This is actually a mixed cd from Richard Riley Reinhold, aka Triple R and the co-owner of German tech-house labels Traum and Trapez. His selection of cuts is a posh display of the smoothest shuffle techno, minimal house grooves, and vocoder-driven data pop, with cuts from Metaboman, Dialogue, Ada, Broker / Dealer (who have become San Francisco's best known export to the Cologne scene), Process, Luciano, Jeff Samual, Sami Koivikko, PWOG, Schaeben Und Voss, Dntel, and Oxtongue. As a DJ, Reinhold doesn't really have any exciting tricks, but manages to flow between these slick beats with an equally unhurried swagger.
This comp is sort of an advertisement, a promotional item, which would normally turn us right off, but this disc killer, and it just so happens to be promoting a line of hand crafted 'caveman' effects, created by none other than Nelson from Man Is The Bastard, Sleestak and Geronimo. Wondering where those fucked up sounds were coming from? The damaged electronics on the Geronimo record? Well, most likely it was a Trogotronic device helping to create that racket. They look beautiful and sound even better. Check it out:
http://www.thumbprintpress.com/trogotronic.htm
So this here comp features a who's who of noise artists who apparently endorse Trogotronic. But you know what? Even if you had no clue what the hell Trogotronic was, this comp would still stomp your ass. Check out the lineup:
Geronimo, Unicorn, Sickness, Drunk On Blood, Mike Shiflet, Torso, Bastard Noise and more and more. The sleeve even lets you know which Trogotronic device was used in each specific track. We can't tell you how close we've come to blowing our paychecks on some of these noisemakers. But for now, we're happy to make do with this disc. First off, an unreleased Geronimo track, worth it right there. An awesomely creepy electronic krautrocky crawl, all crumbling and distorted, low end crunch beneath, squealing high end siren like skree. Sounds like an outtake from their full length, which it probably is, and which of course means it's awesome! Drunk On Blood, another Man Is The Bastard side project, offers up a symphony of electronic jackhammering, pounding and pulsing, almost musically, percussive and relentless, and weirdly listenable. The Sickness track is a heaving wall of analog fury, crumbling and crunchy, the Bastard Noise track is downright pretty, a sea of squelches and a distant beastlike howling, Torso unfurl some seriously creeped out hissy dronemusic, Unicorn offer up a weird symphony of shrieks and stumbling percussive clatter, Astrogenic Hallucinating spits out some fucked up, horror movie analog video game music, we could go on and on and on.
All the tracks here are pretty amazing, some textural and drone-y, others blown out and white hot, still others, rhythmic and abstract, at the very least, you'll probably listen to this like crazy and do some serious damage to your speakers, worst case though, you'll end up like us, freaking out and NEEDING some of these noisemakers for yourself, then you can do some REAL damage!
Beautifully packaged in a fold over, silkscreened sleeve.
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You know it had to happen. Like the x-mas album, the Beatles tribute is a requisite in every genre. In fact, as you may have guessed, this isn't the first reggae tribute to the fab four. It's just the most fucking definitive in its 3 disc, 50 track length. The biggest argument in Trojan's favor in sequencing this compilation is that the majority of tracks selected were recorded during the Beatles craze -- during the mid-sixties and early seventies -- which means the bulk of the tracks on here are from the ska and rocksteady eras. Suffice it to say, while many of us might enjoy one or two interesting covers, a three disc set -- running almost three hours in length -- will probably only appeal to a very select few.
Trojan's latest collection chronicles the advent of reggae recorded entirely "within the golden shores of Her Majesty's sceptred isle" (as the liner notes poetically dub it.) The box takes as its focus the brief, though fruitful period between 1968 and 1972 (so you won't find any Matumbi, Aswad, or Steel Pulse here.) Reggae producers and artists in the UK have always had to play second fiddle to their counterparts back in Jamaica. The initial efforts in the UK were merely in importing and repressing popular hits from back home. Eventually, the success of expatriate artists in the UK would not lie in merely competing with those back in Jamaica, but by tailoring their recordings to the well heeled white audiences who were being turned on to these exciting new sounds. What you end up getting to hear on these three discs is a metamorphosis from carbon copy rock-steady rip offs like "The Duke All Stars" to the most bizarre sugar coated Top Of The Pops attempts that are guaranteed to force a Moe Szyslak "WhaaaAAAH?!" out of your gulllet. The first disc is all pre 1970's material and tends to tow the line straight out of the Duke Reid and Coxsone Dodd songbooks for the most part. There's even a reggaefied version of the Skatalites' "Phoenix City" by The Family Circle. Disc two finds the production in the new decade halfway between Lee Perry -- with his penchant for out of tune wurlitzer organs -- and a taste of what was to come, typified in The Music Doctors Jamaican styled rendition of Mungo Jerry's (one) hit "In the Summertime". The third disc however, presents a no-holds-barred attack on the charts with the most over produced -- strings, strings, and more strings -- reggae versions of the day's popular R&B, soul and country hits. One the weirdest is Delroy Williams' (sounding more like Andy Williams) version of "Down In The Boondocks", replete with slide guitar. But this doesn't even compare to UK's biggest unit mover Dandy's "What Do You Want To Make Those Eyes At Me For", which pulls out all the stops with strings, Tijuana Brass-esque horns and back up singers galore. The set finishes nicely with a nice up arrangement of Tchaikovsky's "Piano Concerto No. 1" by The Neasden Connection. Damn weird and kinda cool, if nothing else you can drop some of these seventies tracks on your next party mix and baffle the shit out of your guests.
