. LEXX lends his vocal talent to COURTNEY'S latest single.

I hope this tune is a good omen of things to come. Also is a free download of DJ I-VIER'S mixtape LOVE IS. Only stipulation is you haffa sign in first. I suggest you set up the details over at mixcrate.com

A impressive variety of different styles and an endless supply of DJ'S. I have a SOCA mixtape threatening my computer's speakers as I write this. (Soca Wuk Upp from Double Threat Family.) This is FREE people!

http://www.courtneyjohn.com/

http://www.mixcrate.com/

http://madhouserecords.com/

18 TASTY TREATS

2011-12-28T07:34:00.000-08:00

And speaking of delicious...

This batch of tunes doesn't quite push up inna your face the same way as Badgyal does but she's still flashing us listeners a glimpse of that ample bosom. By that I mean lyrically. Ce'Cile is always coy when she plays with words. With Badgyal she rolled those tunes off her tongue like she was rolling her R's...but here she's engaging us in something a little more vulnerable. So has Ce'Cile gone all soft and cuddly on us? Nah she's just more ticklish with this record.

Now guys don't dress in rags when you listen to Ce'Cile's latest drop. Check unna your fingernails before you press play and maybe splash a drop of class cologne on...because you don't merely hear this release with your ears...she is inviting you out on a date with each spin.

Ce'Cile herself sets the mood with a few romantic style Rythym and Blues make out tunes. All good. Right? Then things get seriously hormone driven as the beats hit harder and the riddims get faster. Gettin' better. She even steams up the windows with a few rowdy Dancehall bashes. Did I just hear her call out my name in that moment of ecstasy? Keep dreaming.

Imagine turning on the local pop radio station and your ears are treated to the cooing of Ce'Cile's come hither. It would be like all the problems of the world went away.

For more temptation...

http://www.jamaicanization.com/

I'M MOVING

2011-10-17T15:04:00.000-07:00

I'm moving tomorrow morning. 250 miles round trip. I'll be collecting a new paycheck in a new town doing a job that still makes me think I lost my mind. I'll be crashing at my Mom In-laws till I find more stationary surroundings! In my wife's old childhood room no less. I have lost my mind. She'll be two weeks behind me due too job etiquette. My Mom In-Law is a good cook...so I got a few weeks to fatten up.

Not actually me...my car is green.

Why am I telling ya this? I won't have access to my computer. I do however have a batch of my incoherent musings already half baked and ready to finish.

My record reviews are sorta like buying a dime bag only to find you've spent your dime on lawn clippings!

Another WTF Moment!

2011-10-05T19:35:00.000-07:00

Not enough news of VYBZ circulating in the press lately? Sizzla gets hospitalized by a coward hit and run. The patriarch of the Morgan family, DENROY MORGAN, getting busted with 25 pounds of Ganja and of course BUJU going down slammer hard in TEXAS for ten years. Well VYBZ had to top everybody and face a murder charge...WTF

Here is the latest article courtesy of the Gleaner...

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20111004/lead/lead1.html

Or if you prefer the Observer...

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Vybz-Kartel-s-case-put-off-again

By the way DENROY MORGAN could easily plead a case for personal use and prove not intent to distribute. It is 31 people if you count himself and his kids! Bomba-clat...25 pounds is not enough to go around!

AS PROMISED...

2011-10-05T11:02:00.000-07:00

I did mention to Rootstar Entertainment way back on July 27th that when I master the mysteries of Blogging that I would post the video "What Goes Up" from their artist The Matik. Well it took several months but here it is!

Now if my car battery goes dead on a freezing cold night...umm you guys will offer me a jump? As a favor in return...right?

MATIK officiall Youtube page-www.youtube.com/therealmatik

1,2,3 TESTING...

2011-10-05T10:44:00.000-07:00

When a disturbed mind and creative brilliance mash up. Mad crazy!

TOI!

2011-10-04T17:13:00.000-07:00

Okay...I feel a decade younger! And not because I use "Just For Men" to hide the grays! I persevered thru a few bouts of being completely stupid and....

Success!

While I'm at it here is a few links to TOI the sweet voiced Earthly Angel...
Her website- http://www.toimuzik.com
Her Facebook page-http://www.facebook.com/toimuzik
And Youtube link-http://www.youtube.com/toimuzik

Yeah? Oh yeah

COMING SOON AGAIN AND AGAIN....

2011-10-04T17:02:00.000-07:00

When time allows...finish that BUSY SIGNAL post!

I would say a third of my selection is DUBS. I've yet to put one under the spotlight. It seems to be a dying art with the studios but every so often something interesting slips thru the void. I'll find one.

Here is a new release that's actually old. And a damn near perfect record....

And from someone that is PERFECT...

in both name and sound!

Awhile back the management team behind a fresh upstart going by the name MATIK asked me to pass along the good word and post his video. The REGGAE NATION might cover the whole wide world but this thing called the Internet makes us all close neighbors so I figured it would be a nice neighbourly gesture for me to post it...but my brain made a fizzling noise and then my mind went blank. The light went out.
My word is good...eventually I'll figure it out.

I wish this lady was my next door neighbor!

Okay...this sweet voiced Angel has graced a DON CORLEON production with a big tune on the SUMMER SCHEME RIDDIM! Her manager, Marlon Gichie, sent me a similar request. Damn I hate being old and technologically impaired! This old dog's gotta start learning video embed code. I gotta an idea....

TELL ME A KINGSTON STORY

2011-08-25T06:52:00.000-07:00

I hate VYBZ KARTEL.

Why you ask?

Because that mother f'er released his latest drop, Kingston Story, as a digital only copy. (Sure Ce'Cile did the same thing with her latest, but I could never hate her!)

I never need a reason to paste up a pic of this lovely lady

I heard this collection of tunes is the essence of summer listening and up here in the north corner we only have a couple of weeks left of that warm season. I don't wanna be left out in the cold. So that tabloid darling Vybz made me do something that was completely against my untrusting cheap bastard nature, I purchased a handful of intangible MP3 files. I even signed up to online service. Yeah. I figure I can't continue fighting the future! While I was desecrating my morals, I picked up his EMPIRE SUMMER as well. Oh the shame...

Why am I so against online downloads only?

Well for starters...

I am a used vinyl and compact disc seller. An independent mom and pop underground music store. I'm pop. My music habit has always been bought and paid for by pushing great "like new" used music on unsuspecting ears. My habit has a huge appetite.

Now...

It's not like I am gonna come across a few crates of old MP3 files tucked behind a stairwell in someones basement. I spent half my adult life slinging pipe wrenches in peoples basements. You would be surprised what homeowners forget what's stashed down there!

Alright back to the mother f'er whose fault this all is. VYBZ. That tattooed cartoon character straight outta of a big budget sci-fi movie. (The one where he portrays a brilliant but mentally damaged soul survivor.)

The music? The usual topic of girls and what he likes to do to girls. That much hasn't changed. Vybz's amazing flow has evolved into a more subtle sing song stream of lyrics these days. Is the hard blunt of gangster rhetoric he uses to bludgeon our ears into submission beginning to fade with age? Or is it wisdom? Maybe success? VYBZ delivers all those odd and clever vocal mannerisms that add a difficult depth to his work. Is KINGSTON STORY a worthy successor to say...THE TEACHERS BACK? No it's not meant to be. This is something unique and yeah it was worth losing my innocence.

Epilogue... I'm still leery of MP3 only copies and this is why...a day later for reasons unknown to me I had to re-load the site's download manager into my applications folder. In doing so I deleted all traces of two MAVADO singles. F-ck off! I'm not blaming the online music service but they need to make the process idiot proof for all of us technically challenged idiots. I'm going back to using my stone tools.

THE LINE IS STILL BUSY

2011-08-04T07:53:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna revisit a release that I heard all wrong the first time I spun it.

A quick note about BUSY SIGNAL... He has the mixed blessing of being mentioned in the same critical breathe as Vybz and Mavado, but hasn’t made the same overall impact as his Alliance crew brethren. Well, with Vybz, former crew. Maybe he is leery of committing controversy for the sake of self -promotion. Maybe BUSY is just to smart to be a tabloid darling.

A quick note about AUTO-TUNE...“Do you have the look but don’t have the talent? Don’t worry baby we have tha machine for you! “ Correct pitch at the flip of a switch. I watched an interview with Rihanna and she enlightened us to the fact that the record companies can make anybody a STAR! Umm...Is that her confession? Alright... I'll grant you that there are performers out there not using auto-tune to sound pitch perfect but to exaggerate their vocals to the point of sounding cold and inhuman. (Like a ghost in the machine.) Depending on the talent in question...It either gets distracting or gives you goosebumps.

I was about to dump Busy Signal's LOADED from my I-Pod's playlist to make room for more frequent spins. The physical copy of course is safely filed away alphabetically. After getting hooked deep on his debut drop, STEP OUT, I tried getting this sophomore release stuck under my skin but it just wouldn't stick. After that I even began to question my opinion of that first drop. So I spun STEP OUT a few more times. Yeah... that's Busy off to big pushy powerful thug of a record. So I must be wrong with LOADED. So before I pushed delete on my I-Pod...

Timing had to right. The planets had to be aligned in a row or something because LOADED completely fried my brain cells and shorted out my nervous system.

My first impression of LOADED when it dropped? I remember hearing a rock-solid effort buried under the latest trend in fashionable pop. I remember thinking that if the production team toned down the vocal effects to a minimum that the gritty tales of urban realism buried underneath would shine.

Tune by tune breakdown....

*PEOPLE SO EVIL-The brainiest decision to make when making a record is what tune you stick up front. It has to serve as a welcome mat of sorts to the rest of the album. It invites you in for a full listen. Give up your biggest tune and everything that follows is downhill. Stick a mediocre tune up front and you may lose interest and shelve the record without giving it a chance. A delicate balance of choice. People So Evil is the perfect lead in. And so true...just take a look at all the shit going down in the news. Or my x-wife.

*JAIL- Sure...the free room and board is fine, but it is the possible unwanted attention from male suitors in the showers that scares the shit out everybody. Not necessarily their loss of freedom. As such this particular hit tune and video is not a picker upper in mood! It also isn't the violent dirge that the subject matter warrants.

*TIC TOK- As soon as this tune begins my synapses immediately start miss firing and all my neurotransmitter breakdown. WTF?

Nothing. I repeat nothing...in any genre sounds like this tune! What a mind blowing Riddim! My obvious favorite from this release.

*WINE PON DI EDGE- Probably a hit tune. If not...it should of been a hit tune. Damn catchy refrain and clever use of AUTO-TUNE. Yeah...I'll admit when I was wrong. This tune has that mass appeal that only a finely crafted blend of riddim and lyric can attract.

The other 11 tunes soon..

LOADED QUESTION

2011-06-20T20:29:00.000-07:00

Have I been exposed to so much gratuitous AUTO-TUNE in the media that I've become desensitized too it?

Next...

SIZZLA KALONJI'S THE SCRIPTURES

2011-06-13T16:28:00.000-07:00

HURRICANE MIGUEL COLLINS AT 155 MPH

An angry SIZZLA KALONJI is a mighty force to reckon with. Must be like standing in the path of an approaching category 5 hurricane. Kiss your ass good bye. I wouldn't wanna be on the receiving end of his wrath.

But that is only one of SIZZLA'S many schizophrenic moods.The world of SIZZLA exists in multiple of dimensions.

There is....

the lustful dutty mouth of a healthy young man being seduced by the temptations of fame and fortune.

There is...

the pissed off shouting down of Babylon by a man confronted with the Demons of injustice...

There is...

the soul searching of a righteous man hoping to reach purity of heart.

Personally I like the calm level reasoning of a man at peace with his surroundings. Then again I love when SIZZLA'S voice strains under weight of his message. Even when his falsetto is being crushed it still crackles with celebration.

Then there is the SIZZLA that explores other genres that his not supposed to. (You know which discs I'm talking about!)

The same SIZZLA that can walk into a recording studio, be handed a random Riddim, and on the spot make a tune of lasting value.

So what then happens when he is subject to a Hollywood blockbuster sized production from JOHN JOHN? What happens when he is given layer upon layer of instruments and sounds too build up each Riddim? When lead and background vocals are multi-tracked into operatic choruses? The answer is a little bit of everything SIZZLA has done throughout his intense career. Not to say that this disc is a cold stale serving of old ideas. It is not. SIZZLA and JOHN JOHN are giving us a MAGNUM OPUS.

This disc is slick without being greasy. Know what I mean? A very sing song collection of positive vibes. THE SCRIPTURES is not a disc of FYAH and BRIMSTONE like the title misled me into believing. Sure...there are HEAVENLY tunes that praise JAH, but a few of the tunes here, deal with EARTHLY matters.

Track 1- WORLD CRY picks up where his work on the amazing BILLIE JEAN RIDDIM for IRIE IRITES leaves off. His passionate wailing like a tortured soul lost in a life and death struggle brings this tune to it's knees. Hell way to start a record!

Track 2- THE WORLD IS WATCHING is modern ROOTS at it's zenith. The thirty-five year old wise SIZZLA reaches higher plains of knowledge. And his voice is reaching for higher octaves. He gets there. Taking a cue from the extremely talented and successfully STEPHEN and DAMIAN MARLEY, SIZZLA drops in a passage from rapper PETER JACKSON. Seamless. Not a cheap crossover attempt.

Track 3- IN JAMAICA is in the mellow tradition and for me is the least engaging tune. I'm not saying it is bad tune. Just a nice flow. You can't be hit over the head with every tune! The disc has to catch it's breath.

Track 4- CLEANSE MY SOUL is sung in my favorite SIZZLA voice. I hear the aching and the longing for JAH'S love in his voice. This isn't hollow lip service. This is a true DEVOTIONAL HYMN. Not a prayer gussied up with gilded gold trappings. This heavenly requests only earthly ornamental vestments are punchy horns, an angelic girlie chorus and Dubby wah-wah guitar!

Track 5- LET IT BE has a nice sing song melody that flows from SIZZLA'S deep wellspring of RASTAFARI belief. Lyrical conviction as heavy as the drum and bass Riddim it rides. This is a healthy tune that's strong in body and spirit.

Track 6- JAH IS MY SHIELD almost has a subtle groovy sixties MOTOWN feel with it's girlie chorus. I can picture them swaying in synchronized rhythm behind the microphone. Very catchy without being gimmicky. Pure positive vibes in honour of HIS MOST HIGH, HAILE SELASSIE I.

Track 7- SCRIPTURES is a tune where the Riddim doesn't bring too much attention to it's self. This tune is about the message contained within the words. Nothing to detract from the preacher's sermon! You in the back...pay attention.

Track 8- WHAT A WHOA is the certainly the darkest mood felt on THE SCRIPTURES. Like this disc as a whole, every time I spin it, it slowly reveals more of itself to me. It's truths are not as obvious or immediate as say, the masterpiece, BLACK WOMAN AND CHILD. A perfect record the first time ya hear it! Spend some time with THE SCRIPTURES. Let it slowly soak in.

Track 9- GOD BLESS YOU MOMMA features the falsetto in full effect. The tune is a joyous declaration of love and respect for family. I dare you to call SIZZLA a mommas boy!

Track 10- JUMP FOR JOY is the heaviest riffed tune here with a militant call and response style refrain. This tune cries out to be a hit! It is definitely a jumpy tune but not necessarily a joyous tune.

Track 11- I LOVE YOU is the most honest love song I've heard in awhile. Only his twisted vocals keep it from curdling into cheese!

Track 12- HAPPY BIRTHDAY is a peppy SKA shuffle! The big horn section behaves like proper gentleman. Not too rudebwoy. Just the right amount of brass. Just the right amount of balls.

Track 13- MUSIC IN MY SOUL is probably gonna be the biggest tune to drop off THE SCRIPTURES. This tune just screams mash up all over radio. It will be heard the world over.

In JAZZ the saying goes CHARLIE PARKER discovered the atom but it was JOHN COLTRANE that smashed it. I'll slide rule this over to Reggae. SIZZLA is all hell on EARTH breaking loose.

He just does it quieter with this disc!
I expected to hear this...

...but got this!

And that ain't so bad...

NICO'S TWO CENTS. AGAIN.

2011-06-10T12:40:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'll admit I can be a hypocritical bastard!

Let my explain...for years I rejected YELLOWMAN because of the nature of his lyrical content. I always preached that his songs were the Devil's playground. Yeah...high morals coming from an erotic painter and photographer!
Awhile back I came to the realization that thru decades of radio exposure, tons of mix-tapes and Friday nite parties, I knew every slack word that the YELLOWMAN has ever spoken! And you know what? He is better than good, he is fucking great. I never admitted to myself what an innovator he was.

