Duff Review: RSD Drop #1/Two of Two Releases from Jump Up Records: Skanking Lizard "Original Chicago Reggae, 1978-1996"

(Review by Steve Shafer)

In the fall of 1985, I was a freshman at a small, liberal arts college about an hour south of Cleveland, in a town surrounded by cornfields in all directions. I ended up there because just about everyone I was related to on both sides of my family had attended that school (some also went on to teach there) and I was at a point in my life when I had no idea what I wanted to do. So, it was simply the path of least resistance. Fortunately, I became good friends with some kids from Rochester and Cleveland who were into many of the same new wave, punk, and post punk bands as I was, like The Cure, Yaz, Cocteau Twins, Simple Minds (Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call through Sparkle in the Rain), Killing Joke, Roxy Music, Bauhaus, Husker Dü, and Black Flag--and everyone seemed to have a copy of Bob Marley's Legend.

One warm Saturday in October, there was a music festival in a field just outside of town that was sponsored by one of the hippie pseudo-frat/off-campus houses as part of their pledge week. Since one of our friends was pledging, a bunch of us tagged along and the beer truck kept us entertained while we endured a series of endlessly noodly Grateful Dead-inspired bands (one of my friends decided to trip on 'shrooms and when I asked him how he was doing, he replied that everything was "spherical"; I mention this, as there's more on mushrooms below). Then, seemingly out of nowhere--and we really were in the middle of nowhere--a reggae band from Cleveland called First Light started playing. And they were really good, performing a mix of their own originals and covers. I was so thrilled by their set that I practically bum rushed the stage at the end of their set to tell them how much I enjoyed their show and to buy a shirt. They told me about their new 12" EP Musical Uprising, which I ended up buying on a trip up to Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights (their abridged version of NYC's West Village)--I still have it (check out "Musical Uprising" and "Holdback Syndrome"/"Movin' On"). And my friend C.H.U.D. (a cruel nickname given to him by some football players in our dorm that he wore like a badge of honor) and I wanted more, so we caught First Light again at Peabody's Down Under in The Flats in Cleveland later that semester. 

In high school, I had seen Peter Tosh, Black Uhuru, and UB40 (multiple times) at the Pier 84 concerts in Manhattan on the Hudson River. But I was hearing fantastic, original, American reggae in the middle of a cornfield in conservative, white bread (and very white) OHIO. My belabored point here is that the first generation of American reggae bands sometimes sprouted in unlikely places far from the Coasts, like Cleveland, Chicago, and Kansas City. If you were paying attention, you could find them (just like the first US ska bands that cropped up in the wake of 2 Tone). Inspired by The Harder They Come film and soundtrack, Bob Marley's Catch a Fire and subsequent LPs and US tours (First Light's Carlos Jones saw Marley in Cleveland in '78), United Artist Records' Anthology of Reggae Collectors Series, and whatever Trojan and Virgin Front Line UK imports they could get their hands on, a slew of American reggae acts formed in the mid-to-late '70s, including Berkeley's The Shakers, Kansas City's Blue Riddim Band, NYC's Terrorists, and Chicago's Skanking Lizard. 

As part of their series of releases devoted to Chicago-area ska and reggae pioneers (Heavy Manners, Rude Guest), Jump Up Records has issued a fine new compilation of rare and unreleased recordings from Chicago's first live reggae act Skanking Lizard--who opened for Toots and the Maytals, Mighty Diamonds, Steel Pulse, and The B-52's back in the day--titled Original Chicago Reggae, 1978-1996. Up until now, Skanking Lizard's sole release was their excellent 1983 "Jesse James" b/w "Mushroom" single on their own Reptile Records (which made it into the top 40 in JA). Side A is not a Laurel Aitken cover, but the band's original tune on the same topic, while the flip is a great version of Johnny Osbourne's slightly odd anti-psychedelics/pro-ganja cut ("The only thing the dawtas asking for all night/Was a stalk of mushroom--what is that, my gosh/Don’t want no mushroom to go to my head/Gimme the good sinsemilla instead/Don’t pee in my garden/'Cause mushroom will grow/Don’t pee in my garden/I don’t want your mushroom to grow/Sensimilla--that's I want to grow!"). The other two tracks to see light of day on the comp are from singer Alan "Blood" Lery's 1984 solo EP Heart Full of Soul (which hit it big on the Canadian charts): Lery's great original "It Happened" and a terrific cover of The Yardbirds' "Heart Full of Soul." Of note, the instrumental tracks were produced by Jimmy Becker (of Blue Riddim Band, who had been in the earliest version of Skanking Lizard) and recorded in JA at Channel One with local musicians including Ansell Collins, Carlton "Santa" Davis, Noel "Scully" Sims, as well as Blue Riddim Band's guitarist Howard Yukon--and Lery added his vocals in a studio in Chicago. 