Though most commonly associated with Trinidad, calypso was also a big hit throughout the Caribbean and even the U.K. The style grew out of a melange of influences including shango, kumina and European song. While displaying a happy face melodically, the underlying messages of much of the earliest songs -- Caribbean slaves were often forced to perform for their masters -- were excoriating criticisms of the slave owners. The lyrical acrobatics continued through the style's development through the 20th century, with double entendres being a requisite part of any master vocalist's cache of tricks. The Jamaican form of calypso, and its outgrowth mento, increased steadily in popularity with working class Jamaicans despite the almost complete blackout of radio and label interest in the music. This box set contains some of the best in the business -- Lord Kitchener, Count Lasher, Lord Creator, The Mighty Sparrow (from Trinidad and considered the king of calypso) and more -- along with some greats that are more familiar names in the later ska and rocksteady genres such as: Tommy McCook & the Supersonics, Phyllis Dillon, Derrick Harriott, The Maytals and more. The third disc in the set is a collection of recordings from the U.K. calypso scene and, ironically enough, are also the oldest dated cuts, recorded between 1956 and 1958. The first two discs in this collection are of West Indies calypso and their tracks were recorded primarily between 1960 and 1968, with a few tracks taken from the early seventies.
Throughout the sixties the bulk of sales for Trojan records was through the release of singles. They eventually got the grand idea of releasing these singles together on budget priced compilations and thus widen their market in the U.K. The end result of these collections is what we now know as the "Tighten Up" series. In 1971, Trojan decided to continue in this vein, releasing the first of five "Club Reggae" compilations. Some of the biggest selling singles from 1970 through the end of 1972 were compiled on these five lps and are condensed onto the first two disks of this set. The third disk here is a collection of 16 tracks taken from the 20 tracks that Trojan had included as bonus tracks when they first issued the whole series as a collection in 1974. The series is thus a focused lens in time of Jamaican music at the inception of Reggae. There are many super tracks in this comp; lots of beautiful soul-laden reggae, plus some amazing covers, including an alternate version of the Maytals doing "Louie Louie" that's absolutely stunning, the Pioneers doing "Mother And Child Reunion", the Messengers cover "Cherrie Baby" and much more. On top of all this there are some wacked out instrumentals, including some with moog synth lead roles. Highly recommended.
It really doesn't sound like that good an idea. Reggae versions of country classics. But from the first few strains of Johnny Cash's "Ring Of Fire", as interpreted by the Skatalites, that instantly recognizable melody, the vocal line replaced by a trombone, the original's swing replaced by some Jamaican groove, it suddenly becomes clear that it's not such a bad idea at all, and as the compilation progresses, it begins to seem like a fantastic idea, and why the hell didn't anyone think of it sooner?! Jamaican bands were always covering and reinterpreting American music, rhythm and blues, funk and soul, and as we've discovered, country too, all it took was for Trojan to gather them all up. Trojan do their usual fantastic job, three discs worth of the best reggae country covers, with excellent liner notes, all tucked in a little cardboard box.
So many classics, "Tennessee Waltz", "Stand By Your Man", "Help Me Make It Through The Night", "Take Me Home Country Roads", "My Elusive Dreams", "Don't Take Your Guns To Town", "Will The Circle Be Unbroken", and more and more, performed by folks like Hortense Ellis, Max Romeo, Dennis Brown, John Holt, Toots & The Maytals and others. After a few listens to these reggae versions, the songs sound so perfect, and so classic, that gets hard to remember the originals, and even harder to imagine how the originals could have ever sounded better.
This isn't all that new, but we've been listening to it like crazy, so we figured lots of aQ customers would probably dig it as much as we do!
"Initially little more than record selectors for sound systems, deejays assumed a greater role following the exploits of Winston 'Count Matchuki' Cooper, who in the early fifties began embellishing records with smatterings of live and aural effects. Others swiftly followed suit and by the late fifties the practice was widespread, with the deejay's profile considerably raised as a result." By the late sixties many deejays were beginning to acheive popular success through releasing their own toasted versions of songs. This set contains some of the best and most influential deejay toastings ever committed to vinyl, including works by Big Youth, U Roy, Dennis Alcapone, King Stitt, Sir Lord Comic, I Roy and much more. "Like the farmer said to the potato, 'I'll plant you now and eat you later.'"
The consistently popular Trojan box sets are now being issued on LP at long last. The sets all appear to be identical to their cd counterparts in design and content, only being slightly more pricey.
"Initially little more than record selectors for sound systems, deejays assumed a greater role following the exploits of Winston 'Count Matchuki' Cooper, who in the early fifties began embellishing records with smatterings of live and aural effects. Others swiftly followed suit and by the late fifties the practice was widespread, with the deejay's profile considerably raised as a result." By the late sixties many deejays were beginning to acheive popular success through releasing their own toasted versions of songs. This set contains some of the best and most influential deejay toastings ever committed to vinyl, including works by Big Youth, U Roy, Dennis Alcapone, King Stitt, Sir Lord Comic, I Roy and much more. Like the farmer said to the potato, 'I'll plant you now and eat you later.'"