ACTUALLY TAME BY TODAYS HARDCORE STANDARDS!

Damn fool... I wasted so much time trying to ignore him.

GUILTY PLEASURES!

Apparently YELLOWMAN, since rechristened KING YELLOWMAN, felt the same way. Absent from his current work is the overtly slack sentimentality and in it's place is a higher reverence for life. Belief in JAH does that!

Every once in awhile I go on a massive YELLOWMAN kick to atone for my past sins. This VP Records collection culled from their vast archives of goodies is great place to start penance.

When I want to escape life's daily drudgery, I indulge in the fine art of browsing. An independent music chain provides the getaway. I can't bad mouth 'em because of the musical goodies that they've stocked in their bins for past 25 years has always made this miserable bastard happy.

But more recently I had no clue that artists like Baby Cham and Mr. Vegas were in the Rap/Hip-Hop section. Odd. Considering Elephant Man is stocked in the Reggae bins. Now I could see accidentally dropping his stuff in the RAP section. ELE'S Let's Get Physical was put out by RAP MOGUL Sean "Puffy Doodle" Comb's BAD BOY RECORDS!

AN ENDLESS SUPPLY OF ENERGY AND MELODIES

The stampeding ELEPHANT MAN is in the same bin as the ETHIOPIANS and the sedate musical meditations of EARL ZERO. So why in BABYLON is Mr. Vegas's releases hiding among some of COMPTON'S finest. I'm trying to find the logic.

To quote the great thinker, BOUNTY KILLER, "Rap is an embarrassment to Dancehall."

CANDY FROM A STRANGER...

2011-06-10T11:41:00.000-07:00

As an old dog...I can't learn any new tricks, but I can make new friends. And a new friend slipped me a copy of SIZZLA'S hasn't dropped on the public yet set of tunes titled SCRIPTURES. I'm usually standing last in line when new stuff gets released. Yeah...I'm going spend sometime with it before giving you my honest opinion.

My ears are tuned in. And my mind is always open for what Sizzla has in store for us patiently waiting fans. Fans or I could call us students. I guess it is a little of both when we're under his influence.

SIZE DOESN'T MATTER!

2011-06-10T09:06:00.000-07:00

NOT UP FOR GRABS

Half the crowd claims MAVADO as their new dancehall king and just as many people would argue that VYBZ KARTEL earns that title.

I will grant you that Mavado dropped one of the most intense debuts in the history of music with his GANGSTA FOR LIFE: THE SYMPHONY OF DAVID BROOKS. Ever. In any genre. Then followed that masterpiece brilliantly with his sophomore effort, but lately his singles haven't stuck like glue.

EVIL GENIUS

Now VYBZ has been a major disruption in the ordered way of tings. On hype alone...the last two years are easily his best efforts to usurp the throne. Check his Clarks De Mix Tape Raw for evidence. And all the gossip pages!

GENETIC EXPERIMENTATION GONE AWRY

But have you noticed how many strong tunes the supposedly disposed king of the dancehall, BEENIE MAN, has dropped on us in the last few years? Whether it is an obscure single like INTERNATIONAL with Jurassic Five's, CHALI2NA, to his more current smash with FUTURE FAMBO, their I'M DRINKING / RUM & RED BULL. Monsters...every single one of 'em is a monster!

ALPHA MALE

Apparently it is true...size don't matter...

because MOSES DAVIS aka BEENIE MAN stands small in physical stature but is still Dancehall's dominate ALPHA MALE.

LONG LIVE THE KING!

AIR CONDITIONING

2011-06-09T08:39:00.000-07:00

Today was the real first hot day up here in the north east of America. So to cool down I switched on the poor man's air conditioner; I youtubed the Lime's Christmas Pon Di Remix videos. Di Genius is responsible for the tune and it features Mr. Beenie Man, Mr. Mavado, Edwin Yearwood, and that master of melodies Mr. Elephant Man. And to balance out all that raging testosterone...the ravishing estrogen of Ce'Cile. A close cropped Alaine along with two other lovely ladies voice the backgrounds. It was an new look for her. LIME filmed several versions. Each featuring a different product or service. Nah sell out? Yes sell out...their commercials!

But that is the point. Ce'Cile sold me on a Blackberry phone. Hell she could sell political elections or small countries. I tacked on that sexy picture of her on what was my least interesting post. My most hits ever! My point proven.

Some food for thought! I still have tears rollin' outta my eyes.

IN JAH'S EYES

2011-06-09T08:18:00.000-07:00

All right…after being married for many years in JAH’S eyes, my wife Krispy and myself are planning to make our nuptials legal with the State. I am holding the celebration on my late father’s birthday to honor his memory. My dad originally wanted to throw the party. He hand built this mighty deck surrounded by flowers and gardens. Sadly, it didn’t get used that much due to bad health and bad times and everything died. I have been busy bringing everything back to life.

I could easily cop out and just play BERES HAMMOND in heavy rotation! My player has one of those five disc carousels. Load ‘em up, press play and then walk away for hours. But I wanna play DJ.

My wife picked a few necessary tunes and is leaving the rest up to me. My wife picked out ANGEL by SHAGGY as her walk down the aisle tune.

No…seriously!

I Googled Reggae wedding songs and came across sites that had suggestions that made me piss my pants! I thought I know a lot about all tings Reggae but I didn’t know Australia’s 80’s new wavers, MEN AT WORK, and their signature tune, DOWN UNDER, made it to the top ten Reggae wedding tunes of all time!

You have different stages to a wedding celebration. Getting seated, exchanging of vows, getting seated again, dinner is served and finally dance the nite away.

I did pick up a few absolute killer mix-tapes that would definitely keep the party pulsating with life. Only down side, VYBZ uses a few foul-mouthed words. I don’t want the embarrassing moment of explaining what “Wrecking the PUM PUM” means to my seventy-three year old Momma!

With Vybz...there is always a lot of explaining!

So I am reaching out to people that read my rants for suggestions. Any ideas? Write me…

DUTTY MASTER!

2011-06-09T07:57:00.000-07:00

Dutty Rock. Whatta load of insipid lyrics. Whatta steaming pile of misogynistic verbal abuse. Dutty Rock is an extended ode to women's derrières. The only break from the behavioral pattern is the obligatory smoke the weed tunes.The Major Label Record company manufactured zillions of 'em till the machine over-heated and melted down. It seemed the entire world wanted Sean Paul at that moment.
Now they just about give 'em away online. Unsold copies are perfect for lining the cat litter box. After releasing three or four discs of the same...everybody than realised that Sean Paul is a one trick pony show...

...but whatta trick it is! You know you have this disc. Against all your will power you know you love this disc. Am I right?

WHO?

2011-06-09T07:48:00.000-07:00

HAWKEYE

In a mere decade from now, humanity loses it's collective mind, and engages in an orgy of war. Pushing the red button till there is complete oblivion.

Skip to the post apocalyptic nuclear fallout zone that was once my home. Future archaeologists find a lead lined box marked important. This box contains my VP Records RIDDIM DRIVEN collection. Must be almost a hundred of 'em. The scientists perform some quick on the spot calculations and determine that HAWKEYE was the centuries most popular Reggae star!

I hear ya mouthing who?

Yep, he voices on dozens of 'em. Talented enough to be more than just mere filler, but not memorable enough to shine. I mean, when ya stick him between a stomping ELEPHANT MAN and a mighty CAPLETON fyah tune, who is gonna pay attention to the unlucky bastard stuck in the middle?

Yep...not me.

AND IN THE BEGINNING...

2011-06-09T07:26:00.000-07:00

Turn your history books back to the first page. Mento is the current rage. Independence is still being celebrated. A band of like minded JAZZ musicians start jamming together. A conscious effort to create a brand new musical language is being made. Mento was basically Calypso spoken through Jamaican accents. How do ya change things up? Start messing with the foundation, the bass and drums. For this we have Lloyd Brevett and Lloyd Knibb to thank. This band called themselves the Skatalites. Most of the band were Alpha Boys School graduates. Blame the school for getting these boys hooked on music. Similar story take place almost six decades earlier down in NAWLIN'S with the COLORED WAIFS HOME. Among that school's "juvenile delinquents" was the musical prodigy, jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong.

The Skatalites were the house band for Coxson Dodd's Studio One. Jackie Mittoo was Studio One's resident musical arranger.

Problem is every member of this swinging SKA orchestra was the top boss of his instrument. Clashing egos and different directions splintered it's existence to the core in less than three measly years. Out of all this debris came the first bands to lay down the Riddims that still survive strong today. Bands like Soul Vendors or Tommy McCook and the Agrovators.

Whether you actually enjoy the classic sounds of Reggae's golden past, or you just give that era big respect; once you develop a sweet spot for reggae music, you want to be in on all it's secrets. You want to know where this incredible music came from. Like every other art form that bubbled up out of the desperate underground to flow into ears of mass acceptance; Reggae has the most incredible cast of characters. Each with their own story on how Jamaica gave birth to this third world musical take-over. The contents of this record are valuable. Huge historical significance in these grooves. This music is steeped in soul. It's soaked in funky vibes and then run wild through the Jamaican music machine.

This record has that swinging sixties groove of peace, love and lets take the revolution to the streets man. Ya dig?

There is some straight Jazz on this record that may scare the uninitiated. Remember..our beloved Reggae music began as a homegrown take on American big band swing jazz. So big horn sounds fill the empty spaces. Jackie plays inna way laid back heavy Hammond B organ groove. Witness his take on the Beatles Elenor Rigby. There is darkness to the tune. Gone is Ringo's conventional drums patterns. He gives it African roots. How? With NYAHBINGHI beats!

Jackie star rises somewhere between Jimmy "Back at the Chicken Shack" Smith and Billy Preston. And Jackie's musical contribution should be recognised way beyond that of just Reggae aficionados.

STATE OF PARANOIA

2011-05-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

Realtors have a catch phrase when marketing a house for sale; they call it CURB APPEAL. First impressions are everything, so when you roll up to a property that's for sale, how the front yard is groomed has to make you feel welcome. Maybe give you that warm and fuzzy feeling like your going to Grandma's for milk and cookies.

Obviously this package that was delivered to my front door this morning shot my property value sky-high. Contains solid gold selections.

Umm, the back yard...

“You’re throwing your life away.”

Yep, one industrial sized dumpster at a time.

This makes dumpster number seven! I’m cleaning house and clearing my mind. I inherited what amounts too a junkyard. And in today’s busted economy somebody’s junk is nobody’s treasure. My Dad developed a fever for hording after is first run in with death. He beat terminal cancer in round one. He would say every little nut and bolt had a purpose and then store 'em in tin cans according to size.

Now the soul crushing responsibility of erasing my late Father from his castle falls on me. Yeah guilt.

I’m bringing the property back to its former glory so it can be sold. Comes down too fucking money as usual. I can’t afford to buy out my sibling’s share and vice versa. I’m facing what I hope is the solution to my, “Me against the State legal troubles.” My big sis is facing a nickel behind bars if found guilty.

Shit. Did ya read my last post on Studio 1? If ya did crumple it up and toss it in the trash. I just peeled off the plastic wrap protecting the jewel case of JACKIE MITTOO'S NOW released by STUDIO 1. They've forsaken the back catalog ad. The insert now offers new insight into the massive historical importance that the keyboard wizard had on JAMAICA'S music. Umm...you knew that about JACKIE right?

I hate to make excuses as to why my love affair with my blog has been cooling off. Between a big mess to clean up and an even bigger legal mess, my mind is elsewhere these daze. Those troubles of mine-

For the past few years I’ve been performing a dance routine with the State Of Rhode Island Family Court. The dance we’ve been doing is called the Rhode Island Shakedown. It is a two-step two-faced snappy little number. They issue arrest warrants and I show up with positive proof of support. They seize my assets and freeze my bank accounts. I slap back with indisputable proof of support. They illegally pull my drivers license and I push back harder with conclusive evidence that all my child support has been paid in full.

What really set me off a few months back was when the State extorted my tax return money without representation. (Hey didn’t this country take up arms with Briton’s King over that shit?) The government stole the money for the daughter’s prom dress and shoes! So I two-step shuffled myself in front of a JUDGE yesterday to “plead” my case. I casually mentioned that I had received a bill for $37 thousand dollars from them. Five years ago it was an insane amount. Something like $140,000. My hair turned white! The powers that be of course denied it. Their records show that I only owed them a mere $7000. It is not polite to lie too my face. I waved my copy of the bill like a victory flag. The Judge asked to see it. His “Your Honor” said I was right and what does the State have to say about that? Probably just a typo.

Believe it or not the liaison for Family Court Child Support lost the paper in a matter of moments. In the walking space between the Judges bench and the Defendants table my copy of the bill was misplaced. When I asked about getting it back. The powers that be were dumbfounded and mumbled that they had handed it back. A big fat nope. My big mouth then took on a life of it’s own (No surprise there!) I accused the Family Court as being a circus run by clowns. Sad clowns. Inept individuals drunk with power.

It is a fine line between being right and being in contempt of court. The many happily divorced couples waiting at the rear of the room for their turn at “justice” laughed. Even the Judge chuckled at the liaison’s expense. I won round one.

Okay… let me rewind the story. Several years back the State lost me in the system. Gone was every Alimony check. Five years worth in fact. Gone was every Child support payment. Ten years worth in fact. So they made out a bill starting from the beginning and tacked on interest that would make some Sicilian Business men blush.

I brought them a suitcase filled with every pay stub, (automatic garnishment of my pay.) I brought them every returned personal check paid directly to my ex-wife. I even brought them my ex-wife as my corroborating witness!

Every time they say sorry for the inconvenience and every payment is now updated into the system. You, Mr. Nico’s Big Mouth are all set. A few years quietly pass then BOOM outta nowhere the State drops the same bomb on me. “You owe us blood from a stone.”

When you’re a male of the species and you walk into Family Court, you are automatically profiled as a dead-beat dad. And the powers the be treat you like a mangy dog. They take advantage of their power over you. They fuck with ya!

I’ve done the right thing from the beginning but the State is out ta persecute me. I’ve never defaulted on my Child Support obligations. Whether I’m working or unemployed my daughter’s needs always come first. So the State in all their infinite wisdom sees fit too punish the good one. Punish the responsible one. Make an example out of me.

I don’t make money with my big mouth but I can definitely save a few bucks using my big mouth. I always represent myself in a court of LAW. I simply inform the Judge that with the three grand I’m saving... I would rather it put towards my daughter’s future than give it to a Lawyer for his monthly Mercedes payment.

Oh, and doing business in the State of Rhode Island…it pays to be paranoid.

STUDIO 1

2011-05-24T14:33:00.000-07:00

Smell that?

Yeah...my post went rancid. I left this post out uncooked for over a month!

Popped into the microwave and here it is...

I spent all day tearing down a stockade style fence that I installed over twenty-five years ago. My dad offered to paint and do the bodywork on my first car if I put up the fence. My dad led me to believe that it was an even deal. He picked at my car on and off for a few weeks till he was finished. No sweat. Me? I spent over two weeks just digging out the post-holes. The whole project took me the whole summer of that year. My dad taught me a very valuable lesson...never trust anyone!

Speaking of not being able to trust someone...

Back in the day JAMAICA was spilt into two warring political factions. Still basically a two party system today. Bustamante's Jamaica Labour Party and Manley Senior’s People's National Party. Each boasted better life for all walks of folks. The usual rhetoric. So no matter who is in the drivers seat... the poor always end up walking.

Clement "Sir Coxsone" Dodd

Back in the day JAMAICA had two studios that ruled the scene. Duke Reid's Treasure Isle Studio and Coxone Dodd's Studio One. Sworn enemies during their reign but they retired as friends. Unlike their political counter-parts who kept the poor down trodden, these guys put boogie in your shoes. These studio’s provided the soundtrack to the SUFFERAH’S cause. Hell, the music pouring out of these studios could put a smile on your face.

It's funny how many roots snobs snub the new stuff and accuse today’s young LIONS of ripping off the riffs and clipping the words or stealing the soul of their 1970’s heroes.

But even back then big studio groups like the Aggravators or The Revolutionaries were already pilfering the “old” riddims. So everything these folks hold dear to their heart were recycled! Most of these roots rockers riddims were already begged, borrowed and stolen from the golden Rocksteady era!

If I was eavesdropping in on an argument between these two giants, I would pick Coxone’s side. So this post will defend STUDIO ONE. This record label’s legacy is well represented by several different record companies.

Heartbeat out of a cold and concrete Boston Massachusetts puts together some nice deluxe editions. They re-release actual albums and tie together all the loose singles and bonus b-sides. A history of what your holding in your hand is explained in the linear notes. Premium goods at a knock off price.