The unreleased Skanking Lizard tracks on the album were recorded at various points throughout the '80s and include good covers of Mighty Diamonds' "I Don't Mind" and Keith and Tex's perennial "Tonight"; the interesting Lery-penned cuts "Strange Cargo" (I think it's about coming across a drug smuggler's errant load, but it feels like Cold War dread: "A strange cargo fell out of the sky last night/Don't worry child, no reason for you to cry") and "Wear a Smile" (which encourages the listener to enjoy life while you can, as tears won't get you into heaven); and fun versions of Beat and Selecter classics ("Tears of a Clown" and "Too Much Pressure").

Skanking Lizard's Original Chicago Reggae, 1978-1996 will be prized by fans who caught the band in the '70s and '80s--and is essential for anyone interested in nascent days of the American reggae scene.

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Duff Guide: Laurel Aitken "En Español"

Liquidator Music
LP
2019

"Quizás" b/w "Negro"

Del Corazón Music

Colored vinyl single w/jukebox strip

2019

(Review by Steve Shafer)

While cycling around Manhattan last week--one of my ways to stay sane during these completely insane times--I stopped off at Rock and Soul, the great DJ equipment and record shop that's been around since the 1970s and was a favorite of DJs in the early NYC hip hop scene, as their record section always yields a few surprising gems that I want. This time round, I unearthed a nice Mighty Diamonds compilation on vinyl, as well as the recent 20th anniversary, remastered, gatefold reissue of Laurel Aitken's 1999 album En Español.

Even though I'm a huge fan of Aitken's, this record didn't really register on my radar back in '99. That year, it was more than evident that Moon's demise was right on the horizon, and all that we had worked to build up over the past decade was starting to crash down around us. My promotions budget had been eliminated and my staff let go, and I left the label that spring, as there wasn't much to do beyond updating the Moon website, and I felt guilty for still drawing a salary. While working a new day job in advertising production, I also was setting up my new digital-only ska/reggae label called 7 Wonders of the World Music in the evenings and on weekends. Since I had closely managed the team that handled the press and radio publicity for Laurel's 1998 US tour (and FedExed him several new pork pie hats along the route, as fans kept swiping them), I spoke with Laurel several times on the phone about doing a non-exclusive license of some of his music with 7 Wonders, but he wasn't really interested in doing mp3s, and wanted an advance that wasn't unreasonable, but one that I couldn't swing. That summer, I caught Laurel backed by The Allstonians performing at SummerStage in Central Park. Afterwards, we talked a bit--it was a fantastic show--and he held and chatted with my toddler son, which was like having the Pope personally bless your child.