"In 1979, when the late producer Henry 'Junjo' Lawes took Barrington Levy into the studio, he probably had no idea he was launching a whole new style of Jamaican music. But the rhythms he created, along with the musicians who would go on to become the Roots Radics, inspired the Dancehall craze. Between then and 1985, when digital rhythms arrived, Dancehall reigned supreme. A whole new generation of mainly young singers launched their careers, and several new producers rose to prominence. Channel One continued as the studio of choice for recording rhythm tracks, with King Tubby's being used for voicing and mixing. This box presents fifty examples of the genre, giving a varied overview of the music." --Chris Pete (from the liner notes.)
In the late sixties the trend among producers to release b-side "versions" of songs, stripped of vocals, was intended to allow for DJ's to "toast" over the tracks with improvised vocals of their own and the end result is what we know today as Dancehall. The side effect to this practice was the inadvertent creation of what we also now know, love and embrace as Dub. Starting with King Tubby in the mid seventies, several studio engineers began showing off their talents by creating versions released strictly as instrumentals with added effects and instrumental solos to fill up the b-sides of singles. This box set serves to sample the pioneers of that era from the mid seventies on up to the early eighties, featuring dubs by King Tubby, Scientist, Lee Perry, Prince Jammy, Errol Thompson & Sylvian Morris of tracks by Sly & The Revolutionaries, Roots Radics Band, Upsetters, Gregory Isaacs, Tommy McCook & The Aggrovators, and much more.
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Not much needs to be said here; a follow up to the popular and high selling Trojan Dub Box Set. Three more cds and 50 more tracks (what is it with Trojan and the number 50?) of some of the best dub in the Trojan catalog from the early seventies to the early eighties and, it probably doesn't need to be said, no overlapping songs from the previous set. They're all here: The Upsetters, Tommy McCook & The Aggrovators, Sly & The Revolutionaries, King Tubby, Prince Jammy, Augustus Pablo, Scientist and much more.
The consistently popular Trojan box sets are now being issued on LP at long last. The sets all appear to be identical to their cd counterparts in design and content, only being slightly more pricey.
In the late sixties the trend among producers to release b-side "versions" of songs, stripped of vocals, was intended to allow for DJ's to "toast" over the tracks with improvised vocals of their own and the end result is what we know today as Dancehall. The side effect to this practice was the inadvertent creation of what we also now know, love and embrace as Dub. Starting with King Tubby in the mid seventies, several studio engineers began showing off their talents by creating versions released strictly as instrumentals with added effects and instrumental solos to fill up the b-sides of singles. This box set serves to sample the pioneers of that era from the mid seventies on up to the early eighties, featuring dubs by King Tubby, Scientist, Lee Perry, Prince Jammy, Errol Thompson & Sylvian Morris of tracks by Sly & The Revolutionaries, Roots Radics Band, Upsetters, Gregory Isaacs, Tommy McCook & The Aggrovators, and much more.
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And the winner is!... Yep, it's the winning suggestion in Trojan's box set concept competition (and you thought we were joking!) We knew it had to happen. It's just amazing that Trojan needed to have the idea pitched to them, what with all the barrel scraping concept collections they've been churning out. In keeping with tradition, Trojan has stuck with their usual 50 tracks limit in pulling together these stoney gems from 1970 to 1985. Features the usual suspects: King Stitt, Bob Marley (how could they leave out "Kaya"?), The Upsetters, Max Romeo, Big Youth, Horace Andy, Johnny Clarke, Tappa Zukie, Cornel Campbell, Linval Thompson, Ranking Dread, Dillinger, Barrington Levy and much more. Also included are the usual three sides of liner notes on the cd sleeves waxing on the celebrated herb's place in Jamaican history.
Instrumental releases have been popular among the Jamaican record buying public since the very dawn of the island's recording industry -- from the Jamaican blues of the late fifties through to the music of today. And at no other time were non-vocal records more in demand than during the sixties and early seventies, a time when Jamaicans rocked to the sounds of ska, rocksteady, and reggae. It is upon these exciting, formative years that this collection focuses, highlighting the work of some of the great virtuosos and instrumental groups from this hugely creative period. Throughout this time, few were more influential than trombonist Don Drummond and saxophonists Tommy McCook & Roland Alphonso. All three of whom were major figures in their own right, but also founding members of the Skatalites, who dominated the local scene until Don Drummond murdered his girlfriend in 1965! Fascinating stories, amazing music, highly recommended.
Though this collection probably won't appeal to everyone, aww, what the heck does anyway? Seriously though... Trojan delves a little deeper still into the archives of Jamaican music history with this newest collection of sides. This is basically where it all starts, the Jamaican music industry as we know it anyhow. Before there was any record industry of course, there were primarily sound men: Duke Reid, Coxsone Dodd, and to a lesser degree Prince Buster and many other highly competitive small operations. The fierce competition amongst them was well known, and success at importing the hottest American R&B singles was a sure way to give one's sound system an edge over the rest. It wasn't long before the most successful of these (Duke Reid firstly) started cutting their own imitations of American R&B using local musicians (the various members of the Skatalites got their start here under various names, depending on who was producing the track.) The tracks here were all recorded between 1960 & 1963 and vary between downright, straight up copies of American R&B and what would eventually become ska: basically a sped up R&B with a heavy accent on the off beat. Among those featured on this collection of classic Jamaican R&B (as well as some rare and even previously unreleased tracks) are some household names: Laurel Aitken, Derrick Herriott, and a 14 year old Jimmy Cliff (his first recording "Dearest Beverly" is included here.)