London's SOUL JAZZ is not a label run by businessmen pushing units. You know the type…it makes no difference if their selling hotdogs or Reggae music, as long as their supply meets a money demand. SOUL JAZZ is a label produced by a group of fans with the means. They release records that they themselves wanna hear. Thankfully these folks also have top choice taste.

Sadly these labels are disappearing like drops of precious water inna drought. BLOOD and FIRE and MAKASOUND are drying up.

SOUL JAZZ has a great run going on different themed compilations like Studio One Rockers, Studio One Soul, Studio One Scorcher Instrumentals and Studio One...you get the idea. All necessary goodies to complete your selection. The best way to get these riddims stuck in your conscious is to stuff these sounds in your ear till ya head expands. It is like knowledge…the best place too store it is in your mind.

Okay, last but not least is the facsimile label itself. The re-releases they offer up, offer no new linear notes packed with new insights into the music. The CD booklet opens into what is essentially an advertisement for their other product releases. Not necessarily a bad thing tho, because it reminds me that I need, not want, but need two more JACKIE MITTOO discs to satisfy my collection. Remember JACKIE? You should!

Okay a brief background biography usually a short paragraph long is tacked on last page. Like an after thought.

Although limited frills meet the eyes; great music still greets the ears. In the end it is about the music anyway. I’m just thankful it's back in print. Their catalog boasts both Dennis Brown's and Horace Andy's debuts. Big stuff right there!

Oh and my first car...

My 73 didn't have the cool hatch-back feature but it was orange. Concerning the ladies? Thank JAH I had great hair!

STUDIO ONE

2011-04-12T18:48:00.000-07:00

The golden oldies of Studio One... that is if I don't get endlessly interrupted tomorrow like I did today! Lawyers calling (good) metal scrapers (good) and my seventeen year old daughter with prom dress fittings (very bad!)

CE'CILE!

2011-04-05T10:04:00.000-07:00

Why I listen to CE’CILE?

The long lost original BAD GYAL version.

I’ll start with a biological reason.

My male of the species DNA consists of both the X and Y chromosome, so when I catch a glimpse of her irresistible double X chromosomes, I turn caveman.

Basically one part of my brain turns to cerebral mush while the suppressed primal animal takes control.

The E.P. that left everybody wanting more!

The non-scientific explanation… she makes fucking great music. It’s that simple.

Her music is aural pheromones. It shimmies across the dance floor in impossible high heels. CE'CILE is ladies room girlfriend consul between hot gyals fixing their lipstick in the mirror. She is dirty minded and full bodied as CRISTAL CHAMPAGNE. She is bubbly pillow talk with a playful bite. She is everything feminine without the motherly instinct.

A delicious photo session packed version from Kingstone Records!

She pleads alluringly if she's WORTH IT?

Sure six of the big tunes here are shared between all three releases. I know she's worth it because I've bought both the BADGYAL and the WAITING versions and I don't feel ripped off! Somehow these disc play as very different affairs.

The no-expense spared version from SoBe Entertainment. 2008

I feel like I'm cheating on mi LADY SAW!

ACHIS

2011-04-01T10:33:00.000-07:00

The online reggae encyclopedia known as ACHIS is under the impression that he is going to retire his very necessary blog by next year. Apparently, ACHIS is unaware that his massive readership is not gonna let the happen. Even if I personally have to chain him to his computer's keypad...so be it! Hey, I'll put out a fresh bowl of water every day for ya! I'm not inhumane ya know.

No seriously, this void of flowing information will form an insidious black hole deep within the Internet universe. We may never find balance.

Now I lost count after reading only 42,000,000 reggae reviews that he's written and generously posted. Don't believe me about those review numbers?

Besides his BLOG check his AMAZON "page" for proof. AMAZON are the Internet universes biggest entity and ACHIS'S reviews take up more than half their carbon footprint! What writer in his right mind wants to follow in those shoes? My own BLOG wears a smallish size 9 PUMA.

Yep out of all the endless reviews ACHIS has written, I guess I'll allow him one mistake! RICHIE SPICE'S "IN THE STREETS OF AFRICA" ranked a 2.5 out of 5. That means it is 50% bad. Are ya laces tied too tight?

STATE OF REGGAE ADDRESS

2011-03-25T14:20:00.000-07:00

The start of a DYNASTY.

Brethren Marley

I'm not gonna knock Borders and not because they're financially falling down, but because I've pulled some hard to find selections from their music bins. I was curious to see what Reggae was in stock.

Rasta and Reggae ambassador to the world Bob Marley was present and accounted for with Survival.

Not perfect but damn close.

Bob's eldest son Ziggy was represented by his breezy reggae-ish Dragonfly disc. Not crucial stuff but good lazy summer in the sun vibes all around.

Stephen had his massively persuasive Mind Control. After standing in the shadow of his siblings as their producer, STEPHEN finally steps into the solo spot-lite with a blazing entrance.

More of this please.

When this record came out I had it spinning in circles everyday for almost two seasons. I still play parts of it to death. I'll never get sick of the mighty THE TRAFFIC JAM tune.

Brethren Ziggy and Stephen show up again with older sistren Cedella and Sharon as the Melody Makers. A best of set. Very 80's styles aimed at a world audience. It was working until everybody grew up! I vaguely remember catching dem MARLEY youth live. Hey, those were hazy times!

Black sheep of the family, Kymani's Many More Roads was stocked. (Read his book for an explanation on that.)

Does the Marley legacy justice. Strong record.

A copy of youngest son Damian's mature masterpiece Welcome to Jamrock was hiding behind it.

Perfect.

WELCOME TO JAMROCK is my most listened too record of the entire MARLEY family. That includes family patriarch BOB. Kymani's RADIO is close second.

Okay...

BUT where the Hell is Julian?

"Is anybody looking for me?"

Sadly, I've never seen or heard a full disc of his stuff. Alright he does lay down some guest vocals on Stephen's IRON BARS.

None of mom Rita was shelved either. That was their entire REGGAE selection! Usually, there is at least some PETER TOSH or MATISYAHU avialable. Definitely always a TOOTS disc. If there were any more, it was hiding behind the massive rack of the latest Black Eyed Peas.

ALPHEUS from CREATION

2011-03-25T09:38:00.000-07:00

Fueled by imagination.

Science fiction writers have been going back and forth in these "vehicles" for generations. Hundreds of fantastic stories have taken place because of this contraption. In the real world Einstein suggested at it's theoretical existence. He published papers hoping that someday technology will play catch up to his "blueprints."

It has. What the hell am I babbling on about? I'm talking about a time machine folks. And it has arrived with this here disc!

Proof that time is flexible!

Producer and musician, ROBERTO SANCHEZ, from northern Spain stuffed singer ALPHEUS into a time machine. And then loaded the entire LONE ARK RIDDIM FORCE band along with tons of today's state of the art recording gadgets. Must of been tight in there. And then ROBERTO spun the dial to mid 1968. They created the freshest batch of heart felt ROCKSTEADY since ALTON ELLIS'S heyday. And to keep things from getting too sleepy, they perked up the other half of the tunes with a percolating SKA shuffle. These beats are haunted by ghosts of horn greats TOMMY McCOOK and DON DRUMMOND! This is the genuine stuff. Not that rock-n-roll junk with a horn section. Along with COURTNEY JOHN'S latest flashback, I like this "new" trend.

I guess the Grammy organization after ignoring JAMAICA'S massive contribution to music, is trying to right it's past wrongs. They started to include reggae in 1985. BLACK UHURU'S 1984 ANTHEM took the statue home. They're self admitted weakest inna brilliant run. Slightly weaker.

ALPHEUS. Making history by repeating it.

So they are nominating artists that have no or little importance to the current pulse. Proof needed? Out of all the acts of genius, Lee Scratch Perry, has committed to reggae history, they included the ramblings of a self medicated damaged soul. His current records are for the morbid curiosity seekers. Do not get me wrong, Scratch should have dozens of the award statue decorating his studio. One for the Dubs of the Blackboard Jungle, another one for the Super Ape series, another one for the Heart of the Congo, another one for Junior Murvin's Police and Thieves and so on and so on. But to place his latest releases against the work of young talent creatively peeking is ludicrous.

A token for mediocrity.

What has this got to do with ALPHEUS'S brilliant follow up to Special Delivery's EVERYTHING FOR A REASON. Umm, nothing, I just never got a chance to foul mouth that music organization.

Should this disc win next years Grammy's? No this disc should clean sweep the Grammy's in 1969!

RASTA GOT GUILTY VERDICT...

2011-03-25T08:44:00.000-07:00

BUJU... whether guilty or innocent; whether you believe him or not...he's been a victim of character assassination.

Those close to him are explaining that BUJU likes to talk a lot of shit. Whirlwinds of bravado. RASTA GOT COKE? Government agents have proof of BUJU sampling the merchandise. All my friends that claimed that he jumped to the RASTA way of life as merely a business decision said, "see...I told ya so!"

In essence that claim is bull. Why? Several big names making even bigger entertainment dollars like Elephant Man or Sean Paul make no association with RASTA ideologies. So RASTA doesn't equal FAME and MONEY. Now that's a foolish accusation!

Those same friends also claim that SIZZLA is faking it! Huh? We know he was raised into the faith by Rastafarian parents!

Before the world got all PC on us, there was a young thug from Salt Lane Kingston working the mic. Back when Mark Anthony Myrie, Buju's real name, was hungry for woman, hungry for dollars and hungry for everything that success brought with it. Working the mic became a means to survival. Working that mic was a means to escape from further ghetto suffrage.

To be enjoyed at face value. BUJU doesn't hide behind any false pretenses here. In 1992 the teen aged BUJU is openly homophobic, he is braggingly misogynistic and BUJU is performing his real self here. That self? A hormone driven youth possibly facing a future he was told that as a poor BLACK MAN he would never have. Arguably, environment plays a large part in shaping his lyrical content...so spin this disc as an Anthropological experience. It provides a valuable peek into places to dark for the sun to shine. Do I agree with him? No, but personally I do believe the RASTA GOT SOUL. Hell, there is a lot of shit about my own youth I'm not proud of!

Life, image and doing business in BABYLON caught up to him. Remember folks we are all human first and pious secondly.

Will this guilty verdict destroy BUJU'S career? Sure gigs and sales may be immediately affected, but the big picture could tell a different story. Check the legends of folk heros like HUDDIE WILLIAM "LEAD BELLY", JOHNNY CASH and MERLE HAGGARD. A few years from now, you'll be able to add LIL WAYNE'S name to that list.

Coke and Bobo don't mix but BUJU and PENTHOUSE RECORDS were meant for each other. I can't get enough of it!

SCIENTIST DISCOVERS CRUEL BUSINESS WORLD

2011-03-16T04:13:00.000-07:00

It is acknowledged that SCIENTIST'S (real name Overton or Hopeton Brown depending on the source) best work was released on the GREENSLEEVES record label all throughout the 1980's. After a quick Internet search, all these albums/discs are long gone. Out of print and fetching hefty sums. Even the MP3 format has been lost in circulation. How can you sell out of a digital copy? Are GREENSLEEVES waiting to remaster them again and then box 'em up affordable like they did with their essential 5 box sets of the EVOLUTION of DUB series (20 discs total!)

Or could it be because of a more human trait...the deadly sin of greed. SCIENTIST had some lawsuit trouble with some tunes used in Grand Theft Auto. Mostly...he didn't receive one royalty penny for his work. SCIENTIST went before an American Court and pleaded his case to a Judge and Jury of deaf ears. Nobody could understand how he had claim to the cash if he didn't play any instruments or sing any vocals on the records. Or that he didn't pay for the sessions that produced the tunes or spot the funds for the records release. What he did explain is... what cunning genius it takes to cut a DUB album. The manipulation of backing tracks. The remixing or in most cases the removing of vocals. He explained how all the recorded sounds channel through his mixing console and how he has complete creative control over the finished tracks. He explained how the studio is really his musical laboratory. Nope, nobody got it. He argued that for nothing else, these tunes were sold and marketed under SCIENTIST'S good name and reputation. The album covers have his name printed in big bold letters. SCIENTIST lost.

Used on Amazon starting at $62

The court ruled...that a record engineer/mixer is not the author of a musical work. Producer Henry Junjo Lawes as the copyright holder gets all the proceeds. And I'm sure a few pennies get pinched by the record label.

2 used copies starting at $49 on Amazon

I'm seriously hoping that the bad blood is washed away and everybody concerned is getting down to re-releasing these tunes to a new generation.

Amazon has the disc selling for $99

Four releases just begging to be boxed up in one convenient set. Is anybody listening? Hey you in the accounting office...make the numbers happen.

Amazon has it listed new for $151.58!!!

Umm...sadly JUNJO LAWES is no longer around to defend his side of the story. On June 13th 1999 in London he was gunned down in the street.

TURNTABLIST

2011-03-15T19:19:00.000-07:00

DIPLO'S MAJOR LAZER is amusing in that Saturday morning cartoon way. Fun with cornflakes. His work on M.I.A.'s sophomore release, KALA, on the other hand gave my mind blisters. But this leaves me feeling cautious for all the wrong reasons.

What does DIPLO do here other than select some choice cuts?

This is being crazy hyped all over the network hoping to crossover into uncharted pop territory.

Is it just me or is DIPLO shooting blanks here! I mean the chosen tracks are already known killers...it's like he's aiming with the safety still on.

Sweet LORD of MERCY... check those names!

Now this CD from TROJAN plays out like a musical massacre. "CREATION REBEL" is a crime scene with DJ SPOOKY"S fingerprints all over the mix. The record company man claims Trojan Records: re-mixed, re-visioned, re-versioned for their 40th anniversary.

Under the influence of heavy DUBS!

A split second into this CD and your ear's will tell ya something ain't right, not that there is anything wrong going on here; it's that DJ SPOOKY takes the all too familiar and makes something new to discover. Sure the idea for this CD was probably a marketing ploy but Mr. Spooky doesn't operate here as just another paying gig, he turns it into a labor of love.

A quick note about TROJAN RECORDS...The main bulk of their catalog is back issued Ska, Rocksteady and early Roots. Their big pay day is the tapes of Bob Marley and the Wailers that Lee "Scratch" Perry secretly delivered to 'em.

A quick note about DJ SPOOKY aka THAT SUBLIMINAL KID, real name Paul D. Miller... he takes TURNTABLISM way beyond merely spinning choice records. Sure he is no stranger to the club scene, but he is one of the few that is viewed as a valid composer. He peers group includes several AVANT GARDE and JAZZ musicians as well as the usual HIP-HOP suspects.

Honestly, when I treat myself to vintage MARLEY and the WAILERS, I usually spin SPOOKY'S version of MR. BROWN for starters. Actually, two takes, one apparently wasn't enough. His first version amps the organ riff for maximum creepy effect with BOB'S haunting vocals echoing in and out of the thick as sugar-cane syrup mix. Tons of reverb! The second which comes toward the end is of the disc is an stripped down acapella mix that's even more creeped out. It buries the organ riff six feet under in the mix with BOB and PETER'S voices floating like DUPPY SPIRITS over a grave.

DJ SPOOKY borrows the RIDDIM from one tune and then he'll drop an entirely different set of vocals on top. This musical slice and dice is performed as seamless as cosmetic surgery! Need proof...check the remix of BOB MARLEY'S SOUL REBEL. It's simply fucking cool.

SPOOKY isn't afraid to give some of genres most massive classics a fresh spin around the old retirement home. DAWN PENN'S one hit wonder NO-NO-NO is given it's third chance at life (she charted with that big tune in the late 1960's and again with it in the early 1980's). He sets fire to BARRINGTON LEVY'S ganja anthem UNDER MI SENSI till the smoke pours out your speakers. He puts an open flame under WAYNE SMITH'S ganja anthem UNDER MI SLENG TEN till your eyes bloodshot red. I think the mix would make original producer KING JAMMY smile. SPOOKY takes the extremely riff heavy AUGUSTUS PABLO rocker EAST OF THE RIVER NILE and works it out till it's solid muscle. This disc also gives SPOOKY the honor to lay down some musical tributes to a couple of his heroes that hide behind the mixing boards, MAD PROFESSOR and SCIENTIST.

