Record Store Day 2022: Ska & Reggae Releases

As Chuck Wren told me--and you'll see below--this year's crop of ska and reggae RSD releases are pretty "sparse" (and some of them are not being released on Saturday, April 23, but on June 18). If you want to avoid the RSD price gouging (which is likely to be even more outrageous as there are shortages of PVC and other LP supplies) and boycott the majors for bullying their way to front of the lines at the vinyl pressing plants, keep your eye out for Jump Up's surprise, non-official RSD ska releases to be announced/for sale that same day.

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US 2022 RSD Ska & Reggae Releases

Jimmy Cliff: Follow My Mind LP (LAW Records)
Madness: Baggy Trousers 12” (BMG)
Various Artists: 100% DYNAMITE! Ska, Soul, Rocksteady & Funk in Jamaica 2 x LP (Soul Jazz)
Various Artists: Greensleeves Ganja Anthems LP (VP Records)
Various Artists: Love Is All I Bring 2 xLP (Trojan) (6/18/22 release)
Various Artists: Soul Power ’68 LP (Trojan)
Various Artists: Studio One Classics 2 x LP (Soul Jazz)

UK 2022 RSD Ska & Reggae Releases

Alpha & Omega: Tree of Life, Volumes 1 & 2 LPs (Mania Dub)
Joseph Cotton: Zoom Zoom Shaka Tacka LP (Room in the Sky)
Fun Boy Three: The Best of Fun Boy Three LP (Chrysalis) (6/18/22 release)
Madness: Baggy Trousers 12” (BMG) (6/18/22 release)
Mikey Dread: “The Gun” b/w "Jah Jah Style" 10” (Music on Vinyl)
Peter Tosh: Complete Captured Live 2 x LP (Rhino)
Various Artists: 100% DYNAMITE! Ska, Soul, Rocksteady & Funk in Jamaica 2 x LP (Soul Jazz)
Various Artists: Greensleeves Ganja Anthems LP (VP Records)
Various Artists: Love Is All I Bring 2 xLP (Trojan) (6/18/22 release)
Various Artists: Soul Power ’68 LP (Trojan)
Various Artists: Studio One Classics 2 x LP (Soul Jazz)

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Duff Guide to Ska Bullet Points: Green Torrejas "Green Torrejas" b/w "The Prisoners" and Stop the Presses "Dub in the Bank"

(Reviews by Steve Shafer)

• The two skinhead reggae tracks featured on Green Torrejas' outstanding new single "Green Torrejas" b/w "The Prisoners" (Vinyl single, Canana Records, 2020) are directly inspired by the "spaghetti Western" films that comprise Italian director Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy (A Fistful of Dollars in 1964, For a Few Dollars More in 1965, and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly in 1966), along with their accompanying soundtracks by Ennio Morricone. Of course, these very same movies and others of their ilk captivated many of the early reggae originators, like Lee "Scratch" Perry and The Upsetters, The Crystalites, The Hippy Boys, and others, who produced a number of incredible "Western reggae" sides in response (which are collected on the excellent Trojan comp For a Few Dollars More: 28 Shots of Western Inspired Reggae). As the Green Torrejas hail from Buenos Aires, Argentina, it should be noted that their country has its own version of the cowboy in the gauchos, who evoke mythic/heroic qualities similar to their American counterparts (surely the spaghetti Westerns were popular there...). Green Torrejas' sound is in The Upsetters' mold--their instrumentals are keyboard-focused, musically quote bits from Morricone's Dollars' scores, and feature the requisite gunshots, ricochets, and other dramatic movie sound effects. "Green Torrejas" ("Green Fritters") is a moody theme song of sorts that conjures up images of cowboy anti-heroes battling/evading corrupt forces in unforgiving desert landscapes and beat up frontier towns, while "The Prisoners" is proudly defiant, as if our protagonists have escaped from the hands of the law or grips of the black hats. This is a great single worth tracking down (Canana Records is based in Mexico, so it'll be an import if you don't live there).