"All six artists featured on this set have rightly earned the title 'Superstar', scoring more hits than we have space to mention. As a resuls, we can only hope to provide a limited sampling here. Gregory Isaacs (a.k.a. the 'Cool Ruler'), began his career in 1968, before joining the Concords. Initial success didn't arrive until 1970, when he recorded 'Lonely Man' for Rupie Edwards. Delroy Wilson began singing professionally as a child, cutting his first records for Studio One. Over the next few years he was very successful, helping to usher in the Rock Steady era with 'Dancing Mood'. Alton Ellis has the distinction of being one of Jamaica's pioneer recording artists, cutting his first hit (Murial) in the late fifties. Pat Kelly entered the world of music as a member of The Techniques, who were recording for Treasure Isle at the time. John Holt's career began with a false start, launched with a couple of sides in the early sixties. After a short break from music he joined the Paragons, who became one of Jamaica's most successful vocal harmony groups later in the decade. Child prodigy Dennis Brown is another singer who first tasted fame whilst recording for Studio One. However, he really hit the big time after moving on to record for Derrick Harriott, scoring a number of superb recordings."
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From the vast archives of Jamaican music reposited in their care, Trojan now culls a collection devoted strictly to love songs. 50 original and cover tracks of crooning and pleading, devotion and dispair spanning from 1966 to 1974. Featuring Delroy Wilson, Marcia Griffiths (singing Jackie DeShannon's "Put A Little Love In Your Heart"), Alton Ellis, Derrick Harriott (performing the Chi-Lites' "Have You Seen Her"), Gregory Isaacs, Phyllis Dillon (The Shirelles' "A Thing Of The Past"), Al Brown (Al Green's "Here I Am Baby"), The Melodians, Toots & the Maytals, Horace Andy, The Paragons and much, much more.
Trojan records continues its English subculture series of box sets with a collection devoted to the phenomenon known as Mod. The fifty tracks collected here represent the most popularly played tracks in Mod clubs both during the style's heyday in the early
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Okay, at the risk of sounding like a bunch of Trojan solipsists (which we're not, really), this new Trojan Box is super fucking great! Quite simply, the concept behind this anthology assembles reggae tracks with Nyahbinghi accompaniment. Nyahbinghi is the name of the original Rastafarian sect, and the African based drumming that accompanies virtually all of its ceremonies -- most Nyahbinghi grounations. While today Jamaican commercial music and Rastafarianism are virtually synonymous, the two haven't always been so cozy. In 1962 when Prince Buster brought Count Ossie and his drummers into the recording studio to back up the Folkes Brothers on their version of "Oh Carolina" it was considered a revolutionary concept -- Rastafarians being cultural pariahs at the time. It wasn't until the roots era of Jamaican reggae well into the seventies that everyone was dreading their hair in locks and going rasta. But even then, whether for commercial, aesthetic or logistic reasons, Nyahbinghi drumming didn't permeate the rhythm section of reggae the way rasta conscious lyrics took over the vocals. Nonetheless, there were still miles and miles of examples of Nyahbinghi drumming wed to reggae laid down on tape. With that in mind, Trojan has assembled a very nicely priced introduction to some of the more prolific users of the form -- such as Count Ossie and Ras Michael -- some classic commercial moments -- Jimmy Cliff's "Bongo Man" and plenty of rare tracks. With the exception of 6 tracks from the late sixties, the recordings on this set were made between 1970 and 1975, the golden era for roots reggae. Highly recommended!!
The Trojan producer box set is a sampler introduction to the "producer series" re-issue program that was started in 1988 with popular success. The series focuses on six highly acclaimed Jamaican producers - Harry J, Joe Gibbs, Clancy Eccles, Alvin Ranglin, Niney and the inimitable Lee Perry - each of whom's work comprises half a disk's worth of material produced between 1968 and 1975.