SPOOKY has U-ROY chanting introductions. He has TAPPER ZUKIE inciting the people. And he has Dub Poet MUTABARUKA dropping information. Twice, SPOOKY utilizes MUTABURKA'S willfully spoken words. At times his mixes are heavily psychedelic, tastefully dance grooved or mentally disturbed. That is a good thing! The bands laying down these RIDDIMS for the most part, are THE UPSETTERS and THE OBSERVERS. Another dusty relic is MICHAEL ROSE, I'm guessing before he joined BLACK UHURU. Does SPOOKY'S mixes defile the originals? Nah, SPOOKY raids TROJAN'S vaults with reverence for its' past. The verdict? 5 out of 5.

YEP...

2011-03-14T17:55:00.000-07:00

...when I say "tomorrow", I actually mean when my lazy ass gets around to it. Nah, I been busy reading up on all the labels that fell victim to the current state of weak currency. Or even worse than paper money worries is the appalling apathy for all things vintage roots. Especially the acquired taste stuff. First England's BLOOD and FIRE sputtered and then stalled to a complete stop and now the Frenchie spectacular MAKASOUND label is in big trouble.

My own little Mom and Pop online second hand record store lost more than it gained. My tax man suggested I take up window shopping. I put my business to sleep. Well maybe for a long afternoon nap.

I plan on doing nothing but furious two finger typing tomorrow.

MUSIC THEORY

2011-02-24T19:31:00.000-08:00

I may have exercised my right to artistic license with that last post. But remember the "THE MAN" went looking for BUJU too set him up in an undercover sting. Ever ask yourself why him? What is it about BUJU that made himself their target and not...say the MARLEY BROTHERS. When I think of a huge thorn stuck in BABYLON'S side, I think of this man; SIZZLA KALONJI.

Oh by the way, the dictionary definition of GELDING is...castrated animal, esp. a male horse.

The door to Jamaica's top political office reads Prime Minister GOLDING. The coincidence in similarities is purely accidental.

The grand entrance to this collection of hard and heavy vibes comes from the mind and record label of GARGAMEL. It is a hummable little ditty called COWBOYS. Perhaps you've heard of it? It always amazes me how only down in Jamaica can the studio wizards turn an insipid nursery rhyme like THREE BLIND MICE into a subversive weapon....or at least a smash hit.

The rest of the disc...

1.) COWBOY by BUJU BANTON. Only down in Jamaica can they take an insipid little ditty like “Three Blind Mice” and ruff it up into something serious. This tuff tune is no children’s nursery rhyme. It is however one of BUJU’S strongest singles in a long time. Well maybe not that long but at least since DRIVER A broke. Remember TOO BAD from way back in 2007?

2.) “POLICE AND THEIVES” by GEORGE NOOKS reaches deep into LUCIANO’S take on this classic from the soundtrack. Usually GEORGE reaches deep into the verses of the bible for lyrical inspiration. I'm gonna bore ya with some history. First off, this tune had mass appeal with those individuals on the wrong side of the law. Alright a few genuine outlaws and mostly hipsters posing as dangerous types. Everybody from spiky punker thugs to the down to earth Ganja farmers. Junior Murvin cut the original tune with a falsetto high enough to bounce off the stratosphere. If you think there is something unnerving and subtly disturbing about the mix that's because the production was the result of LEE PERRY'S mind disintegrating into illness. Those noisy four chord wonders, the CLASH unleashed their own hit version, something like a week after JUNIOR’S bust out on London's pirate radio. Worlds collide! So this classic tune carries massive influence in two separate genres. GEORGE NOOK’S huge tone completely reinvents this tune but is never far from the original design. JUNIOR’S falsetto was only a few decibels lower than the frequency that only dogs can hear.

3.) PINCHERS-When the musical fashion shifted to all that bad man gun bussin’ talk, PINCHER'S faded. PINCHER’S liked to woo the girls in the audience but not like those velvety Vegas lounge crooners. Girls couldn’t get enough of his sly smile while he ached heartbreakers like the massive tune AGONY. PINCHER'S would never reach those heights again that he had with KING JAMMY’S productions. PINCHERS never completely pulled a disappearing act though. He’s been putting out good stuff all along. PINCHER’S never clicked with the younger fans on an international level. Shame, hopefully his tune here, “PUNK ME OUT”, corrects that mistake. He works his smooth stuff over the STALAG RIDDIM.

4.) MICHAEL ROSE, no I mean JUNIOR REID. Wait that ain’t right, I mean YAMI BOLO. Hey he ain’t 12 years old anymore! YAMI summed it up as being a Waterhouse thing. JUNIOR REID summed it up as the youthful YAMI copying every move he, (JUNIOR), made behind the mic. Hey if ya gonna steal a style, pick the best. Some of JUNIOR’S hits were being spun in the chic discothèques of the rich and famous. Funny thing is I remember every body saying the same thing about JUNIOR stealing MICHAEL ROSE’S tongue tricky “Arabic” vocal technique. Actually the more mature YAMI has found a delicate balance between his own voice and the Waterhouse sound with his rootsy tune, “END OF THE DAY.”

5.) GHOST appears with “LONELY NIGHT.”– He is not really an apparition because he shows up to haunt many a REGGAE compilation. Hey does GHOST have his very own CD released? The Ghost has one of those smooth and sweetly fey voices. My wife thought he was a girl. I know better. Depending on the tune, I either love ‘em or hate ‘em. Here on JAMROCK CLASSICS I find no ill will against the singer.

6.) JAH CURE- Now JAH CURE knows a thing or two about being a criminal statistic. Whether or not he was truly guilty, only him and the girl would know, and of course JAH. Plus getting caught with a handgun didn’t help his defense. Now that Mr. Cure has diligently paid his debt to society, he is back on the path fate had chosen for him. That path is performing passionate roots.

7.) TONY CURTIS belts out “GOODBYE TO LOVE.” I really don’t know much about him other than he has been around for a few decades. Some fans might call this a throw away tune but it’s a notch above being mere filler. I guess you could accuse the GHOST track of the same offense, but “LONEL NIGHT” is definitely the stronger of the two.

8.) LUTAN FYAH drops “MEANS TO SURVIVE.” I have said before that LUTAN reminds me every ROOTS CHANTER that I love but at the same time he is nothing like any of them. Somehow I’m comfortably familiar with his work even if I’m a stranger to the tune. Spinning a new CD of LUTAN’S work is like listening to an old favorite. I put him in the same category as NATURAL BLACK. Both constantly surpass high standards but for some reason they slip unnoticed by the casual REGGAE public. Thankfully there are enough diehard ears listning.

9.) BUJU BANTON featuring THE NEW KIDZ causes trouble all over again with “CURFEW.” Another act of defiance cut on the THREE BLIND MICE. I'm not sure what they be call the riddim. Probably my favorite tune from this disc. It is one of those tunes that could make you either fall deep into thought or make ya wanna dance.

10.) TERROR FABULOUS steps outta the time machine and delivers “READY ROCK.” A rowdy old school workout over the STALAG RIDDIM. This tune brings back memories of fades and parachute pants! It is a cool way to wrap up a good mix of new and old. BUJU as the star power producer and aspiring record mogul.

Basic packaging, but that's okay, because all the time and money went into the tunes. The full title is BUJU BANTON presents JAMROCK CLASSICS vol.1
I hope we don't haffi wait the length of a maximum sentence for vol. 2

NEWS FLASH

2011-02-23T10:47:00.000-08:00

Nico’s Big Mouth received this tape from an anonymous source within JAMAICAN Prime Minister BRUCE GELDING’S office. I feel it is my duty as a JOURNALIST to revel its contents.

What I heard shocked my sensibilities and shook my trust in BIG GOVERNMENT.

What I heard on the tape was a conversation between PM Bruce Gelding and another top aid…

“Have you heard BUJU BANTON’S latest single COWBOYS, sir?” asked the top aid.

“No I haven’t, you know I do not listen to that kind of NEGRO music, why would you ask such foolishness?” the PM lashed out.

“BUJU’S been complaining about us again,” mentioned the aid.

“That ghetto savage understands nothing about the running of a POLITICAL MACHINE” the PM muttered sounding almost offended.

“But Sir” cut in the aid…”if he stirs up the youth, and gets the attention of the populace…”

“Are you saying that this insignificant savage is a threat to my superiority? “ the PM muttered definitely sounding offended.

“But this office can’t neglect the possibility of…” the aid sheepishly cautioned.

“The possibility of what?” angrily asked the PM.

“This BUJU BANTON must be removed from public eye, and disgraced before his fans. We have to be careful though…under no circumstances can we turn this ghetto savage into a Martyr. Sir”

A long silence and then the sound of a phone dialing. Finally the voice of the PM’s aid broke the pause…

”This is the Office of Jamaican Prime Minister…yes…connect me through to the director of the Department of Drug Enforcement Agency please…this is …Hello?

Some shuffling sounds.

“Sir” the aid diligently responded, “I have the Director of the D.E.A. on the phone…”

Some more shuffling sounds.

“This is Prime Minister Bruce Gelding.” “Yes, our Government has a nuisance that needs to be swatted away. We can not do it on our own soil, of course for the fear of a public backlash.”

A short pause and muffled nervous breathing.

“Our problem is in Miami County and under your jurisdiction. “

“Yes” “What?” “Yes that’s right.”

“Make it big offense…you know a charge that carries big jail time… You Americans don’t understand about RASTA.”

“Your American jury will just see the face of a crazed DREADLOCKED drug addict.”

“Make the deposit using the usual routing numbers?”

The tape ends. The tape is dated November 2009. A month later REGGAE LEGEND BUJU BANTON is dragged through AMERICAN JUSTICE.

You decide…

ROOTS and CULTURE

2011-02-20T16:49:00.000-08:00

Jeez...I stepped out to pick up a pack of Rizla's and two weeks slip by!

VP Records 4 disc document of CULTURE with producer
JOE GIBBS!

I never review the new stuff because "fresh off the press" releases retail at full price. And if it's gonna be a hot mover stores may puff up the cost even more. My frugal self notices these subtle increases. Only after the initial consumer rush to buy a CD dies out does a store resuscitate life back into the limp sales by dropping it into the bargain bins. That's when I wander along. As a matter of principle, I still haven't pick up Capleton's latest disc, I-Ternal Fire, because I'm patiently waiting for the price to drop a few bucks. And Capleton is one of my all time favorites! Even old faithful EB's hasn't budged. Amazon has the Mp3 download selling for $8.99 which is where I wish the hard copy was at. Besides the sound of the Mighty King Shango needs to be heard through floor model cabinet speakers. The best computer speakers won't shake your soul and rattle your bones! Good speakers should stand taller than your children. Woofers alone should be about the size of a large frying pan. I hooked up a state of the art Bose system to my computer but the bottom end is about the size of a thimble. Decades ago I used to channel the sound through my bass guitar PA System. Which explains why I'm always saying, "what?" and "huh?"

Until I can figure out how to play all the downloaded tunes on my traditional stereo, I'm slow in adapting to an all Mp3 format. Are there methods that my Senior Citizen self is too out of touch to know about? I am asking for help here!

This box set is new to everybody. I easily slid this into my budget. Okay, this review is a little delayed, because it took about two weeks ship. Media mail is not the speediest, it is the cheapest, plus I spent the last few weeks soaking in it's vibes. 43 tunes worth of heavy vibes! I am gonna make the wild accusation that the term "Roots and Culture" derived from this JAH guided band of ROOTS singers because I had never heard that Reggae description until long after JOSEPH HILL, CULTURE'S main mouth piece, proved his dominance. My main motivation in getting my greedy little hands on this collection was to get an CD update of BALDHEAD BRIDGE. A well loved vinyl copy means being worn out from too much pleasure. I already own the deluxe CD 30th anniversary Shanachie edition of TWO SEVENS CLASH so the first CD in the box-set is a double. (the weird thing is...the Shanachie set seemed to be marketed at Punk Rockers with a pointless essay written by some heroin chic guitarist!) I had never seen the second CD, MORE CULTURE, for sale. Ever, in any format, so I consider it's inclusion as warm and inviting as a home cooked meal. Not often do I get a chance to hear late seventies era gems with virgin ears. The remaining fourth disc, AS HARD AS THE REST, is a collection of alternates, dubs and singles. No left overs here! Feed your soul.

My personal fave from the JOE GIBBS era.

Some math. The Shanachie's BALDHEAD BRIDGE on disc would have set me back about $11.00. For a few dollars more, I got three extra discs. Two of which are indispensable to me. That adds up positive. I expect great sound quality from VP and they do not disappoint with the remastering. An extremely minor gripe with the REGGAE LEGEND box sets series were that no info booklet was included. I understand the original releases were shy on linear notes to begin with and to kept the price grounded low, no scribes were hired. But this set comes with an eight page booklet of explanation and of course the facsimiles of the "back album covers" of the individual CD sleeves. Another big plus. Consider this collection necessary.

A perfect record and one of many to come!

Crusty old Rastas will preach that CULTURE'S debut album TWO SEVENS CLASH was the bands best. There is no denying that 2/7's Clash is a maelstrom of Righteous words and vibes but CULTURE had a steady habit of putting out one massive classic after another! Need proof? Check their Island Records catalog. CULTURE' CD'S are like incendiary devices! Blazing stuff. Joseph Hill never tired of pushing the message of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie into deaf ears and wicked minds.

If you delight in the revelations of Joseph Hill's spiritual twin, BURNING SPEAR, you will find yourself at home with these records.

POST TRAUMATIC BLOGGING

2011-02-08T18:52:00.000-08:00

Nico's Big Mouth is gonna be hush for a few days. I now have at mi fingertips the latest that technology offers. My previous web browser was antiqued. My old stubborn mule of a computer couldn't update anymore. Gettin' worse than worn out hand-me-down shoes. What does that mean? I now can finally click on and watch the video tube streams. In glorious mind expanding eye widening HD.

Lord Have Mercy! I've missed out on so much. In fact I've spent the last two hours starting from post one at the very beginning at ACHIS' blog "researching" the visual stimuli. Hey...all those SHELLY G videos...the links dried up!

When I come back, I might share my biased opinion on CE'CILE'S BAD GYAL disc. I'll big up BEENIE MAN'S ART and LIFE. Part two of BETH LESSER'S KING JAMMY is still resinating in the think-tank. Until then I am exploring my new toy's capabilities. It's like I am walking on the moon...

GOOD KARMA

2011-02-02T17:27:00.001-08:00

What actually started out as a quest to find for my favorite COCOA TEA album ended in being left empty handed. I was planning on replacing my lovingly trashed cassette copy of 1994’s THE GOOD LIFE. Nobody has the CD listed for sale, at least at reasonable prices.

Cassettes…remember them? Half my reggae collection was on them damn things! They were the only portable means of listening to your chosen music if you were on the go back in the day. The only problem with them was if you stored ‘em in your car, like most people did, they froze in the winter and melted in the summer. That stretched the tape and distorted the sound. When cassette decks went the way of verbal throw downs like “word to your mother”, I donated my massive collection to the local Salvation Army.

Okay, while I didn’t find the VP Records release I looking for, I did come across this non-government sanctioned inflation beater and counter measure to illegal downloading. The series is called REGGAE LEGENDS but VP Records should call it the ANTI-PIRACY series because you can afford to add this consumer friendly priced box-set to your collection and have enough money leftover to buy several extra loaves of bread. No need to steal it.

The average price is $20.00. Yep, EBREGGAE has it going for $17.39. Think about it. Divide that number by four and the individually cost averages $4.35 a disc. This is RIGHTEOUS CAPITALISM! VP is pulling profit but still keeping the fans best interest in mind. Top artist choice too… These titles seem to be aimed straight at my age demographic, the young forty some-things!

The idea is to package together four individual album titles of an artist from a certain time period into one box-set. Usually long lost vintage stuff from the late 1980’s too the early 1990’s. For now VP Records seems to be zeroing in on the classic RUB-A-DUB era. Check the names…SUGAR MINOTT, DENNIS BROWN, GREGORY ISAACS, JOSEY WALES, YELLOWMAN, MIGHTY DIAMONDS, JOHNNY OSBOURNE, BEENIE MAN and SHABBA RANKS!

For a little guy COCOA TEA has a huge singing voice. Where the hell does all that power come from? I saw him live (he opened for the mighty KING SHANGO) and his performance stunned me! He is perfect on record but even better live. Is that possible?

The former horse jockey was on an amazing roll releasing one sure fire hit after another but he sort of became obscured stateside by the new millennium BOBO REVOLUTION. That is until he dropped 2008’s YES WE CAN featuring the massive single BARACK OBAMA.

Even though these four discs don’t contain any chart breakout hits like JUNJO LAWES produced ROCKING DOLLY or LOST MY SONIA, these releases are just as important in COCOA TEA’S big picture. Well not completely true because RIKERS ISLAND blew up at international level. For all those early hits and most of the SHABBA and HOME T get together check VP’S Reggae Anthology: THE SWEET SOUND OF COCOA TEA. Absolutely the best “BEST OF COCOA TEA” CD out there.