Laurel was born in Cuba and lived there until his family moved to Jamaica when he was eleven, so Spanish, of course, was his native language. Yet, Aitken's En Español is his only Spanish language album, recorded when he was 71 years old. Backed by the ace Skarlatines, En Español is a mix of brilliant new songs, covers of popular Cuban, Mexican, and Spanish standards, and reworked Aitken hits from earlier decades. While the new "Negro" ("Black") is an upbeat and irresistible ska track, it reminds me of his more muted "Rude Boy Dream," as both are about being hopeful despite being very down on their luck ("I don't have a mom/I don't have a dad/I'm black, from the inland/And I come to the city/Because I live alone/Full of loneliness/And I'm looking for a woman..."). It's spectacular and deserving of inclusion on any overview of Aitken's later recordings ("Negro" was also issued as a colored vinyl single in the US by Del Corazón Music, which is also distributing En Español in the USA). The other fantastic new cut "Niña Niña" is equally as bright and catchy, even though it's about begging your partner for forgiveness for an unspecified offense ("Girl, girl/You know that I will never leave you/I didn't want to make you cry/I was a fool drinking beer downtown/With my friends/And now I'm crying/You know how much I love you"). All of Aitken's songs are relatively straightforward with uncomplicated arrangements, but they're always packed with memorable hooks, and his singing is so relaxed--seemingly effortless--and self-assured. The man was a prolific tunesmith and consummate performer.

"La Paloma" ("The Dove") may sound familiar, as this 1850 Spanish song about a dove serving as a messenger that conveys a love that transcends the barrier between the living and the dead is one of the most covered songs in history (and it has been featured in the soundtrack of many movies). Laurel's ska take is impassioned and quite lovely. Another instantly recogizable track is "Quizás, Quizás" ("Perhaps, Perhaps") by Cuban songwriter Osvaldo Farrés, which has been covered by everyone from Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, and Desi Arnaz (who recorded the first English version) to Cake and The Pussycat Dolls ("Whenever I ask you/What, when, how, and where?/You always answer me/Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps"). Mexican songwriter Alberto Domínguez's "Perfidia" (which was popularized by Cuban bandleader Xavier Cugat and entered the ska/reggae canon with Phyllis Dillon's 1967 version) is great, but the selection of something less well-known would have been more welcome. The 1929 bolero "Aquellos Ojos Verdes" ("Those Green Eyes") is by Cubans Adolfo Utrera and Nilo Menéndez and appropriately melancholy for a song about unrequited love ("Those green eyes that I will never kiss").

Of the Spanish language versions of Laurel's earlier recordings, "Medico Brujo" ("Witch Doctor from Amsterdam") was originally recorded in 1977, but remained unreleased until it was featured on the 1989 Unicorn Record comp Rise and Fall: The Legendary Godfather of Ska, Volume 1. "Auge Y Caida" ("Rise and Fall") comes from a slightly lewd 1969 popcorn reggae track that appeared on a Doctor Bird single (and is also on the aforementioned comp). "Ojos Sexys" ("Sexy Eyes") borrows heavily from his 1981 Sunbeam 45 "I Love You, Yes I Do" (which also appeared on his 1990 Ringo the Gringo LP), and his "Sahara" was first recorded with the Potato 5 in 1986 for Gaz's Rockin' Records. All of these are terrific selections and sound great in these renditions.

In a career that spanned over five decades, Laurel never released a bum album, and his En Español is no exception.

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For Clash fans: While doing a bit of research on this album, I came across this Aitken cover.

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Duff Review: Lee Perry "Black Ark Days: Play On Mr. Music" (plus Jeremy Marre's "Beats of the Heart: Roots, Rock, Reggae")

Rock A Shacka
CD/LP
2020

(Reviews by Steve Shafer)