Booyakasha! Been a long time since we've had any dancehall, ragga or no, to throw at you, beloved AQ customers. It's also been a while since Trojan has thrown us a box set we could count as more than a recycling gimmick. To their credit they've put out a hefty many top notch anthologies. We still sell tons of the Dub, Rocksteady, Ska, Nyahbinghi, X-Rated and Revival box sets. So when we saw that they had compiled an anthology of crucial raggamuffin tracks we had to check it out. When we put on the first disc we knew we had scored a fucking party smasher. It's fucking relentless. But it's not just the super fast tempo tracks with auctioneer style ribbity vocals that score the points for their aggressiveness. The slow numbers, like Simpleton's heavy "Pretty Little Angel" that have as much power and intensity as the fast tunes. Nearly every track on this first disc could be used as an example of ragga at its best: insane vocals with nutty production. This isn't the minimal dancehall of Wayne Smith's "Under Mi Sleng Teng" with his sole accompaniment a casio keyboard. Dirts Man's "Watch De Girl" is a perfect example with its synth power chords on every phrase ending and echoed vocals which make his already manic sounding toasting sound even more insane. The disc is well sequenced both between fast and slow tracks as well as between uber-digital productions and rootsy reworkings of older rhythms. Fans of Ward 21, like us, should take note on this one as it's filled with the entire bag of production tricks which they put to such good effect on all their recordings. That fucking heavy steamroller rhythm, like Ward 21 used on "Petrol"? All the fuck over this disc. So we're listening to this and just slobbering, and we think we're going to have a fucking aneurism by the time we made it through the third disc. So we put on the second disc... and... We just go flacid. Yep, nearly all 17 songs on the second disc are laden with suuuuper smooov "oooh girl, oooh", "three times one minus one's gonna make it 'aight" kind of stuff. Not really even that "conscious reggae" stuff, but just limp wristed pap. So with one more disc it looks like we're headed toward a split decision. Points for including Buju Banton & Tenor Saw's "Ring The Alarm Quick Quick" (we shit our pants way back in 2000 when we got turned onto this track through Soul Jazz's 400% Dynamite comp.), and FUCK!, Baby Wayne's "We Them A Defend" could well have been a bonus track on The Bug's Pressure and no one would have been the wiser, what with its super hard pile driver like rhythm, dirty production and even dirtier vocals. "Ring The Alarm Quick Quick" is an onion of a song and an essay on the Jamaican music industry in and of itself, what with Buju Banton roughing up Tenor Saw's "original" (an indictment on the state of music in Jamaica) which was recorded right over Ansel Collin's "Stalag 17" vocals and all. Throw in some madness from Capleton and a two fists worth of other hard, hard, hardcore ragga and you've got another disc as strong as the first. So you've got two great discs and one, well, you may get more mileage out of it than we did... Either way, for this price it's still a great fucking deal.
Trojan records "Proudly presents 50 extremely hard to find, and expensive singles from the late sixties and early seventies. Intended as a companion to the Trojan Singles Box Set, which presents sides issued on Trojan, this set draws on no less than twenty two of the company's original subsidiary labels (of which there were more than fifty!) However, rarity value alone was not the over riding factor in the track selection. Instead, we have placed emphasis squarely on good music, from some of Jamaica's premier record producers. Whatever your personal taste, from rocksteady to hard reggae, you're sure to enjoy this sampler." [From the liner notes] Featuring rare tracks by Big Youth, The Aggrovators, Roland Alphonso, The Pioneers, Winston Heywood, Horace Andy, I Roy, Augustus Pablo and many others.
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"Although there have been several Roots collections on Trojan, there has never been a compilation dedicated solely to Rastafari. In this writer's opinion it was better to reserve the subject for a box set, so that the appropriate care could be taken over the selection of tracks, and due respect given to the presentation. With other releases in this series proving to be so successful, now it would seem the perfect time for such a retrospective... All tracks date from between the late seventies and mid-eighties, with the majority being recorded at Channel One studio on Maxfield Avenue in Kingston... Collectively, the sequence of cuts on Disc One highlight the many trials and tribulations faced by Rastafarians, mostly brought about by society's ignorance, prejudice and injustice... Disc Two concentrates more on the spiritual wealth gained from worshipping Jah (God), and living an upright life... The individual messages contained on [the] third disc may seem varied at first sight. However, they are bound together by a central theme of Armageddon. There is also a rich sub-text, which warns the wicked to prepare for the aformentioned, and repent while they still have an opportunity." --Chris Pete (from the liner notes.)
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At first glance this collection looked to be the sign of Trojan having completely run out of box set ideas, but fortunately this is not the case. The term 'Revive', according to the folks over at Trojan, refers to that period of Jamaican music that trails the rocksteady era and precedes reggae's eventual domination on the island (the tracks here were all recorded between 1968 and 1969.) And, unlike our expectations, the 50 cuts in this collection are really quite great. If you're a fan of rocksteady, or even ska and early reggae you should definitely take note of this collection: organ is the lead instrument of choice on at least a third of the set, but there's a heap of horns to be found here as well. Vocals are often taken by two lead vocalists, sometimes backed by a chorus and though firmly Jamaican in style, the soul influence is indelibly marked in these arrangements. There are quite a few excellent early roots tracks to boot, such as Al & the Vibrators "Going Back Home", and Count Ossie's "Blacker Black" (with some heavy nyabhinghi drumming.) What's better is that the tracks Trojan has unearthed here are all rare goodies that collectors of Jamaican 7"s salivate over. This might be the Trojan box to own if you have to choose only one.
The consistently popular Trojan box sets are now being issued on LP at long last. The sets all appear to be identical to their cd counterparts in design and content, only being slightly more pricey.
A collection of tracks from the relatively brief, but fruitful Rocksteady era (1966 - 1969), a genre sandwiched betwixt the end of ska and the beginning of reggae. Known for its down tempo rhythms, smooth soulful vocals, and the rise of the keyboard (organ) as lead instrument. The artists here speak for themselves: Alton Ellis, Desmond Dekker, The Melodians, The Maytals, Justin Hinds & the Dominos, The Ethiopians, Phyllis Dillon, Lee Perry, Tommy McCook, and much more.
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A collection of tracks from the relatively brief, but fruitful Rocksteady era (1966 - 1969), a genre sandwiched betwixt the end of ska and the beginning of reggae. Known for its down tempo rhythms, smooth soulful vocals, and the rise of the keyboard (organ) as lead instrument. The artists here speak for themselves: Alton Ellis, Desmond Dekker, The Melodians, The Maytals, Justin Hinds & the Dominos, The Ethiopians, Phyllis Dillon, Lee Perry, Tommy McCook, and much more.