Both COCOA TEA and these releases restore my faith in humanity.
REGGAE fans win another round...I will fill in the blanks soon.

CONFESSIONS FROM A CONSUMER

2011-02-02T17:26:00.000-08:00

I've been outta commission for the last two days with insane tooth ache pain. I've managed to hammer together a piece about my fears and hopes of the mechanicals that spin the music industry. Like a good home cooked ragu, it needs to sit overnight.

Okay...make it three days now. I drove 45 minutes through wet snow, deep slush and flash flooding to make my Periodontics appointment. About a mere minute and a half away from the Periodontist's, his receptionist called mi celli to cancel. Her reason...seems the doctor/dentist got his sports car stuck in a snow bank and was informed that the tow-trucks are backed up about two hours. I turned around frustrated and in throbbing pain. So do not hold me responsible for any gross grammatical errors.

In this sinking (sunk) economy, you don’t need 20/20 vision to see why people pirate. Consumers are faced with basically two main options. Either purchasing an actual product that you can hold in your hands or download a digital copy of the original code in a MP3 format. If your choice is the MP3 format, then the ethical question individuals may face is whether to download from expensive sources like I-Tunes or pinch it by illegal means from hundreds of Internet sites. Free usually wins. Most people think of it as victimless crime. “The recording artists themselves only receive small royalties anyway and the serious profits go to the fat cat bosses and the team of lawyers in charge of keeping all that money in the fat cat’s pocket.” That explanation is the general census.

As I write this piece, I’m listening to the streaming online radio station PANDORA. I’ve created a DANCEHALL player that did not cost me a dime. They have added a lot more REGGAE choice since they started. MR. VEGAS’S HEADS HIGH just played and before that LIMB BY LIMB by CUTTY RANKS. SENSI-MEDIA is more of what's dropping on the streets today and is less repetitive in selection. These streaming online radio stations promote new artists along with old favorites. Regular airwave FM radio never played the ONE DROP where I come from. The future is here.

Meeting the consumer halfway doesn’t seem to exist yet. I was hoping sites like EMUSIC would be a bright beginning but in the long run I felt burnt and let my subscription end. A bad economy and the ever-evolving Internet caught the record industry sleeping. The old comforts are going bye-bye and the suits can’t think tank quick enough to save ‘em. The major labels are going the way of the Dinosaurs. EMI, one of the EMPIRE’S oldest and most powerful is crumbling like the FALL of ROME.

Personally, I am still lamenting the loss of vinyl as a whole. But I am absolutely amazed that I can slip my entire record collection into my pocket and listen to it anywhere I please. That is convenience beyond lazy luxury. My I-Pod classic has 160 GB of storage. That equals something like 1500 vinyl albums (or more!) When I was in high school this would have been considered pure science fiction, but now it is a fact of reality. Oh yeah, and as a snot nosed audiophile I will admit the sound is in perfect snap, crackle and pop free clarity. No dust or static to clog grooves. The big argument back in the day was that vinyl albums had a warmer sound. Compressing the information to fit early CD reissues gave the remastering a thin and tinny sound. True enough…The 90’s era Motown stuff suffers from this technological inflection. The industry as a whole listened and doctored a cure. Now when spin a CD all I hear is a warm digital glow.

Fossils of the recent past.

My only gripe is not with the technology. My gripe is with the price sticker. Yep, why does a bunch of code cost the same or in some cases more than a compact disc? An online digital release dismisses the cost of assembly line pressing plants. No pressing plants mean any factory workers, which is a savings on labor, insurance and health benefits. With no actual manufactured product means there is no need for distribution warehouses. So no transportation of goods over great distances by planes, trains or trucking to stock the compact discs on the shelves of retailers. That is a sizeable chunk of savings sliced out of the cost so why do record companies charge the same high sales price? Where is all that money going?

Okay, I do understand that websites like Amazon and I-Tunes act as a middleman for promoting artists but in theory the overall price should still be slashed. Bottom line is that as a consumer you’re buying a copy of code. With the soon to be old fashioned compact disc, if the crazy mood strikes me I could burn myself a hundred copies of my physical CD.
Case in point…I was looking for a LADY SAW tune. I-Tunes had it for .99 cents. Amazon was the same, although I notice on full record releases they tend to be a dollar cheaper. ERNIE B’S REGGAE had the actually CD on sale for .49 cents plus shipping. I bought the whole RIDDIM DRIVEN CD for half price of one song. The trick with EBREGGAE is the more you buy, the shipping shrinks with multi-package deal. The disc was the WILD JOKER riddim produced by SHOCKING VIBES for VP RECORDS. So yeah, the system needs to balance.

I can understand way the little “mom and pop” record labels are pressing delete on the manufacturing of compact discs. The option of releasing new records by digital methods only saves huge on overhead. In some cases this savings is what is keeping the little labels alive. Sadly some great labels like Britain’s BLOOD and FIRE are in serious flux. Another important record company, JETSTAR, is on the verge of drowning with this sinking (sunk) economy. It is not a good omen that these labels and many other REGGAE labels can’t catch their breath.

As a consumer of much music and media who finally has modernized and converted my vinyl and VHS tapes to CD and DVD, you want to tell me I’m last years model? I realize nothing stays the same for very long. Change is inevitable and a simple law of survival is if you do not adapt, you will become obsolete. So I am part of the problem. Yeah blame the old guy. LOL. I enjoy listening to both platforms. There is definitely a practical use for the miniature storage solution that MP3’s offer but I will mourn the death of tangible handheld media. Of course the youth coming of buying age won’t no anything but a digital world.

Downloading tunes digitally satisfies that desire for instant gratification. The stores are open 24/7 and only take a few moments to process. That is CAPITALISM at work in all its glory. I can accept that.

In the end… I cannot condemn or condone piracy. I do think with the gamble from wasting money on a stinker of a CD removed, people are getting braver in listening to music they would of otherwise never heard. Which is a positive vibe. I think deep down if somebody downloads a bunch of tunes illegally and falls in love with the tracks, they will do right by the artist and support the release by eventually purchasing it by proper methods. That may happen sooner than later if the industry meets the music consumer halfway first.

THINKING OUT LOUD

2011-01-29T19:33:00.000-08:00

I’m gonna interrupt my usual satire done in poor taste with some finely seasoned drama.

Wal-Mart…where lower to middle class consumers like my currently unemployed self go to shop. While the wife was gathering together the necessary goodies, I wandered over to the music aisle in morbid curiosity to check out the REGGAE selection. Only one single CD of one single REGGAE artist was stocked. Guess who?

Of course, that one lonely disc was a ROBERT NESTA MARLEY release.

Guess which title? LEGEND of course silly, that title is only the biggest seller in REGGAE’S 40 plus year history.

Wal-Mart doesn’t fuss around with small potatoes like the TROJAN record label. So that leaves only major label moguls Island/Universal for your Marley choice. Wal-Mart was kind enough to make up your mind for you.

I wasn’t shocked, but I wasn’t happy either. Part of me loves being considered an insignificant slice in the demographic pie. As someone who beats his eardrum with Reggae Dancehall I feel like I belong to a secret society.

But is that attitude profitable for “our” music’s vitality? I mean the health of REGGAE music is at stake here.
No serious money coming in means no reinvesting. Why produce new product if the old stuff is getting’ stale? No waiting fans with fists full of cash to spend means no new REGGAE releases.
Sure REGGAE will always exist in JAMAICAN ghetto YARDS and local DANCEHALLS but am I gonna hear the next generation of stars way up here in North America? Hell no! No JAMAICAN businessman is about to push supply where there is no demand. Which means a slow death.

So as long as ROBERT NESTA MARLEY’S LEGEND continues to shift astronomical numbers, new fans will come to the music. Some will stick around for more. Brave souls will seek out the names we take for granted. Remember they have no clue as to who an AUGUSTUS PABLO or a SIZZLA KALONJI is yet. Give ‘em time though. Ganja may not be habit forming but REGGAE is downright addictive.

My only fear is that “our” beloved music will reach too huge a listening audience. Which is initially a good thing fiscally. But the backlash will be critically devastating. There will be the usual media over saturation. The music will be diluted with every POP influence to the very inch of its authenticity. “Yeh Mon!”

And then quietly disappear as last year’s fad.

Then my only choice will be the thousands of faceless R ‘n’ B and country twang discs that line their shelves. And I like to think for myself. Not to completely diss Wal-Mart, my wife scored some great deals on everyday items.

KING JAMMY pt. 1

2011-01-27T18:46:00.000-08:00

To do this justice...I'm gonna break up this book report into several parts.

A few straight up facts about this 7x7 inch (exactly the size of a 45 single in its sleeve), one hundred and fifty two page thick soft cover book (the thickness of my pinkie finger.) It is simply the most massive book of it size. So heavy are the contents that it is like trying to move a mountain every time I pick it up to read.
And read it you will. You’ll find yourself casually skimming through it. But mostly you will find yourself deep in research. It is picture packed and full of facts.

Remember these!

It tells the story of a Prince behind the mixing console in the studio of his boss and mentor KING TUBBY. Once this prince left the security of his former employer he re-emerged newly crowned as KING JAMMY. He ruled the 80’s decade, from a humble home studio in the Kingdom known as WATERHOUSE. This neighborhood was just one among many impoverished parishes in and around the capitol city of KINGSTON.
The world may know of TRENCHTOWN through the words of the late reggae ambassador ROBERT NESTA MARLEY but this WATERHOUSE parish can boast of having more talent per square inch than any place on EARTH except maybe the renaissance of HARLEM in the 1920’s.

All the game changing names passed through his studio doors. The singers, the players of instruments and young mixers that became the next generation masters of sound. JAMMY'S was as much an incubator as it was a music studio...it gave birth to the new digital RIDDIM.

More...

EYE POPPING BASS SLAPS

2011-01-27T17:14:00.000-08:00

Curves that feel good inna your hands.

No gutter minds...not CE'CILE!

(picture does no justice to the real thing!)

An IBANEZ SR700!

I was searching Craigslist when I felt my wife looking over my shoulder. “No phucking way are you buying a drum set!” “But babe…they have killer kits selling for dirt” I sassed back in self-defense. She then stated simply in her dead serious tone trying to penetrate my thick skull, “It is not the money…its because there is no quiet way to play the drums.” Sure there is…when she’s not home. Umm, I am hoping to add a CASIO 3800 as well. Why? Home studio.

Back in late the 1970’s I bought a black Rickenbacker bass. It cost me about half of what I earned that year. RICK JAMES was photographed playing one, so I wanted one. Umm, I did more fumbling than getting funky. Learning an instrument requires full discipline and I had discovered girls at the same time so…a few years passed and I up-graded to a handmade blonde maple Schecter Research with polished brass hardware. She was a real head turner. I pawned it 15 years ago. This beauty practically played itself but I still wasn’t playing like JACO PASTORIUS.

(Considered the greatest electric bass player ever. Died homeless in Miami.)

Work and pleasure gave my knuckles a beating. I had a cast iron boiler slide off its’ cement block footing and pin my right hand between a wall. Until my co-works helped push the thing off, I could hear my knucklebones cracking under the weight. Over 900 hundred pounds. (We scrapped it.) That and my youthful habit of swinging first and asking question later left my dexterity shot. (Barroom fisticuffs.) So my musician days had past.

Society made me do it..my studio 1985

When my youngest daughter was really little I bought her one of those made in China cheapo guitars that she could trash like a kid. With interest lost I ended up playing around with it more than her. I would be sitting at my computer waiting for the page to eternally load and to save my impatient mind from exploding; I started finger picking my old melodies. I removed two strings to make it more Bass like. About a year of this nonsense I realized I could wiggle my fingers again. Time to do it proper. An Ibanez SR700 caught my eye. She is an Indonesian exotic made from jungle woods. I know not very green but I do intend to be buried with her when I leave behind my mortal coil. My big picture is coming together.

In the little space in between every thing that’s happening right now, I’m trying to lay down my own RIDDIMS. I made scores of demos a half a life ago. That was easy with old school tech. This home computer recording studio software has me getting grayer. I’m learning at the pace of paint drying. Speaking of paint …

I don’t make New Years resolutions because I never think more than a few days ahead. Not gonna happen but this year is different. I have a lot of new stuff planned for the new year-though none of it blog related. Well not directly anyway. A few weeks ago my youngest daughter, she is 17 years old, wanted too check out the capitol city’s ART MUSEUM. While strolling through the halls where all the Jesus paintings hang and the subject of RELIGON is pushed as hard as drugs, I started singing JAH LLOYD’S “MOSES was a DREADLOCK.”
That got me thinking…maybe I’ll correct the old world masters mistakes. This would be an extremely time consuming endeavor however. Some of those paintings took years to paint! That will be a serious challenge to my lack of patience. And ummm...pretty damn arrogant of me.

VINTAGE 2010

2011-01-27T14:41:00.000-08:00

Now that the year 2010 seems like ancient history...Nico's Big Mouth looks back at a few of the releases that held my attention for more than passing moment.

The best video not featuring the beautifully talented CE'CILE goes to COURTNEY JOHN.

I haven’t viewed too many videos...my computer is so old that you-tube plays in stop motion. As I mentioned in a past post my cable provider has a feature that offers a small handful of REGGAE videos. This video for the COURTNEY JOHN tune LUCKY MAN has made me a huge fan.

The video is shot in glorious black 'n' white. A film-noir piece that evokes the feel and emotion of the 1960’s. Before COURTNEY takes the song out, he segues into a few bars of the SOUL standard, I WANNA GET NEXT TO YOU. This tune was the signature ballad by ROSE ROYCE used in the movie CAR WASH. So strong is COURTNEY’S visual performance that I blindly (deafly?) picked up the disc that the single is off of. Am I satisfied?
Do used car salesman take advantage of little old ladies?
Most certainly!

All right…this REGGAE discussion on AMAZON went foul fast so I added my Big Mouth to the “arguement.” Below is my smart-ass remark...

This is perfect for those “fans” too colorblind to spot the difference between SIZZLA and 50 CENT. Courtney John makes reggae the old fashioned way. He digs back even further than Roots to an era defined by Rocksteady crooners. John creates pure soul poured over smooth grooves. All the empty spaces are filled with harmonies and a touch of punchy horns. No annoyingly ponderous guitar solos to distract from the melody. No camouflaging sour notes with auto-tune. No generic digital beats. No way will you mistake it for Hip-Hop. Or that Rock n Roll nonsense either. The CD title explains it all-MADE IN JAMAICA

I was beginning to think that my forte’ for this BLOG was becoming bargain hunting for REGGAE deals, but my human nature acted up.

The single tune that got stuck on repeat in my brain goes to WAYNE MARSHALL and MAVADO'S massive MY HEART. Normally tunes like this make me vomit till I turn blue. These tunes are fit for sullen teenage girls. But for reason unexplainable too myself, I love this tune. Maybe therapy will help get it outta my head.

Many big drops from big talent last year… LADY SAW’S something different MY WAY, CAPLETON’S slow burning ITERNAL FIRE, BUJU’S get out of jail BEFORE THE DAWN and GYPTAIN’S nah sell out crossover HOLD YOU… et cetera. But my most played new CD of 2010 goes to TAD’S REGGAE JAMMIN PLUS Vol. 2.

This collection is giving notice to VP’S REGGAE GOLD series and the GREENSLEEVES' BIGGEST REGGAE ONE DROP/RAGGA DANCEHALL ANTHEMS that TADS is a force to be reckoned with. As you can see there is a lot of big names spread out over 40!!! big tunes. Do not be foolish...add this 2 disc set to your selection. Bliss.

BROOM PUSHERS NOT WANTED

2011-01-27T12:00:00.000-08:00

ELEPHANT MAN was born Joseph Carey Merrick on August 5,1862. No…that aint right. ELEPHANT MAN was born O’Neil Bryan on September 11, 1975 in KINGSTON JAMAICA. I’m telling you, JAH hisself, had to have spiked the water supply. How else could you explain all that massive talent coming from one spot?

I don’t listen to ELEPHANT MAN for enlightenment.

If you want an urban Shakespeare, then be all ears at a poetry slam. Or pick up MUTABARUKAS amazing CHECK IT disc.

This is ELE yelling thru my headphones to shovel faster!

I listen to the “freak show” for entertainment purposes only.

