Keep The Fire Burning Inside

Some heavyweight grooves to make you move, courtesy of 14 reggae and dub legends.

All of these songs originate in 1975, although I can't be certain that the individual versions used here date from that year. 

Such is the task of trying to date releases when many Jamaican 7" singles bore very little info, let alone the year of release. I guess they weren't considering that half a century later, saddoes like me would be trawling the internet, trying to track down the merest snippet of info about a song. "Internet"? What's an "internet"?!

No matter, what binds them all together is a bass, skank, skunk and a trunk full of quality tunes. Some of the finest voices to ever grace vinyl, from Pat Kelly to Susan Cadogan to Gregory Isaacs to Bim Sherman to Louisa Mark and U-Roy.

Augustus Pablo appears twice, the second appearance via Baby I Love You So, my introduction to the great man via the cover version by Colourbox in 1986.

And Burning Spear's Marcus Garvey is one of the greatest albums of all time.

1) 555 Crown Street (Single Version): Augustus Pablo

2) There's A Song (Sing About Love): Pat Kelly

3) King Tubby's Badness Dub: King Tubby

4) Carry Go Bring Come (Discomix): Justin Hinds & The Dominoes

5) Fever (Live) (Cover of Little Willie John): Susan Cadogan

6) Darkest Night: James Eastwood

7) Dreadlocks Love Affair: Gregory Isaacs

8) Resting Place: Burning Spear

9) Danger (Album Version): Bim Sherman

10) Jah Jah Jehoviah: Ronnie Davis

11) Baby I Love You So: Jacob Miller & Augustus Pablo

12) Blue Boots (Album Version): Eric Donaldson

13) All My Loving (Cover of The Beatles): Louisa Mark

14) Joyful Locks: U-Roy

1975: Marcus Garvey: 8

1990: Crucial Cuts II: 9

199x: Classics: 2

1998: Breakout (bonus tracks): 13

1998: Trojan Dub Box Set: 3

2003: Cool Ruler: The Definitive Collection: 7

2004: The Bunny 'Striker' Lee Story: 14

2005: Tom Middleton Presents Crazy Covers Vol 1: Cosmosonica: 5

2005: Trojan Roots Reggae Box Set: Forward Jah Jah Children: 10

2006: The Essential Augustus Pablo: 1, 11

2007: Sun Is Shining (Mojo magazine promo CD): 6

2009: Emmett's 10/09 Playlist (Art Decade blog): 12

2015: Reggae Discomixes: 22 Essential Extended Mixes: 4

Keep The Fire Burning Inside (46:28) (KF) (Mega)

Been Losing Long Enough To Know

Woke up this morning
With a funny funny feelin'
And that feelin'
Was an unusual feelin'
Inna my bone yeah
It inna my blood
Inna my toes
Coming up to my brain
Went to the doctor
To check out what's matter
I Went to the doctor
To find out the matter
Doctor said, "Son,
You have a Reggaemylitis"
I said, "What"
Doctor said, "Son,
You have a Reggaemylitis"

 

I've been prescribed an hour of reggae and dub, twice daily, for the next week.  

Apologies to Peter Tosh for pinching the lyrics to Reggaemylitis and then not having the common decency to include the song in today's selection. Reparations are due.

1) Walking In The Sun: Candy McKenzie (1977)

2) Workshop (Red, Gold And Green): Burning Spear (1976)

3) Monkey Spanner: Dave & Ansel Collins (1971)

4) I Don't Want to See You Cry: Ken Boothe (1976)

5) Jah Love Light: Horace Andy (1980)

6) Time After Time: Sylvia Tella (1981)

7) Cool Dub: King Tubby ft. U-Roy (1975)

8) What Colour?: Carroll Thompson (1981)

9) Soulful I: The Upsetters (1969)

10) Chant Down Babylon: Freddie McGregor (1978)

11) Wiseman Dub: The Roots Radics ft. Gladstone Anderson (1982)

12) No More Will I Roam: Dennis Brown (1975)

13) The Way I Feel About You: Marcia Griffiths (1979)

14) Pick The Beam: Yabby You (1977)

15) Feel No Way: Janet Kay (1980)

16) Drum And Bass Line (Live @ Notting Hill Carnival, London): Aswad (1983)

Been Losing Long Enough To Know (58:23) (Box) (Mega)

Dubhed Excursion To The Outer Limits

There's something about Spring going into Summer that sees my playlist dominated by reggae and dub. I have collected many, many albums and compilations over the decades but I won't begin to pretend that I know what I'm talking about, other than how the sounds and words make me feel. 

 
I've hastily cobbled together a 10-song 'vinyl' sampler of albums I've been listening to this week, for your listening pleasure.

Side One (17:30)

1) Declaration Of Rights: The Abyssinians (1975)

2) Kung Fu Warrior: Lee 'Scratch' Perry & The Upsetters (1975)

3) Reggae Rock: Earl Sixteen (1982)

4) Blood Of My Blood: Keith Hudson (1974)

5) John Burns Skank (Live Good): Burning Spear (1976)

Side Two (16:01)

1) Strictly Dub: Black Beard aka Dennis Bovell (1978)

2) Forces Of Viktry: Linton Kwesi Johnson (1979)

3) Pick The Beam: Yabby You (1977)

4) Aso: Gregory Isaacs (1978)

5) I Shall Be Released: Keith Hudson (1974)

 

Side One (17:30)

Side Two (16:01)