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This set features 50 tracks of Roots Rastafarian music from the seventies, the golden era of Roots music. Featuring Sugar Minott, Johnny Osbourne, Horace Andy, Big Youth, Peter Tosh, The Ethiopians, Linval Thompson, The Abyssinians, and more.
Speaking out on social issues and healthy debates (or downright rhetorical battles) have both been long standing hallmarks of lyrical tradition in Jamaican music. Any number of dialectics in the form of a compilation could be eeked from the material streaming out of Jamaica over the last four decades. For its part, the Rude Boy phenomenon is as good a topic as any. The term applies to neer-do-well youths who began showing up to dances in the mid sixties to pick fights and otherwise spoil the fun of those out to have a good time. Their presence was troublesome in the least and tragic at their worst, as some innocent bystanders even lost their lives when shootouts erupted on the dancefloor. It's even been mythologized that the Rocksteady's formation came about as a direct result from the practice of Rude Boys intentionally dancing slow during the fast paced ska tunes; their aim to cause some unwitting couple to collide with them, giving them a reason to pick a fight. All claims to the myth's validity aside, it underscores the effect the Rude Boys had on Jamaica's musical climate. So it should come as no surprise that Rude Boys were weighed in on by just about everyone in the business: pro and con. On the one hand they were touted as heroes: likened to modern day Robin Hoods. But on the other, they were ruthless trouble makers who's victims were other poor black Jamaicans. Trojan puts together (once again exactly) 50 tracks from as far back as 1965 from just about everyone who was anyone weighing in on the issue: Alton Ellis, The Heptones, Baba Brooks, Desmond Dekker, Justin Hinds, Derrick Morgan, Lee Perry, Peter Tosh, John Holt, Johnny Clarke and more. I say "just about" everyone, because there is one name that is conspicuously absent from the list: Prince Buster. It was Prince Buster after all who started the -- as we would call it now -- flame war that makes up at least one disc full of songs on this three disc set. In 1967 Prince Buster recorded his notorious "Judge Dread", in which Buster holds court to sentence Rude Boys (aptly played by his band) to "400 years". The reason for this crucial song's absence (not to mention Prince Buster's follow ups "The Appeal" and "Barrister Pardon") I suspect is because Trojan records is too cheap to pay the licensing fee to include it on this comp (remember the Trojan Mod Reggae Box? Same deal), so an otherwise definitive collection becomes a bit of a half-assed attempt. Still, there are some great tracks on this set, and if you really want to hear all sides of the story, we've managed to get more copies of the Judge Dread album by Prince Buster on CD.
RealAudio clip: BABA BROOKS & HIS BAND "Guns Fever" [/audio/bababrooksgunsfever.rm]
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
The Trojan label was originally launched in the UK by the B&C/Island partnership, as an outlet for the production work of Duke Reid. Following B&C's descision to split away from Island, and the latter's decision to withdraw from Jamaican music, a new company called Trojan Records was set up. In 1968 the Trojan label was relaunched, with a batch of UK recordings produced by Robert Thompson, who used the name Dandy (and Brother Dan) for his work. Before long, Jamaican produced releases replaced the UK sides, and a string of high quality records hit the shops. Most of the top Jamaican producers saw their work issued here on Trojan... By the end of 1969, a little over a year since the relaunch, Trojan penetrated the UK singles chart for the first time, scoring hits with discs by the Pioneers, Harry J All Stars, and Jimmy Cliff." [from the liner notes.] The fifty rock-steady and reggae tracks in this box range from 1968 to 1978 and include several songs never before released on LP or CD by noted luminaries as: Derrick Morgan, The Melodians, The Maytals, The Pioneers, Derrick Harriot, Donna Hinds and more.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
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The genre that saw Jamaican music move from the heavily Rhythm & Blues and Soul influenced Blues Beat into its own unqiue and beutiful form - up tempo, punchy, and loaded with horns. Featuring tracks by: Lord Tanamo, Baba Brooks, Desmond Dekker, The Skatalites, Roland Alphonso, Derrick Morgan, Don Drummond, The Ethiopians, The Techniques, Jimmy Cliff, Clancy Eccles, Lee Perry and much more.
The consistently popular Trojan box sets are now being issued on LP at long last. The sets all appear to be identical to their cd counterparts in design and content, only being slightly more pricey.
The genre that saw Jamaican music move from the heavily Rhythm & Blues and Soul influenced Blues Beat into its own unqiue and beautiful form - up tempo, punchy, and loaded with horns. Featuring tracks by: Lord Tanamo, Baba Brooks, Desmond Dekker, The Skatalites, Roland Alphonso, Derrick Morgan, Don Drummond, The Ethiopians, The Techniques, Jimmy Cliff, Clancy Eccles, Lee Perry and much more.
For those thinking that maybe there's some sort of contradiction in terms with the words "skinhead" and "reggae" used in the same breath, it is Trojan's job to educate as well as tittilate. Way back in the late sixties, before any of the current breed of
This collection from Trojan emphasizes the close ties Jamaican artists have had with Americans through music, presenting 50 tracks of soul, R&B, and funk covers from the island recorded in the late sixties through mid-seventies. There are quite a few excellent tracks here (Motown being well represented) including: "Tears of a Clown", "Let's Get It On", "I'll Be There", "Just My Imagination", "Ooh Child", "People Make the World Go Round" (not the Hortence Ellis version), "Papa Was a Rolling Stone", and much, much more.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Three cds featuring an amazing assortment of artists, honoring (and covering) Bob Marley, perhaps the most important figure in the history of reggae. Includes: Prince Far I, Judy Mowatt, Derrick Morgan, Tommy McCook, U Roy, The Upsetters, Augustus Pablo, Big Youth, Phyllis Dillon, Dennis Brown, Tappa Zukie, Jackie Mittoo and much more.