Lee Perry's Black Ark Days: Play On Mr. Music is a stellar collection of mid-1970s rarities produced by Perry at his legendary Black Ark studio (where he, of course, created some of his most brilliant productions, including The Congos' masterpiece, Heart of the Congos). Play on Mr. Music is most notable for its title track, the recording of which was captured in Jeremy Marre's excellent 1977 documentary Beats of the Heart: Roots, Rock, Reggae (he also directed the superb Reggae Brittania, broadcast on the BBC in 2011). The song "Play On Mr. Music" features the stellar core of acts Perry was working with at the time--The Heptones, The Congos, and Junior Murvin--credited as The Upsetter Review. Apparently, this cut was quickly written just before Marre's cameras showed up, which makes it all the more extraordinary (and may explain why it sounds like it could have been off Heart of the Congos--they were likely recording it around this period). Other highlights on an album full of them are The Silvertones' alternate take of "Rejoice Jah Jah Children (Dub Plate Mix)," Jimmy Riley's soulful "Give Me A Love," Perry's own fantastic offbeat showpiece "Soul Fire" (which was the lead track on Perry's 1978 album Roast Fish, Collie Weed, and Corn Bread), Sam Carty's otherworldly sounding "Milte Hi Akhen aka Bird in Hand (Full Vocal Version)" (which is a cover of a Hindi movie theme; a dub version of this track appears on Perry's Return of the Super Ape), Mystic I's incredible and hard to find adaptation of the traditional gospel hymn "One More River to Cross," and Junior Murvin's wonderful take on Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready" (and there are dubs of many of these tracks by The Upsetters). Play On Mr. Music also includes liner notes by reggae expert David Katz that provide helpful context while you listen.

If you've never seen Marre's Beats of the Heart: Roots, Rock, Reggae, you should carve out the hour in your schedule to watch it, as it's an extraordinary document of the JA roots reggae scene in 1976. There are interviews and/or performances by Jimmy Cliff, Lee Perry, The Congos, The Heptones, and Junior Murvin, Joe Higgs, The Gladiators, The Mighty Diamonds, Bob Marley, Ras Michael, The Abbyssians, U Brown, U Roy, Inner Circle--who were wildly popular in JA at the time--and others. Jack Ruby (who produced Burning Spear's essential Marcus Garvey and Garvey's Ghost, and was father of The Toasters' deejay/singer Jack Ruby, Jr.) is captured auditioning aspiring singers, and we see singles being pressed in Joe Gibb's pressing plant. Rastafarianism is explained in a fairly clear-eyed manner. The pernicious legacy of British colonialism is addressed (and to some degree US political and business interests)--and lots of shots of people living in extreme poverty in Trenchtown's shantytowns are shown as proof--and Prime Minister Michael Manley comments on the intertwined relationship between reggae and Jamaican politics (Perry states, "Rhythm from the ghetto, lyrics from the streets"), as well as his county's embrace of democratic socialism as a means to alleviate the dire economic inequality experienced by most Jamaicans. The only odd bit is when the narrator suggests that rocksteady preceded ska. Otherwise, it doesn't get much better than this.

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Duff Review: The Blackstones and The Officinalis - "Change of Plan" b/w The Officinalis "Santantonio Special"

Aloe Vera Records
7" vinyl single/digital
2020

(Review by Steve Shafer)

This is the third single from Italy's finest purveyor of vintage mid-'60s ska sounds bar none, The Officinalis (Latin for plants used for medicinal purposes). For the A side, they team up with The Blackstones, a UK-based reggae vocal trio that had some success in the late '80s and early '90s (and were notable for being one of the last acts that Coxsone Dodd recorded prior to his death in 2004; their album Tribute to Studio One was issued in 2005--since I never can get enough of the "Real Rock" riddim, I have to point out that their "Don't Chuck Badness" is a great cut off this record). "Change of Plan" is a beautiful--if heartbreaking--plea to a wayward partner, full of absolution and hope: "But, if you love me true/All you have to do/Is come on home." The falsetto harmonies, which may remind one of The Melodians, The Mighty Diamonds, The Techniques, Carlton and the Shoes, and others, are spot-on and splendid. "Santantonio Special" is an incredible, minor-key, mid-tempo, spaghetti-Western-ish original instrumental that sounds like a cut Prince Buster Allstars (essentially The Skatalites) would have recorded back in the day (speaking of Prince Buster, make sure to check out The Officinalis' stellar tribute to him, "The Champ," off their second single). This record is a knockout--don't miss it!

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Huge thanks to Sergio Rallo for the recommendation!

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Record Store Day 2019 (UK): Ska and Reggae Releases from Dillinger, Heptones, Madness, Mikey Dread, Prince Fatty, The Specials, Joe Strummer, The Trojans, and more!