• Brooklyn-via-Miami's Stop the Presses have issued two stellar, Agent Jay-crafted dubs of tracks from their terrific 2019 Money in the Bank album: "Dub the Presses" b/w "Hugo Dub" (digital, self-released and lathe cut single, Revolution Vintage; both 2020). If you've never heard them, Stop the Presses makes bright, catchy, new-wave tinged ska and reggae that leans more toward Santigold than No Doubt (and their recent album includes a great ska cover of Oingo Boingo's "Dead Man's Party"). "Dub the Presses" is a version of "Stop the Presses"--which is about pushing back on those who pump out disinformation and propaganda while denouncing journalism attempting to report truth as "fake news": "The lies you're spreading, the beds they wetting/We're ready to throw this whole thing out." "Hugo" is a searing portrait of someone who's gone through a bitter break-up, but was no angel himself in the process ("Spit out the nails that have been spoken/Now start choking on your own spit"); its dub sheds some of the biting commentary to focus on the cut's rather sweet melody. I'm kicking myself for missing out on the now sold-out lathe cut Dub in the Bank single, but maybe Sammy Kay will do another batch someday?

Duff Guide to Ska Fast Takes: Various Artists "Scorcha! Skins, Suedes and Styles from the Streets, 1967-1973"

Trojan Records/BMG
10 x 7" singles
2020

(Review by Steve Shafer)

All of the tracks on this phenomenally good box set of 7" singles from the late '60s/early '70s skinhead reggae era were selected by Paul 'Smiler' Anderson and Mark Baxter to accompany their forthcoming book "Scorcha! Skins, Suedes and Styles from the Street, 1967-1973" (Omnibus Press), to be released on July 23, 2020. As the title suggests, their book focuses on the rise of the original UK mod, skinhead, and suedehead youth subcultures--and this brilliant collection of both well-known and you-had-to-be-there obscure tracks documents and highlights some of the truly incredible music that was fueling these scenes.

The more popular songs here, all impeccable choices, are Symarip's "Skinhead Girl," Desmond Dekker and the Aces' "It Miek," The Melodians' "Sweet Sensation," Phyllis Dillon's "Don't Stay Away," and Ken Boothe's "Freedom Street." But it's the lesser-known gems (the originals of which are mostly mega pricey or near impossible to find) that make Scorcha! Skins, Suedes and Styles from the Street, 1967-1973 invaluable to any fan of rocksteady and skinhead reggae (I, for one, am so happy to have these tracks on 45s!). These include Freddie Notes and The Rudies' version of "Guns of Navarone" (think of The Upsetters with Dave Barker 's exhortations); Keith Hudson's "Shades of Hudson" with deejay Dennis Alcapone; The Jay Boys' "Can't Get Next to You" (a mind-meltingly good funky reggae cover of this Temptations track, produced by Lloyd Charmers); Errol Dunkley's "The Scorcher" (which is a cooly understated, but deadly menacing rocksteady classic produced by Joe Gibbs that he recorded when he was just 16: "I am The Scorcher and I'll put the pressure on you!"); The Versatiles' "Worries" (featuring a certain Junior Byles); Clancy's All Stars "C. N. Express (Part 1)" with Clancy Eccles, Lee "Scratch" Perry, and Count Sticky on vocals; Cool Sticky's "Train to Soulsville," (which is a version of The Ethiopians' "Train to Skaville"); Lloyd Terrel's hilariously suggestive "Bang Bang Lulu" (which is actually based on a much versioned traditional American folk song that during both World Wars had military cadences that implied explicitly lewd rhymes, but never actually deliver them: "...Lulu has a bicycle/The seat's on back to front/Every time she sits on it/It goes right up her.../Bang bang Lulu/Lulu's gone away/Who's gonna bang bang Lulu while Lulu's gone away?"); Lyn Taitt and The Jet's "Soul Food" (penned by Perry; Sir Lord Comic might be the vocalist); and Cornel Campbell's fantastically sultry and soulful "Girl of My Dreams."