Well you've got to hand it to Trojan since they cut the price on these box sets it's hard to go wrong. But with this new Upsetter Box, if you have any of the many Perry / Upsetter collections already (especially any of the trojan anthologies), you'll be getting a whole lot of redundant material. Disc one covers Perry's pre-Black Ark days, with tracks dating back to 1968, recorded Randy's and Dynamic Sounds. This disc is contains not only the best material in the set but, unfortunately, also the most oft released tracks. Disc two contains tracks from Perry's Black Ark period and collaborations with King Tubby dating up to 1978. The third disc would be a great disc, containing several rare extended mixes of some of Perry's late seventies work including the Congo's "Neckodeemus", but it's soured by the addition of some of recently recorded tracks, including one from this year's awful 'Jamaican E.T.' album.
Trojan now has a contest on their website in which you can make a suggestion for upcoming box set releases. You can choose just the theme, or even go as far as picking out the tracks. And though I wish I could lay claim to the concept that's been floating around to make the Trojan Overlap Box Set, I can't -- somebody else already brilliantly suggested that Trojan release a box set of tracks everyone already has on at least three other Trojan compilations. And if Trojan's sense of humor is at least half the size of their opportunistic abilities, they might just release it. So now you're probably wondering whether or not you should get this. Well, truth is, this is actually a fucking great copulation... err, I mean compilation. Taken from bewteen 1966 and 1975, the tracks range from the subtle double entendre style reminiscent of early mento and calypso artists to the quite overt x-rated. It's the former that by far are the most entertaining as it demonstrates the lyricist's skills in avoiding the wrath of censors, and yet some of the naughtier x-rated cuts can be equally hilarious. Not to mention the Monty Python-esque tracks where two men sing both the male and female parts... strange. It seems as though the production on much of the tracks here is a bit more loose, for lack of a better word, which lends to stranger arrangements at times. I imagine that many of the tracks were not intended for any wide scale release and as such the artists and producers both had more fun in the recording studio. And these aren't obscure producers and singers featured here either. You've got Lee Perry (he's all over this one). Max Romeo (you've never heard Max until you hear him sing "Play With Your Pussy"), Augustus Pablo, U Roy, Niney the Observer, Phyllis Dillon, Derrick Morgan, Lloyd Charmers to name a few. Trojan insures us that a great deal of these tracks have never before been released on CD. So, as Trojan boxes go, we give this one the thumbs up, but don't go playing this one around the family over the holidays.
The monster box set from Trojan has arrived. 30 cds, totalling in at 500 tracks, available for a reasonable price. This box contains the first 10 boxes in the Trojan Box series: Ska, Dub, Rocksteady, DJ, Lovers, Tribute To Bob Marley, Instrumentals,
As much as we dug Daft Punk's Tron soundtrack, and we did, this remix collection seems to be directed at all the haters who lamented the lack of Daft Punk style dance music on said soundtrack, so in lieu of the more appropriately cinematic sounds found there, here you'll find just what everyone was hoping for, big pounding block rocking beats, fat fuzzed out synths, wild sci fi squiggles, huge thick swaths of speaker rattling low end, glimmering future disco melded to various strains of modern dance music, DP's original sounds cranked and blown out and turned into the sort of dancefloor bliss that fans of Daft Punk / Justice / Chemical Brothers / Basement Jaxx go nuts for.
And we're right there with you. We were sold a minute into the first track. "Derezzed" was already one of the few Daft Punk songs on the Tron soundtrack that sounded like Daft Punk, but here, Glitch Mob take the original and make it even more, slowing it down, the bass thick and dense, the beat more dubsteppy, the sound crunchy and explosive and loud and funky and in its own way HEAVY. Then there's the M83 track, that sounds exactly like what you might think M83 and Daft Punk would sound like together, the vibe soaring and eighties, falsetto vox over epic buzzing synths and swirling futuristic ambience, it may be on a Daft Punk remix record, but it would sound right at home on a M83 record proper.
And so it goes. From house to trance, dubstep to techno, swirly spaced out ambience to groovy low slung futurefunk, lots of names you know: Crystal Method, Moby, Photek (!), Paul Oakenfold, and plenty more you don't: Pretty Lights, Japanese Popstars, Kaskade, Teddybears, not to mention the awesomely named Com Truise, these jams pretty much all anyone into any of the above mentioned folks could ask for...