On that promise, the MAN always delivers. ELEPHANT MAN is not for the faint of heart. At 46 years old I make sure I change the batteries in my pacemaker before pressing play and digging out my mailbox from yet another snowstorm. ELE didn’t fill the job description of ENERGY GOD by mopping floors. He earned it by sweeping the competition clear off the stage. I hold high regard for one MR. BOUNTY KILLER, but find it convenient that the ELE is part BOUNTY’S ALLIANCE crew. MR. BOUNTY KILLER even threw down a verbal challenge to friend and collaborator, BUJU BANTON and when BUJU inquired what’s up? BOUNTY laughed nobodies safe! I wonder if the elder could survive a toe to toe with his young protégé.

I ordered my copy of HIGHER LEVEL new from an Amazon associate seller for $3.98. That included shipping. It was the real deal from GREENSLEEVES. No bootleggers counterfeit surprises. Now Amazon pinches $2.30 out of the profit and it averages $1.90 for shipping. Not including the bubble wrap envelope. I am not complaining. I just can’t figure out the poor bastard made any money off me.

This 2002 release from Greensleeves feature a who’s who of producers (if names like “Scatta” Burrell, Donovan “Vendetta” Bennett, and Lloyd “John John” James Junior mean something too you) and only top shelf Riddims are used. ELE makes the best of these 23 tunes. BAD MAN A BAD MAN my favorite cut. I also picked up the newer GOOD 2 Go and LETS GET PHYSICAL both for $3.98 each.
I am far from a stranger to the ELE’S work. Figured it was time to have a copy to call my own. That’s what friends are for. If my friends got something good, they’ll burn me a copy. And vice-versa.

While I was lingering online, I browsed the comments submitted by fans on AMAZON.
I love how he is an either ya get him or ya don’t affair with the ELE. Thankfully most dancehall fans are blessed with extraordinary insight. Yeah, ya always get the one putz claiming that it doesn’t sound anything like real REGGAE, you know, like Slightly Stoopid. (they're Kali beach music-juss not my taste)

Masters of ART go through different stylistic stages. Picasso had his Rose period and his Blue period before pushing boundaries with Cubism. The ELE is no different. His rallying war cry of SCOOBAY developed into the rump shaking SHIZZLE MI NIZZLE. Two of very distinct phases of personal artistic growth for the maturing ELE.
Lowbrow? ELE is a master of being deceptively simple. There is some high art lurking around his locker room bragging. The scholars of French literature would of referred to him as an existential warrior.

No, seriously.

Next...

2011-01-23T18:03:00.000-08:00

My portal to all things Jamaican! When I reach in to grab the bubble wrapped envelopes containing those jewel cases of sweet REGGAE music I get a blast of sunshine and warm breezes in my face. It has to be 96 degrees in my mailbox. And that is in the shade.

I have a rant about the evolution of vinyl records, compact discs and mp3 formats that reek of Darwinism. And capitalism.

I have a write up about the first ladies of Dancehall ie: LADY SAW, LADY SWEETY, LADY G...u get the idea.

I have a theory about Government conspiracy and a review of BUJU BANTON presents JAMROCK CLASSICS vol.1

In one of those envelopes was a copy of ELEPHANT MAN'S HIGHER LEVEL.

All I have to do is translate everything into ENGLISH. My first language is BROKEN ENGLISH. I need to sort it all out with SPELL CHECK. So if I don't haffi fight over who gets to use the computer... maybe later tonight?

My car...now you know where I live and what I drive.

TALES FROM NYC part two

2011-01-11T13:55:00.000-08:00

FOOTBALL

Back in the mid-eighties, I used to hang out at Washington Square Park. New York University’s student housing overlooked the park. The park back then was unofficially split between race and style. Punks held their section. Grateful Dead Head hippie types had their little slice and if memory serves me correct…Rasta’s set up camp right between the two. Sort of peacekeepers. Of course college kids were free to roam all sides and score dope.
I’d like to forget about the Neo-Nazi Skinheads but they hung out too. The different factions would band together to challenge the goose-steppers in a “friendly” game of football.

Fuck the World Cup for intensity; I remember watching matches with the Rastafarians against the Neo-Nazi Skinheads. All the player’s faces looked like clenched fists. The game was played on concrete! Brutal.

I also remember sitting on the sidelines and a ball was kicked past my head. It was like bullet whizzing by. It would have taken my head clean off my shoulders. Everybody played the game powered by pure hate for each other. Nasty.

A lot of lines were blurred back then. One of the heaviest hardcore bands back then was the BAD BRAINS. They were African-American Punk Rock RASTAS who hailed originally from Washington D.C. They could go from blitzkrieg slam-dance to PRAISE JAH without blinking. Another hardcore punk band, REAGAN YOUTH, who looked and smelled like unwashed hippies on a yearlong road tour with the Dead! Their lead singer could constantly be seen engaged in a philosophical debate with the Neo-Buttheads. The boy had BALLS!

This New Year is off to one weird ass beginning. My big sis, I say that figuratively because my older sister stands four foot nine inches, became a victim of her own bad temper. In doing so she ran afoul to the law, and I have been engaged in meeting after meeting with the Blue Meanies trying to undo her erroneous felony charge.

Nowhere in the “Old Testament” does it say to pack unregistered heat.

I have big stuff planned.

TALES FROM NYC part one

2011-01-11T12:51:00.000-08:00

BILLIE JEAN RIDDIM

Okay this is a lethal hit RIDDIM that has origins in everyone’s favorite acquitted child molester. The melody is lifted from Michael Jackson’s January 1983 monster single, BILLIE JEAN. But the intro and underlying themes are borrowed from ENNIO MORRICONE’S 1966 soundtrack to the western GOOD, BAD and the UGLY. Both tunes were first merged like peanut butter and jelly by SHINEHEAD on his very cool debut. Who would of thought these two very opposite styles would mesh seamlessly together?

His story reads like a travel brochure. Born in England, raised in Jamaica and then he became a man in New York City. Those mean streets of the Bronx to be specific. That borough was an early incubator for what would hatch into Hip-Hop. SHINEHEAD was working the Rotten Apple’s sound-systems. Critics compare his vocal flow to the FRESH PRINCE had WILL SMITH traded West Philly for Kingston. I sort of hear it. Yeah, SHINEHEAD is good times music but his tunes have a dark side if you go looking for it.

The DREADLOCK less, (hence the moniker SHINEHEAD) singer, DJ chanter , and rapper were given the birth name Edmund Carl Aiken.

He blazed the trail for SHAGGY to follow a decade later. SHAGGY blew up international while SHINEHEAD still remains a hipster’s secret.
Since the ROUGH and the RUGGED debut CD are fetching ridiculous prices I would strongly recommend finding it here.

Speaking of New York City DANCEHALL and HIP-HOP being infused, this two-fer comp packs a lot of punch. Blast it loud and beat up the woofers!

SOUL JAZZ is another top-notch UK boutique label. Unlike their other BRITISH contemporaries BLOOD and FIRE and PRESSURE SOUNDS they don’t just specialize in all things REGGAE.
SOUL JAZZ gathers together long lost missing pieces to all kinds of different musical puzzles. They dig stuff up from dusty recording vaults all over the world. Are you interested in Bossa Nova or early Hip-Hop? They got something for ya! Are you interested in experimental German Electronic or funky Blaxploitation soundtracks? They got something for ya!

It is their catalog of REGGAE/DANCEHALL that gets my pulse pumping tho. Tons of the classy stuff from STUDIO ONE. You will feel like a connoisseur dressed in your silk robe, slippers and pipe. You can always count on them for great presentation and incredible mastering of analog to digital. The SOUL JAZZ crew are absolute authorities of good taste.

I hadn’t heard any thing new with this RIDDIM in any form until this collection dropped. I simply don't get sick of this RIDDIM. All of the above rates a ten outta ten.

STARTING LIFE IN 2011

2011-01-09T18:24:00.000-08:00

Life has seriously got in the way lately. Have my fingers crossed that'll be back blogging tomorrow. I wouldn't out right claim that bad omens be haunting me but I wouldn't say that some good shit has gone down either. I have however found some precious minutes to read a couple of good books. I watched a few good videos and listened to the greatest music on JAH'S green EARTH!

That would be Reggae Dancehall dummy!

Hopefully tomorrow brings new rants on race, religion and politics. Maybe i'll even get around to writing a record critique or two.

Continued.....

TIGER-BACK FROM EXTINCTION

2010-12-29T14:21:00.000-08:00

photo by BETH LESSER

Not much was written about the man, uh I mean, the cat known as TIGER. The man was born Norman Jackson in the jungles of KINGSTON JA. Most of what I learned about him came from Beth Lesser’s amazing books. Someday I’ll get around to telling ya all about them. Till then…

Tiger would set up some CASIO keyboards and drum machines on his porch. A crowd would gather round too listen. TIGER would keep layering and tweaking the sound till he got the RIDDIM just right. And how did Tiger know when he hit it just right? When the gathered crowd started uncontrollable grooving. Created in real time before a lively audience. That’s how he would test his tunes. Before he even voiced a RIDDIM he already knew the beats would get the Ladies hips shaking and the Gents feet shuffling.

A best of collection of early massive chart smashes. Awesome place to start hunting down TIGER'S tunes. A RAS Records release.

TIGER was an instant DANCEHALL smash. So big was his success that after playing local star he signed to the major international power house...Columbia Records. He was something completely new. Unique at the mic like EEK-A-MOUSE but with a style all his own. His tunes were catchy get stuck in your head tunes but TIGER always prowled a fine line between artistic genius and gimmick. When inspiration got a little on the thin side he started to lean heavy on his repertoire of proven vocal stunts. (Animal noises.) Umm, it did get old after awhile and TIGER was listed as an ENDANGERED SPECIES! Fads fade so quickly where the youth are concerned.

As ELEPHANT MAN so eloquently states in the tune Replacement Killers….”And TIGER Seh Mi Fi Beat Red Stripe Offa ZEBRA.”

I never thought I would quote Elephant Man.

I guess Jamaica has a soft spot in its heart for the growling TIGER because as the years progressed into now, ZEBRA picked up TIGER’S style and began hitting the charts with it until he was sentenced to 30 years hard labor for carnal abuse and buggery. There is never a dull moment in Jamaica’s music industry.

I Googled TIGER for any new info and learned that he was mashed up real bad inna motorcycle accident early 1994. I always figured a fickle Dancehall scene was behind his disappearance. It was both because by that time in his career music was changing fast. On a positive note TIGER is injury recovered and released this comeback effort in 2003.

Not great but not bad either…Glad to see that top cat landed on all four of his claws.

NEXT IN LINE PLEASE...

2010-12-28T15:25:00.000-08:00

I noticed over the HOLIDAY I lost a reader! She accounted for 25% of my readership. Yeah, I know solving percentages are a MATH thing but I was able to use a calculator.

Now onto the subject of questions.

WHY is this DUB masterpiece not released on CD yet?

Hello suits over at ISLAND RECORDS/UNIVERSIAL-are ya hearing us?

I have posted pics of CE'CILE twice and still haven't reviewed any of her kick-ass music. Next year is awfully close...ACHIS where did you find that last pic of her that you posted? AMAZING!

DUB is becoming a lost ART down in JAMAICA. Maybe I will wrap my mind around that thought.

THE REVEALING TRUTH...

2010-12-28T14:59:00.000-08:00

The most listened to batch of tunes on my I-POD goes to CLINT EASTWOOD.

REAL CLINT EASTWOOD and AFRICAN YOUTH are essentially the same album. They share a bunch of the same tunes but mix-up the playing order. Both are independantly indispensable if you’re a CLINT EASTWOOD fan.

BIG YOUTH and U-ROY used to be the most played but I updated my MPEG audio files. I boosted the BIT rate from 160 kbps to 192 for "superior" sonic quality. My damn ears can’t detect the difference but I was assured it was a move for the better. So the play count changed.

TRUTH BE TOLD!

2010-12-20T17:46:00.000-08:00

Why I feel this man owes me a T-shirt!

As an experiment...I cued up SIZZLA on my I-Pod and then checked the play count. I have twenty-two Sizzla compact discs in MP3 format loaded to my I-Pod. The revealing facts that I found...shocked me! Technology might be EVIL but it can't be programmed to lie. What I discovered about my Sizzla listening habits....

Even tho I’m a computer illiterate knuckle dragger I‘ve still managed to accumulate about 300 gigs of music on my hard drive. Somehow I even find the time too listen to music the old fashioned way. You know spun on a stereo with a 5 disc CD Changer. But this post is not about either of those two methods; it is about the revealing facts behind my I-POD habits. Okay, first off, I use it most during my vain attempt to turn back the clock. By that, I mean exercising my ITAL right to running. Secondly, at night my wife likes static noise to fall asleep too; me I prefer deep dub so I use my I-Pod as a sailboat to drift off into the currents of sleep.

Why does SIZZLA owe me a t-shirt? I’m getting’ to that…

Sizzla’s orphaned CD is welcome in my home. It is because of my love for this little bastard disc that I feel he owes me!

My trained detective like mind (Lol) spots a trend here. Because an artist's album is listed in alphabetical sequence, maybe that could explain why ADDICTED and AIN’T GONNA SEE US FALL are my most played SIZZLA albums. Hmmm?

I figure being available in alphabetical order explains the play count. I choose whatever comes up first. I can be unimaginably lazy at times. (Like meeting BLOG deadlines!) I’ve pressed play for ADDICTED on seventeen separate occasions. I must admit I‘ve really come to love that odd little RHYTHM and BLUES disc. I mean REGGAE disc.
Before engaging in any physical effort it's smart to begin wimpy. Don't wanna break nothin'.
So I start my heart off slow. Warming up with a good stretch to loosen things. Best to maintain a nice mellow pace before selecting an energy blast of pure dancehall.

AIN’T GONNA SEE US FALL really gets the blood pumping. This is the angry, funny and cynical side to MR. KALONJI. And I’ve sped up my 10k to it on eighteen different occasions.

The strangest bit of info I learned is when I need to hear SIZZLA the ROOTS REGGAE singer of THANKS and PRAISES, I play BURNING FIRE more than the acknowledged masterpiece, BLACK WOMAN AND CHILD. (That CD tends to go around in circles much more in my stereo along with his CHILD OF JAH CD.)
BURNING FIRE has two really big roots anthems on it for me, JAH KNOWS BEST and JAH IS LOVE. I cannot get enough of those tunes, which is a good thing since they show up on multiple releases. I am well aware of Penitentiary Record's dubious reputation. This is another instance were cheap worked for me.

I have since made a conscious effort to start backwards, and by that I mean start at end of the alphabet.
I have been playing WATERHOUSE REDEMPTION when I now warm up.

Then run head first into oblivion with SIZZLA’S RASTAFARI CD beatin’ in my eardrums!

EXPERIENCING TURBULENCE!

2010-12-20T12:47:00.000-08:00

TURBULENCE, like his mentor SIZZLA KALONJI, can release a prodigious amount of CDs inna New York minute. Scary. And like his mentor, Sizzla, the quality is quite impressive. Even scarier. Odds are against both of ‘em, but obviously these boys know how to manipulate the laws of logic.

Common sense says no way can any one man create that much perfection. There couldn’t be just one man behind the microphone. True enough. There must be at least three different Turbulences. There are. All three have the birth name of Sheldon Campbell too.

My favorite TURBULENCE is the conscious of mind storyteller of ROOTS reasoning. Another favorite is the DANCEHALL chanter of yard politics and ghetto conflicts. These two Turbulences didn’t stand in the shadow of mentor and master talent Sizzla for very long.

That leaves one more Turbulence persona…the RHYTHM AND BLUES singer with the gruff voice.

At one time my little mind couldn’t conceive the reasons why he would waste his time on such nonsense. Other than to think it was money motivated with stateside crossover dreams. My resilience got worn down with each consecutive spin till the simple realization hit me-the boy has big LOVE in his heart. (Enough to share with many women!) That answer and the fact that he is really good at this RHYTHM AND BLUES stuff is proof enough for me. His foreign approach is somehow more authentic than the original stateside sound and look-alikes these days. TURBULENCE is no man’s clone!

I can’t single out any CD in particular that’s stronger in the “Girl I love you” vibe because they are all created equally with that three part magic formula.

When I’m the mood for good R’n’B, I don’t spin Usher. I don’t spin Justin Timberlake. I spin SHELDON CAMPBELL

THE COOLER RULER!

2010-12-17T16:18:00.000-08:00

I approach his newer material with serious trepidation. Why? Only because the critics say his day was back in the 1970’s. Actually those critics are the same fools that claim Reggae’s glory has long since faded into ancient history. Yep, how do you explain the thirty plus years of massive musical masterpieces that were created since then? I never gave ‘em any credence before, so why start now. I did so wrongfully with this 2003 Jetstar release. You can’t blame me for not trusting my ears to Jetstar. Although, I should of known better with them too, because their forte is this sweet stuff. Jetstar are the pastry chefs of Reggae music. Baking aural confections like Ambilique, Al Campbell and Peter Hunningale.

