things and time will tell.

Hemsley Morris / Ernest Ranglin – You Think I'm A Fool / Heart Beat Clancy's Records / TRS Records – TRS-CE-1 Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Europe, 2023 (Original releases: 1968) info The mention of Jamaican guitarist Ernest Ranglin playing on the Monty Alexander album I just posted reminded me that I had this single in a pile of 45s waiting to be heard. Ranglin is most famous as a jazz artist, recording since the mid 1950s in JA and internationally, but his guitar work graces plenty of nice ska, rocksteady and reggae recordings from the 60s, 70s, 80s and beyond. Here he's credited with the B side instrumental, Heart Beat .  The regularly high quality French label Top Ranking Sound (or TRS Records) smartly paired Ranglin's track with the vocal cut by Hemsley Morris on the same rhythm. Both tracks were originally released in 1968, Morris's rocksteady vocal on Clancy's Records in Jamaica and Ranglin's instrumental take on a Pama single in the UK. A Clancy Eccles ...

Horace Andy / Augustus Pablo – Problems / Lovers Mood Pressure Sounds – PSS 001 Vinyl, 7", UK, 1995 info The last time I posted something here was almost six months ago, when we were days away from an important election... and when I had I had convinced myself once again that there was some chance I could pull off posting music on a more regular basis. At least my hopefulness for the election was well founded! Chicago has a new mayor and some new optimism, but life remains complicated. Major changes at work and home given me plenty of excuses from ever diving back into music (or this blog) like I intend to. instead of sad stories though, I'll share some good advice from the great Horace Andy. "Don't let problems get you down, they will put you in a hole." Not sure if anyone is still lurking around this site, but I'll try to keep that guidance in mind and start putting some music up here every now and then if anyone is searching. I hope you find this and enjoy...

Gina Birch – Feminist Song Third Man Records – TMR719 Vinyl, 7", 33 ⅓ RPM, Limited Edition, USA, 2021 info This 2021 single was Gina Birch's first "solo" record, 40+ years after founding the Raincoats in London. That band, started when she was just over 20 years old after seeing a Slits gig, has popped up on these pages before. (And if you don't already know them, that is the track to hear .) I've always enjoyed their messy embrace of feminism, art, anger and fun. In her late 60s now, Birch still has it. Feminist Song isn't built around the funkiness that worked its way into my favorite Raincoats cuts, but those other threads are still there: her painted cover art, the sharp politics, the tongue in cheek honesty ("and yes, sometimes I'm a pushover"), the catchy hook of a chorus buried under all the noise. Fellow Raincoat Ana da Silva supplies some analog synth and Youth produces the track (also contributing a B side "ambient mix")...

Barry White – I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby 20th Century Records – TC-2018 Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Styrene, Terre Haute Pressing US, 1973 info For no reason other than I felt like listening to it, here's Barry White with one of his very greatest singles. If you know someone who doesn't understand why people love this guy beyond silly impersonations of the sexy voice, I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby  is the place to start. The opening is amazing (and the break has been put to good use more than once on some classic hip hop productions), but listen to the arrangement here- so much going on. The build up that begins right around the 50 second mark is really something special. The B side, Just A Little More Baby , really lets the music (and Barry White's production skills) shine. More than just a straight instrumental of the A side hit, it's almost a dub mix with Barry's vocal scats echoing in and out and the different instruments getti...

Lee Scratch Perry & The Upsetters – Bird In Hand Goldenlane Records – 0889466251245 Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, USA, 2021 info Random reggae. Last year, for some reason, a new 7" single was released collecting two songs from a 1978 Lee Perry production,  Return Of The Super Ape  by the Upsetters . I'm not sure who they thought would be the market for this in 2021, but it has a great cover photo of Scratch at his Black Ark studio and an excellent choice for the A side.  If the lyrics to  Bird In Hand  seem hard to follow, that's probably due to it being a 44-year-old, low-fi recording of a Jamaican singer (the obscure Sam Carty , I believe, who went uncredited on both the original release and on this single) attempting to sing the Hindi lyrics to a 78-year-old Bollywood musical. Perry's house band, the Upsetters, were essentially covering Milte Hi Aankhen , a love song from the 1950 film Babul . I wish I knew how Perry and company had encountered this soundtrack (writ...