Of course, the list of UK 2019 Record Store Day ska and reggae releases is VASTLY superior to what is on offer in the States. If you're a Yank, read 'em and weep, 'cause if you want any of these, they're going to be hard to track down and pricey as hell to ship to America...

Alpha and Omega Dubplate Selection Volume 1 LP (Mania Dub)
Alpha and Omega Dubplate Selection Volume 2 LP (Mania Dub)
Cornell Campbell Greenwich Farm Sessions LP (Jamaican Recordings)
Desmond Dekker Pretty Africa LP (Trojan)
Dillinger CB200 LP (Get on Down)
Freddy McKay "Another Weekend" 12" (Greensleeves)
Heptones Swing Low LP + 12" (Burning Sound)
Lee "Scratch" Perry Back to the Ark 4 x LP (Upsetter Records)
Lee "Scratch" Perry "Big Ben Rock" 7" (Where It's At Is Where You Are)
Johnny Osbourne "Nightfall" 7" (VP Records/17 North Parade)
Madness "One Step Beyond" "Nutty Dance" Shaped Picture Disc 7" (BMG)
Mikey Dread Roots and Culture 10" EP (Music on Vinyl)
Mighty Diamonds Thugs in the Street LP (Diggers Factory)
Prince Fatty featuring Earl 16 "Be Thankful for What You Got" 7" (Evergreen Recordings)
Roots Radics Dub the Planet LP (Soundsystem)
Roots Radics 12 Inches of Dub LP (VP Records/17 North Parade)
The Specials "10 Commandments" featuring Saffiyah Khan b/w "You're Wondering Now" featuring Amy Winehouse 7" (Island)
Joe Strummer The Rockfield Studio Tracks ("Forbidden City (Demo)" b/w "The Cool Impossible") 12" (Ignition)
The Trojans Top Hits LP (Gaz's Rockin' Records)
V/A Max's SKAnsas City (Roland Alphonso, The Offs, The Terrorists; liner notes by Marco on the Bass) LP (Jungle)
V/A Roots from the Yard 7" box set (VP Records/17 North Parade)
V/A Studio One Showcase 7" box set (Soul Jazz)
V/A This Is Ska! (Live recording of JA artist showcase at 1964 World's Fair) LP (1960s Records)

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Ska and Reggae Singer/Songwriter and Potato 5 Collaborator Floyd Lloyd Seivright Passes Away at 70

On November 6, 2018, ska and reggae singer and songwriter Floyd Lloyd Seivright passed away unexpectedly in St. Ann's Bay Hospital in Jamaica at age 70.

Third Wave ska fans worldwide know of Floyd Lloyd through his work with the Potato 5 on their classic 1987 debut album, Floyd Lloyd and the Potato 5 Meet Laurel Aitken (Gaz's Rockin' Records); read our review of it here. In addition to singing on side A of the album, Seivright co-wrote two of its fantastic tracks: "Tear Up" and "Big City" (one of my absolute favorite Potato 5 songs). He also appeared with the Potato 5 on Gaz's Ska Stars of the 80s compilation and with his own band on Unicorn's Double Barrel Ska Explosion live album, which was recorded at the second International London Ska Festival in 1989.

From the early 1970s through the mid-2000s, Lloyd wrote tracks performed by The Mighty Diamonds and Ernest Ranglin, in addition to the ten or so albums of his own songs that he recorded and released on his own Tropic label. Lloyd also founded Tropic Entertainment, Ltd., a music publishing business that represents over 500 titles, including songs composed by Justin Hinds, Lennie Hibbert, Ernest Ranglin, and Kareem Baaqi.

Back in my Moon Records days in the 1990s, I had the great pleasure of meeting the soft-spoken, but intensely focused Seivright in his Greenwich Village apartment in Manhattan to discuss the possibility of Moon doing some sort of deal to carry or license some of his ska albums. If I remember correctly, we ended up carrying several of his titles (including Tear It Up: The Ska Album and Better to Laugh) in our store and catalogue.

We extend our sincerest condolences to Floyd Lloyd Seivright's family, friends, and fans.

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