Back to Mr. Gregory Isaacs …I figured while he was lounging around enjoying retirement age, that he might be a little hard up for some cash flow and agreed to spend a few minutes working some routine tracks. Tunes of throw away type. There never seems to be a shortage of ‘em. Sure wouldn’t be the first time a record company insulted an artist of The Cool Ruler’s stature with an album worth of junk.

No way. JETSTAR put the old man back to work full time with this disc!

Ruff Cutt’s Tony Phillips recorded this sixteen-tune daydream at Cave Studios in London. When I read Cave Studios in the liner notes I pictured the place cold and dank but this CD shines warmth. Gregory must have brought the tropics with him. Stashed away in his luggage where customs couldn’t sniff it out. Studio wiz Jazzwad shares in the creativity. Morgan Heritage splits writers credit on the title tune, “Here by Appointment.” Does Denroy’s many idren have a version of this tune or did they only supply the Riddim?

“Here By Appointment” has that vintage feel finely layered over modern Lovers Rock Riddims. Clean, clear and concise grooves that lightly bounce. Yes, he is disengaged from the beat but he embraces the mood. In fact he wraps his arms around the melody. That is the Mr. Gregory Isaacs personal signature. He enjoyed these tunes. It shows.
Now this CD has been spinning in my car for a few weeks straight. Mainly, I have to say because I am too lazy or too forgetful to change it: but like a Dyson Vacuum Cleaner, once song one begins this CD sucks me right in. I even find myself driving the long way home.

UPDATE

2010-12-17T16:14:00.000-08:00

I have been experiencing some serious technical difficulties with my BLOG lately.

Or maybe I have been experiencing technical difficulties with my BRAIN. Either way... I seem to have it momentarily solved.

ORIGINAL COPY RIDDIM

2010-12-17T16:09:00.000-08:00

Some singers can’t rock a Riddim no matter who rolls out the riffs. Recording studio managers’ haffi PUMP UP the Auto-tune to maximum effect in order to camouflage the genuine lack of SKILLZ. Of course I am talking out loud here about OTHER musical GENRES. Hip Hop maybe? Possibly R&B? Yeah I’m pointing the FINGER at both of them. Do you remember when R&B used to stand for rhythm and blues? Where is the blues? Where is the human touch?
Dancehall fans beware ‘cause that Auto-tune effect shit is starting to creep its way in with certain JA production teams. (If not all) What bothers me about it…is these Dancehall talents can sing on the drop of a dime so they don’t NEED it. Serani or Honorable Munga I’m naming you.
I wonder if twenty years from now if I spin Strictly The Best 43, my eyes will get misty with nostalgia. “Auto-tune…wow that was so 2010! Do you remember that? Those were the good daze!”

Kinda like how I get all warm and fuzzy inside when I hear that Casio powered Rub-A-Dub stuff of the early Eighties.

Now in the wonderful world of Reggae Dancehall certain singers don’t think twice about rocking the same Riddim. Huge talent seems to come natural here. Talent also seems to grow in abundance. Has to be something in the water. Or the weed.

The year of release is 1996. The label is none other than VP Records. Original Copy is pure ROOTS VIBE. Original Copy has organic bass by ROBBIE thumping its’ way around SLY’s acoustic drum beats. Out of nowhere comes this smooth sax riff. I think courtesy of Lloyde Willis. You don’t notice it at first. This is all than electronically recorded by Stuart Brown for AFRICAN STAR.

CAPLETON voices not one but three tunes here! He starts off the proceedings with PURE of heart Fyah vibes with the BIG tune CHANT MI SONG. Inspector Grizzle (who?) and African work their stuff on the same Riddim before CAPLETON returns with an extended dubbed version of Chant Mi Song. Not a true dub but the extra reverb and echo do add to that rootsy feel. Very cool vibes. How do you follow the best tune on the disc? With another hard burning tune from the Fyahman. No Carbon Copy is just what it says. Its’ voiced over a different Riddim! Is it called PROGRAM? The rest of disc alternates between these two Riddims. A younger JAH CURE takes on the Original Copy Riddim and makes magic. African shows up again for track seven but it’s the Military Man tune that follows it that has my undivided attention. MILITARY MAN is definitely under recorded. Why? He is a strong chanter with a big voice and heart to match. Another name I never heard of before, Granty Roots, and Determine finish out the disc. The more I hear from Determine… the more I like.

I wouldn’t call this a straight Riddim disc then. In fact VP Records were a few years away before starting up the RIDDIM DRIVEN series. I guess you could call ORIGINAL COPY a prototype.

HITSVILLE JA

2010-12-13T17:00:00.000-08:00

T.O.K.

They are not a Jamaican BWOY BAND. At first glance I summed ‘em up as being nothing more than little girl crushes. I was very wrong. The Bounty Killer would never share the microphone with a group of manufactured tonsils unless of course he was using them to wipe his feet.

It’s okay to get caught with T.O.K. on your I-Pod. I repeat they are not a Jamaican version of a bwoy band…they are however a producer’s wet dream. Four very skilled vocal talents that already come with the working knowledge of each other’s techniques. Just hand over the Riddim and they’ll make it a hit. I read somewhere that the group formed during their high school years but nailed their sound down in time for college. T.O.K. cite Motown’s Boyz 2 Men as a big influence. Yep.
These bwoys bring a little Detroit to Kingston. They are a re-boot of The Temptations.

I’m not gonna pretend I know who is who in the group but I will tell ya, when the balladeer gets warmed up, his ANGELIC voice will tug at your heart strings.
This should come with a warning sticker. Not for offensive language, although some profane patios does lurk around in their vocabulary. It should WARN potential buyers that contained within this disc are the most INFECTIOUS grooves to ever get under your skin. Ya just can’t scratch ‘em away.
I bought this disc after hearing “Man Ah Bad Man The Sequel” featuring T.O.K. on Bounty Killer’s “Ghetto Dictionary: The Art Of War.” Sequels are never as good as the original so part one must be total smash up. It is. That original tale is found here on T.O.K.’s “My Crew, My Dawgs” debut.

I find it interesting how singers can be walking contradictions and at the same time still be true to themselves. I mean this record has a song that is PLEA for PEACE but at the same time, the tune “Chi-Chi Man” ADVOCATES gun spree VIOLENCE against the heterosexually challenged. Umm, “Chi-Chi Man” is probably the catchiest tune here and rides a Riddim that is essentially a reworking of the classic Christmas chestnut, “Do You Hear What I Hear?”

POPCORN? IT'S LITE!

2010-12-07T15:01:00.000-08:00

As you can see... my computer illiterate self is trying to get creative. I stopped before I screwed it all up. Mr. Ras Achis has a blazing background of FYAH so I figured it would be apropos for my page to have puffs of billowing smoke. Um...yeah. His blog is information fueled education where my blog is nap time entertainment.

WTF?

2010-12-07T12:14:00.000-08:00

I might add a WTF moment to my posting. My television (and cable and phone) provider has this free access to videos covering all musical genres. The selection is always changing. The Reggae selection is limited to about a dozen at a time. On it I stumbled across a video for RDX titled "Skip." I may have heard the name before.
Holy shit did I laugh my ass off. I played it for my wife who just looked at me quizzically. I laughed my ass off again. Intentionally funny tune and colorful video. I would of splice them in but videos slow my computer down to a crawl. YouTube it for a good laugh.

Another mystery was a video for Major Lazer. Who? Actually it is a collaboration of two DJ's, Diplo and Switch, who worked in such Dancehall masters as Vybz Kartel and Busy Signal into their mix. IT IS A CARTOON ACTION FIGURE IN SOUND AND VISION! Check it out. Definitely worth a long look. Mr. Lex aka Lexxus of RING MI CELLI fame is the guest mystery voice.

Still not as weird as that R.D.X. tune though. That one will have me scratching my head for awhile. And laughing. With or at....I'm not sure.

RIPTON J. HYLTON!

2010-12-07T11:04:00.000-08:00

The 6 foot 6 inch Mighty Mouse

Ripton J. Hylton released two go nowhere singles while still in college. After a complete transformation of name and production team, Eek-A-Mouse arrived to the cheers of Dancehall fans. If you are new to the Mouse the best place to start would be at the Junjo Lawes produced and Roots Radic backed debut. Tunes like "Wa-Do-Dem" and "Ganja Smuggling" introduced us listeners to whole new style. For lack of a better name it was simply called SingJay. Barrington Levy could drop in some extremely flexable vocal techniques, but the Mouse, he performed vocal gymnastics. Gold medal stuff. Thirty years later and nobody can cop his style. The second best addition to your Mouse selection would be the Linval Thompson produced and yet again, Roots Radic backed "Mouseketeer." All originally pressed on Greensleeves vinyl.

Or if your not as committed a fan, shame on you, you could chose this 12 track collection of Mouse maddness that culls together the cream from his first 3 releases. Better yet...10 of the tunes are the 12" mixes. I have all three records but I still couldn't pass this one up. For whatever reason Shanachie took over his past discography but it appears to be back safely in Greensleeves hands where they add extra tunes and better mastering.

Both of my daughters when they where young in age used to dance like crazy to the Mouse. Kids love him and parents approve.

DON'T HAFFI DREAD

2010-12-05T20:18:00.000-08:00

A few semesters back while I was sitting face to face with an administrator type hoping to figure out my educational path, she pointed to the nest I called a hairstyle. She politely mentioned that my tangled snarls would have to go bye-bye. Entrance to the X-ray program is based on scoring the highest grades. That and medical professionals look presentable. I know the deal.
I froze in front of the mirror and reluctantly started to buzz my brain basket down to peach fuzz. Flashes of Army daze came rushing up in my face. I watched as years and years of spiritual growth dropped to the floor.

A fucking normal Joe was staring back at me! I’m a crazy baldhead!

I felt naked and weak. Like when a beguiling Delilah sheared off Samson’s seven locks. But damn-I betrayed myself! That’s the price one pays for a brighter future. Well that and state tuition. Besides hair has this habit of growing back so no big end of the world. In an effort to cheer me up…my wife claimed it made me look a lot younger. All the gray was chopped off and swept into the dustbin. My friends that are challenged by disappearing hair follicles were horrified that I hadn’t waited till I was sure I passed all those prerequisite classes.
This buzz cut became a test of faith. It also re-enforced my ambition to push myself. No slacking…no easy ways. I sat in the front row under the professor’s nose because I’m almost blind and completely deaf. Plus sitting there under the professor’s nose there would be no added girlie distractions to tempt my attention. Otherwise, the loss of righteous hair and expensive for me anyway, state tuition, would be in vain.
So Don’t Haffi Dread by Morgan Heritage became my personal anthem. Pencil pushing in class dressed in plainclothes. Not dressed as a Soldier of JAH.
Dreads do give you instant Rasta cred, but ultimately it is what in your heart that matters, and how you treat your fellow man while you go about your daily doings. Yep...don't haffi dread to be RASTA!

The high camp Hollywood version of 1949 that I grew up with. Where's Samson's seven locks?

For years record companies and critics looked for the next Bob Marley. Every rising star might be the next international breakout and the majors were in frenzy to sign ‘em. They weren’t done squeezing enough money out of the music. Black Uhuru came closest and was the first Reggae entity to win a Grammy. Not impressed, lead voice Michael Rose left the group, leaving a young Jr. Reid to fill the void. Bob’s kids Ziggy and the Melody Makers weren’t taken as serious artists yet. The rest of the obvious heir apparent children weren’t of age. (Now that they are, lets just say that their sound is too URBAN. Think of Damain Marley’s rap cross over. Scares ‘em.) That was years ago-maybe now the record companies are searching for the next Buju or Sizzla.
Denroy Morgan’s heirs could have been the answer to that dumb question. Who else has that complex layer after layer of textured sound? Fat bass accompanied by pounding drums sweetened by harmony as thick as cane sugar syrup. Add epic guitar leads when necessary but not enough to dilute the Reggae vibe. Filter in washes of keyboard fills and percussion swells. Morgan Heritage sings songs with universal lyrics that speak to the cart pusher (always going uphill) in Kingston or to the suburban skate rat from an upper-middleclass neighborhood.
Morgan Heritage speaks to me. This whole album tells me a story that I want to hear. Start to finish I’m all ears.

While visiting my wife’s baby brother in the burn ward at Bridgewater Hospital in Connecticut a DREAD passed me dressed in scrubs. He was a working MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL! Granted his dreads were well manicured and tied back neatly. They were real dreads and not some hair extensions. So there is hope that I’ll be able to LOCKS -UP one more time before old age buries me. And no I wasn't alive in 1949!

3 Monkey's Sitting Under A Coconut Tree...

2010-12-02T18:45:00.000-08:00

The opening track is an extreme ministry of Righteous word play. Imagine Bunny Wailer and Bounty Killer breathing in the same smoke! Naught by Nature's Treach drops a nicely delivered rhyme.

I put Junior Gong’s Half Way Tree CD on for some background music. Yeah…stupid choice to make ‘cause that release demands both ears perked straight up when played. I put it louder and chanted along to “Educated Fools”. Figured the times right to tackle that nagging debate on Evolution verses Adam and Eve. I know my Book of Genesis and I am well aware of what Darwin’s Theory based science claims. From personal experience, I would say both are correct. Primordial ooze is ancient pond scum. Right? Yeah…that notion would explain of few of my friends. I don’t even have ta squint one eye ta see that their forefathers crawled out of the slime. Their morals are so corrupted that if you shake hands with them you feel violated. Most of my friends though are going smoothly along according to Jah’s divine plan. They abide by the daily bread and by the daily grind to support their nuclear family values. Those friends are living out a full life fulling Scriptures. Whether they’re meek enough to inherit the Lord’s Earth; well that’s a different story.

The third track..."IT WAS WRITTEN" featuring Marley big brother Stephen and welcomed guest Capleton slow burn with Fyah so intense it makes the hair on my knuckles stand up!

COMING NEXT...

2010-12-02T13:40:00.000-08:00

When I lose faith in humanity, Cocoa Tea is my go to guy for upliftment.

A few Christmases ago my wife Krispy, (not her actual name but more like a description), asked me what do I want for a gift and I told her Buju’s new CD, Rasta Got Soul. That would bring some holiday cheer. My daughter then asked me what do I want and it was a simple answer- if your step-mom doesn’t get me Rasta Got Soul, you could get it for me. Of course I got socks or something wearable. So I bought it for myself last week. I haven’t opened it yet. I’m gonna wrap it up real pretty like and put it under the tree for myself. I might even feign surprise, “See …Santa must got my letter.”

Yes, I am aware that I am two behind.

I tease my wife that I like to start the shopping madness by buying myself something first. It kinda warms me up. You know…puts me in the spirit of gift giving.
So I ordered what seems like boxes full of Riddim CD's from Ernie B's. At .49,.79,.99 cents I coudn't resist. Check their sale out.
An Alexander Hamilton goes way further than ya think...

DO I NEED A REASON?

2010-12-02T13:36:00.000-08:00

Nope. After my last post though...this is the best way to change the subject.

AGAINST BETTER JUDGMENT-I PRESS PUBLISH

2010-12-02T13:30:00.000-08:00

I debated whether I should mention the reason why author Stephen Foehr called the Capleton concert a concert of hate, but I will. It was because of the Fyahman’s anti- batty boy lyrics. To further put the boots to it… Mr. Boom Bye Bye Buju Banton was also on the bill.

I don’t wish to be pigeon holed as that “controversial” blogger. I hope I offer some constructive criticism. I mean…am I Reggae’s Jerry Springer? Lol. My wife insists I was born without that part of the brain that regulates speech.

I’m not shy when it comes to talk’n ‘bout politics and race, but one taboo that shuts me up like a slammed door is sexual preference.
Many moons ago, back when I was a hormone driven youth-man, the boys and me were sitting around drinking beer and playing cards. The cliché question of what lady singers we thought were hot was asked. I casually tossed out Diana Ross’s name. I am talking the smoking album cover/poster and not her 80’s musical content!
Ya think I came outta the closet or something judging by everybody’s reaction! Remember this was back in 1980 or 1981. Explain to me how wanting to f**k this hot older superstar chick makes me a twinkle toes?
It wasn’t her looks but her gay disco following that earned me that moment of scorn. I thank JAH I didn’t say Donna Summer!

“F**king f**gots!” I mumbled, “Yep...no thanks to them it’s not even safe to admit that I’d love to knock boots with Diana Ross.”