Bim Sherman – It Must Be A Dream Original Music Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Jamaica Early 2000s pressing(?), song from 1980 info Right around when I last wrote something here, I remember thinking that maybe, just maybe, I could get my act together and start making posts more regularly. I had actually prepared a post ahead of time for once and started to convince myself that I could pull off sharing something once a week or so with a little effort. Ahem. Well, a full two months later here we are. In my defense, a lot happened since then. School started and work got challenging, the life decided to show me and some loved ones what challenging *really* looked like. difficult times call for music that brings me some peace, so here's one that I hope can provide a few minutes of the same for others.  ___________________________________ I think that Bim Sherman easily had one of the greatest voices ever in reggae. Sherman  has appeared on these pages before  and it's a safe bet that he...

Ann Sexton – You're Gonna Miss Me / You're Losing Me Seventy Seven Records – 77-133 Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, US, 1973 info I know I can write too much sometimes (much like my talking in real life, yes, I know), but this one should be quick. Continuing with the funk records (of various sorts) featured in the last couple posts, today we have a great lost single from 1973. I've got no stories to tell you about Ann Sexton.  Until I started writing this and saw that others have documented some of her history , I knew pretty much nothing about Sexton except that she was a Southern soul singer who, from the records I've heard, deserved to be much more widely remembered. I knew she had recorded a couple albums and a clutch of singles for Nashville's Seventy-Seven records and a few other labels though the 1970s. After that, she disappears (from the record bins and my radar anyway).  According to the internet, she got fed up with the music industry, left the south for NYC in ...

Romain Virgo – Minimum Wage Penthouse Records – PHEU 007 Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Germany, 2013 Info The minimum wage in Chicago went up yesterday, so I'm sharing this one to celebrate. Romain Virgo really caught my attention when I started hearing the young singer turn up on mixtapes in the early 2010s. Pop reggae to be sure, complete with lovers' songs and radio friendly hooks, all done well. So it's modern JA pop, but, at least on those early records and mixtapes that caught my ear, Virgo had a nice way of regularly working in tributes to the classic songs and rhythms slipping in his thoughts about the state of the world. Not big political statements, but even some of those lovers tunes were clear about where they stood, telling the stories of strugglers and working people. The first song I remember hearing by him, Rich In Love , is a good example. I am rich in love Financially I'm a pauper It's just you that I'm after... What's not to love? (If you check ...

Chumbawamba – Ugh! Your Ugly Houses! One Little Indian – 139 TP 7 Vinyl, 7", Single, 45 RPM, UK, 1995 info I've a had a short run going here of women artists and vocalists. I move too slowly for these to turn up during women's history month, but I figured I'd keep it up for a minute to help balance the over representation of men on these pages (and in pretty much every discussion of music in the world). Chumbawamba, was a mixed gender band, so maybe they don't completely fit the bill, but the women (and the group's feminist politics) were always upfront. Plus I threatened promised to someday rip more vinyl by them, so here we go... These two tracks come from Swingin' With Raymond , Chumbawamba's eighth LP and their last before the major label adventure that scored them status as a bar trivia one hit wonder answer. The album was split in two parts, corresponding with cover star Raymond's knuckle tattoos: Hate and Love. The "Hate" side had ...

