things and time will tell.

Ghetto Priest with Skip McDonald & Adrian Sherwood – Auld Lang Syne c/w The Slave's Lament Not On Label (Graham Fagen Self-released) CD Single, UK, Feb 11, 2005 This New Year's Eve share might be too somber for a party night... but I'm hoping I'm still on good paper after the Louie Vega Xmas disco records and that you'll forgive me if this is less aimed for the holiday dancefloor. I'm no expert, but it seems that Scottish artist Graham Fagen has produced a number of works over the years exploring the history of connections between Scotland and Jamaica (especially via the slave trade). He has collaborated with musicians to produce music and sounds to accompany his installations and visuals, several times working with members of the On-U Sound family. For a 2005 exhibit called Clean Hands Pure Heart , Fagen asked that team to produce a recording that combined the New Year's standard  Auld Lang Syne with another song, The Slave's Lament , also written...

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 + Sly & Robbie – Zion Gate Tropical Dubwise – TD12001 Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM, Maxi-Single, Stereo, France, 2021 info A modern Horace Andy follow up to my last post, on this re-cut of his 1973 song  Zion Gate . His voice is in great form as he delivers this reminder to live righteously before it's too late. I appreciate the spiritual clarity at a moment when the world seems pretty dedicated to handing me complication. Andy has released some quality records in the last few years, especially two brilliant LPs for On-U Sound. As much as I like his reinvention in the 90s and 2000s through his work with Massive Attack, it's been great hearing such successful new reggae recordings from this veteran, 50-odd years into his career. Horace Andy teamed up with Sly and Robbie on this single, released just a few months before Robbie Shakespeare sadly passed away in December, 2021. Sly & Robbie lead their classic Taxi Gang band on the backing track and don't disappoin...

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...

Various – Xterminator Records (The Legacy - Chapter 1) Global Beats – GB002, XTerminator, XTM.Nation Vinyl, LP, Compilation, UK, 2021 info Again with the long breaks... I've been meaning to put this one up for a while. Here is a recent compilation of tracks from Xterminator Records, that will hopefully help brighten your day (even during a dark northern January). [Oops. February by the time I got around to finishing this- sigh.]  Philip "Fatis" Burrell's Xterminator label released some of the most important Jamaican music of the 1990s and early 2000s. Fatis and the young artists around him (including Luciano, Sizzla, and Capleton) were at the heart of a resurgence of cultural music and Rasta themes in the 90s, a major shift from the previous decade of dancehall hits.  This era is probably best remembered for the surge of militant, Bobo dread singers, but Xterminator wasn't just ushering in a new era of cultural lyrics- these were great songs and the scene was more...

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...

Brentford All Stars / Dub Specialist – Greedy G / Granny Scratch Scratch Soul Jazz Records – SJR478-12 Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM, UK, 2021 info It's hard to overstate the importance of Studio One in Jamaican music. The late Coxsone Dodd's record label is easily the most important in the history of reggae and the rhythms from his 1960s and 70s productions are still regularly getting a new shine and re-versioned for the  riddims  of today. Those tunes, revamped for the 1980s dancehall era by the Roots Radics and others, make up some of my favorite musical obsessions. All that said, I'm sharing a Studio One record today, but it's something else altogether. This is a recent 12" single from the UK collecting two Studio One tracks cut that I'm pretty sure were cut in the early to mid 70s. But these aren't the early reggae or rocksteady classics, instead we get two storming funk cuts. On  Greedy G ,  the Brentford All Stars (one of the regular names used for Coxson...

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 ...

Various Artists – Songs Of Aretha Dubwise Showcase Ariwa Sounds – ARILP 290 Vinyl, LP, Compilation, UK, Apr 12, 2019 info I had no idea this record existed until I spotted a used copy on a recent trip. A tribute to Aretha Franklin featuring reggae covers of songs associated with the Queen of Soul, produced by Mad Professor and accompanied by dub versions? Yes, I was an easy mark for that sale. Some of these are vintage Mad Professor rhythms put to new use, others are more recent recordings. I guess there's a CD version out there too with a handful of additional songs and dubs... Keeping my eyes peeled. I appreciated the choice of songs here- You get obvious hits like Natural Woman and Burt Bacharach and Hal David's wonderful Say A Little Prayer , but a few surprises as well.  In the liner notes, Mad Professor admits to having missed out on Aretha's brilliant One Step Ahead  for forty-plus years, only hearing it as part of a tribute show he listened to the week after her de...

Sade – The Remix Deluxe Epic – ESCA 5700 CD, Mini-Album, Compilation, Special Edition, Stereo Japan, Jun 2, 1993 info A CD this time, but a fairly rare one (around these parts anyway) with a couple buried treasures. A five track EP, apparently pulled together to promote a 1993 Japanese tour, Sade's The Remix Deluxe  was a Japan only release following up the previous year's  Love Deluxe album. Only one of the tracks was pulled from their then currently LP though, instead compiling together a handful of nice remixes and B sides onto a single disc. It's Sade. Do I really need to say anything else to make you want to listen? The disc opens with two remixes that had been released on vinyl singles the year before. First, Nellee Hooper adds a drum loop and ups the funk a bit on Feel No Pain . Sade's prayer for the strugglers of the Thatcher years is turned into something you could play late at night while you bring things down a little after a hop hop set in the club. (That...

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...

Lee "Scratch" Perry – Makumba Rock (2019, 10" vinyl) Adrian Sherwood X Lee "Scratch" Perry – Time Boom X The Upsetter Dub Sessions (2019, CD) Lee Perry stayed very active in his later years, but plenty of music industry attention was always spent playing up the wild image he had built. Not making light of it at all, but at times it could leave the impression of his antics walking the line between mental health crisis and marketing scheme. In a lot of ways, many Lee Perry albums starting at some point in the 80s were selling "Scratch" the character as much as anything he necessarily contributed to the music. The result was more than a few CDs released under his name and featuring his vocal ramblings over music produced entirely by others that were far from essential (and far from the heights of Perry's most inspiring, innovative or beautiful work from earlier days). (Confession: That " Lee Perry meets Andrew W.K. " album? I admit to buyin...