Needle Time

  Bim Sherman, Roots Radics, Dub Syndicate & The Voluntary ‎- Haunting Ground [RDL 600 UK 1986 24-Bit FLAC] I first heard Haunting Ground on Peel in 1986, and it is a song which has stuck with me ever since. The accompanying album (imho Sherman's best) was partly produced by Adrian Sherwood and featured a whole plethora of On-U Sound'ers alongside Dennis Bovell in one of his alter egos, The Voluntary. My copy is a 1986 original scratchy vinyl, and although there was a brief reissue on Century Records a few years later, I haven't been able to compare the two.  My first rip was back in 2015, it was a bit fuzzy so I decided to give this a good deep clean to see how good it sounds on a better set-up. The results are pleasing and a significant upgrade, save for a tiny bit of sibilance, common on eighties pressings and thankfully the crackle has now gone. Enjoy. A1 Haunting Ground A2 Life A3 War Mongers A4 Gold And Silver B1 For The Future B2 Thanks And Praises B3 Moving B4...

Blackbeard - I Wah Dub [RDC 2002 UK 1980 24-Bit FLAC] Here is the original British master of dub, Dennis Bovell as his alter ego, Blackbeard. Originally from Barbados, Bovell moved to London as a youngster in the sixties and became immersed in the vibrant London West Indian scene. He developed a fascination for dub and honed his skills as the guitarist in reggae act Matumbi, who managed to get signed to EMI's prog label Harvest. Along with art-punks Wire, this was then seen as part of the label's attempt at diversification. Bovell went on to be a producer of great distinction responsible for the desk work on a plethora of reggae singles, as well as post-punks The Slits and The Pop Group. He also produced one single for Factory Records .... English Black Boys by X-O-Dus. I Wah Dub was his second solo album released in 1980 on short-lived reggae label, More Cut Records. Remarkably, according to the credits, Bovell played all instruments on what is a fine album o...