The Raincoats – Running Away / No One's Little Girl Rough Trade – RT093 Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single, UK, Jul 1982 info By 1982, punk had helped opened doors for things that would be much more interesting than four white guys making rock and roll fast again. I guess that's part of the story: punk never was all white, definitely not just for boys, and (after that initial burst onto the scene anyway) wasn't always even very rock and roll. Cue the Raincoats. All women (except when they weren't quite), punk-ish... but less so with each recording. Violins, melodies, feminist, art, reggae and more were thrown in the mix leaving a short string of records that I think are among of the best arguments that some wonderful things came out of punk rock for those who might be skeptical. The Raincoats had already pounded out two albums in about 2 years' time when this single came out. The band shows off a new level of confidence and... funkiness? One side features their take on ...

Lauryn Hill – Doo Wop (That Thing) Ruffhouse Records – 78868-S1 Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, US, 1998 info The big single from Lauryn Hill’s first solo album, served up here on a 7” that I picked up back in 1998. It's funny how some music brings you back to a moment… I remember being excited for  The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill to come out- and it wound up being an  exciting record. I expected her post-Fugees solo set to be good, but Ms. Hill handed us a damn near perfect, classic album. Listening for the first time in a while recently, it's sounds pretty timeless to me, holding up even after almost 25(?!?) years. A side,  Doo Wop (That Thing),  highlights that even with hit singles like this, Miseducation  was not a crossover pop turn. She could sing, rap, write and had plenty to say that wasn't designed to sell records or score easy radio play. This cut's tales of the darker motives, posturing and desperate moves made in the name of love showed off how effortlessly she...

Prince Alla – Stone Freedom Sounds – no cat. # (B.B. 88 X-A & B.B. 88 X-B matrix) Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Jamaica, 1976 info As noisy as it is, this single is still one of the most treasured records buried in my crates- Stone  by roots singer Prince Alla. I'll keep it short this time, but if you don't already know it and have even a slight interest in reggae or dub, please give this one a try. Prince Alla's original on the A side is powerful. His always excellent vocals were at the height of their powers delivering the dread lyrics, a Rastaman's reminder of Nebuchadnezzar's dream and a warning to oppressors that Daniel's prophecy of a "great stone, come to mash down Rome" was on the way. The song was produced by Bertram Brown  in 1976 for his Greenwich Farm based Freedom Sounds label. The Soul Syndicate band played the backing rhythm, as noteworthy as Alla's singing. It features a beautiful and memorable organ line that will stick with you as...

I'm not exactly sure why it felt so shocking a few weeks ago to hear that Robbie Shakespeare, the great Jamaican bassist, had died. Shakespeare was the "Robbie" of  Sly & Robbie  with his musical partner of four decades, drummer Sly Dunbar. The two of them were probably the most important rhythm section in the last 40 years of popular music. If you scoured the liner notes of my records, I think you'd find that the two of them played on more music that I've listen to than any other musicians. Their legendary status is not just because of tens of thousands of sides they played on, it's the influence they had over and over again as their music continued to evolve. Demand for them as backing musicians and producers expanded far beyond reggae circles starting in the early '80s and they went on to play with everyone under the sun, from Bob Dylan to KRS-ONE. Their 1980s work with Grace Jones still sounds like the future to me. They've teamed up with pop s...

 Junior Byles – Beat Down Babylon Orchid – ORC 712 Vinyl, 7", Reissue, UK, (Late 1990s/early 2000s?) Original release: JA, 1971 info Lee "Scratch" Perry produced records for so many of the best reggae singers and harmony groups of the 1960s and '70s. For a lot of them, those recordings included their greatest, most creative and memorable music. Junior Byles is one of my favorite singers from that orbit, someone whose records I find myself regularly going back to. Byles was not very prolific during his too short career, especially by Jamaican music standards. The former member of the Versatiles was a particularly strong songwriter and his small discography contains more than his share of classics, songs that still get played, covered and versioned. Beat Down Babylon was Junior Byles' 1971 hit produced by Perry at Dynamic Studios. Recorded in the years before the Black Ark, it's still a great example of Perry helping to break new ground. The song, an anthem fo...