Racy stuff back in analog days!

So that was the first time uttered a hateful slur. I usually reserve the hateful slurs for the person that signs my paycheck. I live in a very straight world filled with wives and ex-wives and crying babies, so I know nothing about the heterosexually challenged population. I don't give homophobia much thought. They leave me alone and I won’t watch American Idol in return. Fair enough. I figure it is Jah’s place to pass judgment and not my humble human opinion.

WHITE MICE

2010-12-01T11:10:00.000-08:00

To answer the who part of the question I asked a few post ago. Who? White Mice.

There is a strong chance ya never heard of him. I knew almost nothing about him and what I do know; I learned only recently. I used to haunt the capitol city's hippest record stores and I was never graced with the presence of his "True Love" LP. The magazine rack had issue after issue of underground rock music but stocked no Reggae magazines. At best you could thumb across a random article on Reggae. I never found a printed word about White Mice. Remember this was pre-internet days. I found out about him from Beth Lessor's mighty King Jammy/Dancehall books. Google him now and you'll be informed by the same variation of the linear notes. He faded away quietly and quickly by his own device. Nobody knows why. If he continued laying down tracks he would definitely been a huge star. With a unique technique he rode some first class riddims. Lyrical content covered serious concerns. Everybody talks about the 70's being the golden era of reggae. A fact I won't refute, but by the end of the decade everybody was building their career from the Bob Marley and the Wailers blueprint. The 80's saw a new architect in King Jammy. The ghetto didn’t wanna make Reggae for white British college kids anymore; they wanted to create a homegrown soundtrack for themselves. Apparently the producer Junior Delgado working at Jammy’s studio baited White Mice with a piece of cheese just long enough to capture a full CD's worth killer tracks. Released on Basic Replay outta Germany.

White Mice was born Allan Crichton and the original vinyl was released on his brother Blemo's Intelitec label based in Miami. While searching for some photographs to cut and paste I came across this info…he resurfaced as Ras Iwa. Maybe it’s him-the intel seemed sketchy.

CONVERTED...

2010-11-30T15:31:00.000-08:00

I am going to interupt my scheduled programming of rodents and riddims for something completely different...

I gotta say I got pretty damn impatient waiting for MAVADO'S new CD to drop. What has it been since his sophomore release,"Mr. Brooks...A Better Tomorrow", dropped in early 2009? It's now near the end of 2010. That makes it almost 23 months ago-an eternity in Reggae years. So while I was window shopping at Ernie B's, I came across "THE HITLIST vol 2". I had typed Mavado into the search box and among the selections that popped up was this collection from TAD's. I consulted an expert before buying and when I got authentication, I added it to my cart. (Bigup Achisl)

On this disc was not one but five Mavado singles! A total of twenty-four epic tunes make this an incredible earful. There is something orchestral about these tunes. Something almost operatic. Big big tunes here! This disc also introduced me to some new ladies like Lisa Hype and Gaza Kim. Interestingly, former Alliance talent and Mavado nemesis, Vybz Kartel is represented by five big tunes. His massive three part "Clarks" being his show piece. I guess TAD'S doesn't play favorites with either side if the arguement. Dancehall King and Queen Beeenie Man and Mi Lady Saw drop one tune apiece. I still find it interesting that the Beenie Man and Bounty Killer fued was over each one accusing the other for copping their sound. I have never confused a Bounty Killer tune for Beenie's. Nonsense. I have confused Bushman for Luciano when I am only half awake. Half baked?

Okay, if vol 2 was essential then the first volume must be mandatory listening. Right?

It is.

Gyptain along with Suga Roy and Conrad Crystal cover Joseph Hill and Culture's warhorse of a tune "Jah Jah See Dem." For me covering Culture can prove to be a sacrilegious affair. Not so in this case. It is faithful to the original vibe and has an all new energy at the same time. I have no idea who Suga Roy and Conrad Crystal are but Gyptian really won me over with this tune. I already count his Beng Beng and Mi Fadda Say being big faves of mine, but some of his tunes seem a little too radio friendly for my liking. I am going back to spin 'em with new ears.

The real jewel of this set for me is "Daggera" by Spice. (another big up to Achis) This tune rocks a polka riddim! Crazy. I wonder if there is some guy in Poland right now rocking a Dancehall riddim on his accordian?

This disc is a bit mellower than it's sequel. No less big in sound though. The breakout new talent for me is Laden with his correctly put "Time To Shine" tune. Bounty Killer and Beenie Man on the same disc with only six songs to seperate them? I can hear the insults! This disc plays out sweetly with a Sizzla ballad. I count myself a convert to the TAD's label. I'm looking forward to misappropriating funds to buy more of their releases.

RIDDIMS!

2010-11-28T09:33:00.000-08:00

Okay, I came off like Raid rodent repellant with that last post. So my apologies to Wallace Wilson.

Psst...why am I whispering? Lean in close 'cause I don't wanna say this out loud. I recently added a bunch of Riddim CD's to my selection. I specifically snatched up ones with mi Lady Saw (although she is certainly no damsel in distress!), Ce'Cile and early RED RAT singles! Now on to some new business...

1.) Whether ya call 'em Riddim Driven, Riddim Rider or as Greensleeves simply calls 'em Rhythm Albums, try explaining what one is to somebody whose head doesn't soak up Reggae sounds like a thirsty sponge.

2.) After You figure that out...then try explaining to the non-believer WHY you would need 15 to 20 versions of the same backing track with different singers voicing their own unique take. Yep.

Having said that...a good riddim CD should play like a suite of music. A lot of classical compositions use the reoccuring theme technique.

Note... I'm not gonna break riddim CD's down tune by tune 'cause of that whole attention span deficit thing I got going... so I'll name the names of who I feel walks away owning the Riddim. You know.. who the show stopper is. The star who threatens to steal the show will be named the runner up. Easy enough.

EARTH, WIND "N" FLAMES

Release date of 2003 with executive producer credits going to Rohan Fuller for JAH SNOW CONE PRODUCTIONS.

I guess the image this Riddim is supposed to conjour up is the swirling storms of Mother Nature's fury. But all I feel is a nameless and faceless angry fist raised inna middle of a mob. Leaves my cold.

I tried to warm to it, but every time I spun it, I would keeping skipping tracks till nothing was left. Sure this Riddim is booming and pumping but even Bouny Killer falls apart with this mess. That never happens to the "Poor Peoples Governer". I gave it a rounded up 2 outta 5 for all the talented tries. Hey, Earth Worm and Killer Bee gave it their all.

SEXY LADY EXPLOSION

Release date of 2003 with credits going to Christopher "Longman" Birch for BIGYARD MUSIC. The liner notes state he plays all the instruments. Damn.

Top ta bottom, front ta back, every track is killer. In fact this set opens with Bounty Killer working with Angel Doolas. A trend I notice with these VP Riddim Driven discs...if the "Poor People's Governor" is to be included than he starts the proceedings. VP's strategy must be to come out blazing with your biggest guns. I wouldn't want to follow the Bounty Killer but the Wayne Marshall selection holds itself steady. I find myself liking Wayne Marshall more and more. Track 5 is this catchy all-star jam featuring Shaggy/Brian and Tony Gold/Sean Paul and Will Smith that somehow doesn't sink under it own excessive weight. Know what I mean? This set doesn't sag in the middle either-T.O.K. see to that. T.O.K. always have that unfair advantage of an unlimitd vocal range sweetened with four part harmonies. Boy band? Nah. They are the closest 1960's Detroit comes to the New Millennium Kingston. Every cut all good for the ear drums. "What Up Papi" by Danny English featuring Tia have chemistry. They are my show stealer. Bounty Killer's "Ice & Alize" takes the top honour of show stopper for me. I love how he strips a Riddim down to it's bare essentials and then builds back those subtle nuances.

The Riddim is a mid tempo shaker with an upbeat digital pulse. An added touch of sultry Spanish style trumpets dropped in the mix slow cooks the mood. Perfect. 4.99999 outta 5

OH NO!

2010-11-24T13:15:00.000-08:00

IT'S RED RAT!!!!

This is my answer to the WHY question. Why? I have no idea. I am completely dumfounded. If you were to play this CD right now, I would have trouble deciding whether I should laugh you straight outta tha door or quick kick inna tha pants. But and this is a huge but; every once in awhile I absolutely love this CD. Every song! Not just the “Love Them Bad” duet with Buju. Yep, at least 5 times a year, I am man enough to say I love this CD!

Love it or hate there is no denying the rouge rodent’s unique delivery. The boy does possess a style he can call all his own. Everything else about the lad might be a gimmick but oh those vocals. Try singing along with these tunes, you probably can’t. Unfortunately, going through puberty changed everything for the lad. Yeah, growing up sucks….

I would not call this CD a guilty pleasure for me because most of the time I rate it a 1 outta 10. I don’t know if it has to do with the position of the moon or the amount of sleep I get or even if it’s something in the water. Like I said every so often I love this CD and rate it a full 10 outta 10.

The Rat in adulthood. I wonder if he regrets his past redness. You know what? I know when I was 16, I didn't get mobbed by screaming girls! So the lad shouldn't be too embarrrassed. Woman. They change your whole way of thinking.

WHATS NEXT...

2010-11-23T14:04:00.000-08:00

BOY BANDS! Whoa, no need to call me that! Technically, Scare Dem Crew is/was a boy band by definition. So is the T.O.K. So am I saving face yet? Yeah I know... book reports, beat poets and now boy bands. "At least that Achis guy gives us videos with Goldee getting dressed in the morning sun!" I hear ya...Chaque Jour

It's a ZOO in here... I'll answer a few questions that nobody asked. White Mice (who?), Red Rat (why?), Tiger (what?) and
I will even add Snagga Puss to that list. And if you can listen through an entire CD worth of his songs without going brain dead, I will personally cut your grass and clean your gutters for a full year.

RIDDIM RIDERS and RIDDIM DRIVEN. A well put together Riddim CD should play out like a classical suite* of music.

*a set of instrumental compositions, originally in dance style, to be played in succession.

JAMAICAN WARRIORS pt. 3

2010-11-23T12:36:00.000-08:00

Okay, time to get to the point here!

First off...this book is not trying to detail the history of Reggae. What this book does try to explain is what ingredients make Reggae a tasty concoction. This book stirs in the Rastafarian beliefs, the ghetto realities and the individual David’s that stood ground against the British Goliath. This book surveys the birth lands and home places of the faith and the music’s founders. Writer Stephen Foehr even walks the same path to Settlement that Thomas Howell did back when he took Marcus Garvey’s preaching to heart and mind. Garvey’s was preaching about the stolen Black Man and the newly crowned king of Ethiopia (Abyssinia). These preachings shaped the beginnings of Rastafarian beliefs. I get the feeling Foehr is an old time roots fan but a disbeliever of the faith. At one point he cautions the reader by comparing strict Rasta ideals to Taliban doctrine. He mentions that dictator Joseph Stalin is responsible for hundreds of deaths due to his nations famine. Then follows that tid-bit of info with Emperor Haile Selassies and his country’s deadly drought. He leaves you to connect the dots.

This book offers bus schedule hints. How to find Jamaica's best-secluded beaches. Where else are you going to get slow drunk on overproof rum and eyeball the bikinied Nubian nubiles? This book covers JA's jerk pork. Not an ital Rasta's favorite. Where to get the best cup of Blue Mountain grown coffee.

This book, which is published in the year 2000, calls modern Dancehall a walking corpse! Foehr even calls a festival spearheaded by Capleton a concert of hate!!! What??? Get over it old man.

I feel Stephen Foehr is an outsider looking in. He definitely equates Reggae with Bob Marley. The book's author also gives me the impression that deep down he feels that real Reggae died on 11 May 1981. I get the feeling he is a tourist when he visits Reggae music. I do recommend this book for those who are new to the music. Stephen Foehr is no dummy; he overstands yard culture and Nyabinghi drumming. He knows his history but seems to have written this book for frat boys planning to go on vacation.

JAMAICAN WARRIORS pt. 2

2010-11-17T18:41:00.000-08:00

Lifted directly form his book…
”It makes white kids jump up and down at reggae concerts and shout “Jah”. These same kids would not be caught dead shouting out in praise of God at a rock concert”. (Page 107)

With that sentiment in mind…the time was the early 80’s and the place was Rhode Island’s capitol city, Providence. Back in those ancient times Reggae concerts were exclusively populated by white folks. Mostly deadhead hippie types with a few anarchy punkers tossed in to balance the vibes. Capitol city did have an extremely tiny population of Rastas. Four or five musicians from Jamaica. They either got lost on their way heading to NYC or were lying low from NYC’s finest. I never got the story straight. They were my next-door neighbors and their weed was strong enough to drop a charging bull.
I worked back then day in and day out in ghetto/barrio. Heard lots of great music blasting but never anything from JA. The homies pounded forties to Run DMC and LL Cool Jay. I would ask around about Reggae/Dancehall and the answer was always “that’s black hippy shit” followed by, “and that shit ain’t cool.”
Then a few years slipped by and the West Coast battled the East for supremacy with new styles. One style caught my attention. It was the most bloodshot sound I had yet to hear on the radio. Two words besides "Holy shit"…Cypress Hill. All of a sudden Bob Marley posters started popping up. Fades were starting to grow out. Sure groups like the Deep South’s Arrested Development had already reached into the roots bag but were passed over as fluffy intellectuals. Attitudes change. Styles repeat and after many years, the ghetto gospel of reggae came back home to the ghettos/barrios of the world. Even the Gangsta dropped odes to the Chronic!
Now when I breathe in the second hand ganja smoke of a proper Reggae or Dancehall show, I scan a crowd made up of everybody. Black and white folks. Red, gold and green folks. Both crazy baldheads and plainclothes Rastas. Old and young. Truly reaching that “One Love” ideal. Works for me.

This album cover is the most aggressive advertising campaign ever undertaken by a non-government agency. Like drawing in a lung full of righteous smoke this album cover drew thousands of curious seekers to Reggae.

JAMAICAN WARRIORS pt. 1

2010-11-17T17:07:00.000-08:00

I know I promised a review of Beth Lesser’s two incredible reads on Dance Hall but I haven’t found any words fitting yet, so while Stephen Foehr’s Jamaican Warriors is fresh in the frontal lobes….

Lifted directly form his book...
...“However, expecting DJ fans to give equal loyalty to burning spear, for example, is akin to believing that hardcore Metallica fans will spend equal money buying Johnny Mathis CDs.” (page 231)

It is not what he wrote that made me angry; he's right!

This post is going to be demographically and politically incorrect. I have been educated to fact that the youth that drops his cash on the latest Vybz Kartel smash could give a Red Rat’s ass about the latest Augustus Pablo reissue. Boring old man music he is supposed to say. Grandma used to hum those Riddims. Polar opposites claim those scholars in the know. Today’s music comes from a completely different world. Huh? I am confused. A Google map shows the same Kingston Parishes, right? Some of the same yards even. Why the split then. Is it that old secular verses sacred argument? No.

Stranger still…most of the world thinks Reggae comes from only one man. This one man is universally accepted as the human embodiment of Reggae Music itself…His name ladies and gentleman-Robert Nesta Marley.
More adventurous souls will find Peter Tosh along their way. Those individuals that completely abandon common sense may even come across Bunny Wailer’s solo work. I absolutely love Bob. Been listening to him for over 25 years but he is only one of million. Come on people take chances. This rant only applies to the age impaired. Or those individuals with challenged common sense.

(my personal trainer!)

I hit the treadmill with Elephant Man threatening to blow up my speakers. I go about daily chores to Tenor Saw. He informs me to ring the alarm cause another sound is dying. Actually many sounds have died only to be resurrected again. So many of today’s Riddims started life during the late 60's Rocksteady daze. When I need to make sense of this mad world that surrounds me, I reason Rastafarian teachings through Burning Spear. Yes.

(my spiritual advisor!)

I fall deep into dreamland to King Tubby exploring sonic possibilities.

(my sleep agent to the dream world!)

Why can I not enjoy all of ‘em. There is Dancehall music to motivate. There is Reggae music to contemplate. There is Dub music to meditate. Life cannot be Fyah and Brimstone all the time. I consider myself to be serious minded so I should snub my nose at Alaine and her silly little love songs? Hell no, there is music to hold your lady tight. (Or ladies to hold your mister tight.)

(my dream girl!)

Therefore I am theoretically wrong for enjoying all variations. I must narrow my mind. Reach for a one-dimensional approach. My TASTE should reflect my AGE. My mid-forty something experience tells me to choose safe and be afraid of the young Black man holding the microphone. Not because he is Black dummy but because his generation is gonna push me out and put me in an old age home!