Lilith is really on top of the Tropicalia reissues and this time we see back in stock the compilation / collaboration that served as the Brazilian movement's defining manifesto while also highlighting the key musical players: Gil Gilberto, Caetano Veloso, Os Mutantes, Gal Costa and producer Rogerio Duprat (with contributions from Nara Leao, Tom Ze, and Vicente Celestino among others). We were surprised to find we didn't review this ten years ago when we first discovered and raved about Os Mutantes and heard about the Tropicalia movement from the late sixties with all this amazing and creative art, poetry and music. Although it's easy to be blinded by Os Mutantes' genius, as they were definitely the most rocking and performative component of the movement, which was made up of mostly singer-songwriters that came from more traditional musical forms of Samba, Fado and Bossa Nova. So perhaps we were less floored musically with that aspect of this compilation at the time, or just didn't appreciate enough the then-radical concept of mashing all these disparate forms of psychedelic rock, Afro-Caribbean rhythms and Brazilian popular styles together in a country that nationalized its traditional music to such a degree that even electric instruments were considered anathema. We are definitely appreciating it much more now. Especially after becoming more familiar with the solo work of each of the contributors, we're more open this time around to the softer nuances of the song writing and performances. Panis et Circencis (Bread and Circuses) is both a celebration and a political critique, a collaboration of unity and vitality and most of all longevity.
You can always count on Soul Jazz for a beautifully packaged and well thought out compilation. This time out it's a trip to late '60s early '70s Brazil for the suave sounds of the founders of tropicalia. Caetano Veloso, Tom Ze, Gal Costa, Jorgen Ben, Gilberto Gil, and of course ultimate AQ faves Os Mutantes. With a sound that mixes elements of psychedelic rock, samba, funk, soul and avant-garde aesthetics like tape loops and delays. Crazy to think that during the dictatorial political atmosphere in Brazil at the time many of these artists were seen as dangerous because of the revolutionary sounds they were creating. Veloso and Gil were even arrested and deported. What they began was a sound and style that's been picked up by new generations across the globe. Just listen to records by Beck, Olivia Tremor Control (listen to the Veloso sound sample, an OTC dead ringer!), Sam Prekop, David Byrne and many others and you can hear how these sounds have shaped some of the smartest pop music of the last quarter-century.
There's no shortage of incredible reissue labels, and depending on our mood, or what record just came out, we could go any way if forced to pick, but honestly, we find ourselves always coming back to Omni, not only are their reissues incredibly and meticulously researched and curated, with extensive liner notes, rare photos, all that jazz, but the sounds are bizarre and beautiful, balancing precariously between unsung country classics, and the demented dark underbelly of country music, we love both, but definitely lean toward the latter, and thankfully, so does Omni it seems. As if to prove that point, along comes Troubled Troubadours, another collection of sick twisted country sounds, which on the surface, aren't so obviously twisted, but dig a little deeper and these songs blossom into far out tales of misery and woe, murder and mayhem, even one about shooting God! Weird indeed.
There are some musical moments of madness, the bizarre looped vocal / Theremin sounding main melody on Homer And Jethro's "Monster Mash" sounding "A Crept Into The Crypt And Cried" for example, but then there's intense dark musical gems like Waylon Jennings' "Delia's Gone", a brooding dark creep complete with haunting sitar buzz. Dolly Parton contributes two tracks, one a haunting tale of an abandoned mother, the other, a harrowing tale of a women committed, and longing for her Daddy to come set her free. And then there's the aforementioned "Are They Gonna Shoot God", a weepy melodramatic soft focus hippy country ballad, where a little boy asks his daddy if they're gonna shoot God, while an angelic chorus echoes the question. Weird. Porter Wagoner is present of course, Omni has already done two Wagoner collections, and here Wagoner tells the tale of "Waldo The Weirdo". Cargill Henson makes an appearance too, after two of his own Omni collections, with the reverbed jangle of "Daddy, What's A Tree?". There's Bobby Bare's "Your Credit Card Won't Get You Into Heaven", a cautionary tale, all gospel organ and baritone croon, and Lester Flatt's "I Can't Tell The Boys From The Girls", another cautionary tale of sorts, about dating in the big city, and so it goes. Every song, no matter how traditional sounding on the surface, hiding something sick or sinister, hilarious or goofy underneath.
If you dug any of the other Omni records, Porter Wagoner, Dee Mullins, Johnny Paycheck, Lorne Greene or the Plantation Gold collection, which was a former Record Of The Week, then odds are you're gonna dig this too. And most definitely recommended to any fans of incredibly strange music. Country or otherwise...
In an attempt to come up with the perfect compilation (in the spirit of collections like No New York, Flex Your Head, Not So Quiet on the Western Front and the like), Mike Troubleman took four years to compile this appropriately titled "Mix Tape" of bands he's
Punky noisy label Troubleman records has put out many awesome records; this comp is a low-priced way to check out tracks from a bunch of their current, recent and here-very-soon releases. Features a ton of AQ and customer fave bands! Dig it: Erase Errata, Wolf Eyes, Glass Candy, Orthrelm, The Walkmen, Subtonix, Pixeltan, The Roger Sisters, Songs Of Zarathustra, Meta*Matics, The Flying Luttenbachers, The Panthers, ABC's, Numbers, Kepler, Red Monkey, The Lack, Touchdown, Milky Wimpshake and Pussycat Trash, plus an Erase Errata remix by Adult (from the upcoming Erase Errata remix album).
MPEG Download: ERASE ERATTA "Marathon (Adult. Remix)" [/audio/eraseerratamarathonrmx.mp3]
MPEG Stream: ERASE ERATTA "Marathon (Adult. Remix)" [/audio/eraseerratamarathonrmx.m3u]
Presented by the Country Music Hall Of Fame, here's a great collection from what's one of Allan's favorite country western genres, the truck driving song! Songs about truckstop waitresses, black coffee, night runs, little white pills, and dangerous curves (of