Trojan did a bang-up job producing this box set. Each side's label is a reproduction of whichever Trojan imprint originally released it (Big Shot, Amalgamated, Dr. Bird, Duke Reid, Blue Cat, GG Records, Grape, Harry J, etc.) and the insert includes a lengthy excerpt from the book with first-person recollections of what it was like to be a part of that era--and sure to make one want to pick up a copy of it. Scorcha! Skins, Suedes and Styles from the Street, 1967-1973 is one of the finest releases from Trojan in recent memory. Don't miss it!

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Duff Guide to Ska Fast Takes: Various Artists "Sock It To Me!" and Reggae Roast's "Sensi Skank Reloaded"

(Reviews by Steve Shafer)

As part of its "Spirit of '69" campaign marking the 50 years since a slew of their skinhead reggae singles conquered the British charts--think of top 10 hits like Desmond Dekker and The Aces' "Israelites" and "It Mek," Harry J All Stars' "Liquidator," The Upsetters' "Return of Django," and Jimmy Cliff's "Wonderful World, Beautiful People" ('69 also saw the launch of their excellent series of Tighten Up compilations), Trojan Records has released Sock It To Me: Boss Reggae Rarities In The Spirit Of 69 (CD/LP, Trojan Records, 2019; the CD contains 13 more tracks than the LP) a collection of hard-to-find skinhead reggae tracks that surprisingly have not reissued by this king of reissues since they first saw the light of the day back in 1969. One might assume that these cuts were buried in the vaults for reasons of quality control, but most of the songs are good-to-great, pleasant mid-tempo head-nodders, though not exactly the pulse-raising dance floor stompers promised on the compilation's packaging. Having said that, notable tracks on the LP include The Sparkers' "Israel" (which could be about Masada: "In a bunch, Lord/Them tried to kill dem/Some of dem, Lord/Don't need a gun, yeah/But never broke/Before Bad-a-lon"); The Impersonators' hauntingly plaintive "I've Tried Before"; Hopeton Lewis and The Sexy Girls' slack "Sexy Woman" ("Go on woman, let them wreck your pum pum/All you need is a big fat man"); Tommy McCook and The Supersonics' instrumental "Shangul" (AKA "Shange The Whipman"); Lloyd Charmers and The Hippy Boys "Long About Now" (which Harry Belafonte first recorded in 1962; Charmers' produced a version for Bruce Ruffin and obviously recorded his own take, too); and Anonymously Yours' defunkified skinhead reggae take on The Isley Brothers' "It's Your Thing."  Liner notes to shed some light on/give some context to the makers and origins of these songs would have been a big plus (who was involved with Anonymously Yours and how did Hopeton Lewis come to record a rude reggae track?).

One of the more intriguing aspects of Trojan's 50th anniversary last year was the introduction of a new imprint, Trojan Reloaded, whose mission is to release new and current reggae (The Duff Guide to ska reviewed their first single here). So far, this label has focused on one of the UK's top sound systems--Reggae Roast--and dancehall (as opposed to other reggae sounds). The latest physical release from Trojan Reloaded is "Sensi Skank Reloaded" (10" vinyl EP, Trojan Reloaded, 2019), which revisits/remixes Reggae Roast's 2011 digital hit--a hymn to ganja: "Babylon want to take my herb/It can't keep my herb, oh no!" Both the original and remixed versions are new to me--I have to admit to being partial to the former (it has a deeper, more powerful groove to it)--but I'm sure dancehall fans will jump at the chance to have this on vinyl.

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Duff Review: "Rudeboy: The Trojan Records Story" Documentary

(Review by Steve Shafer)

Pitched somewhere between a hagiography of sorts and earnest truth-seeking documentary, "Rudeboy: The Story of Trojan Records," directed by Nicolas Jack Davies, had its US premiere last night at the DOC NYC Festival at a nearly sold-out screening at the SVA Theatre in Chelsea. Commissioned by BMG (which currently owns the Trojan catalogue) in celebration of Trojan's 50th anniversary this year, this 85-minute film employs a mix of short, talking head interviews with a number of often charming key players and commentators (Roy Ellis, Lee Perry, Derrick Morgan, Pauline Black, Don Letts, Ken Boothe, Toots Hibbert, George Dekker, Marcia Griffiths, Bunny Lee, King Edwards, Freddie Notes, Dandy Livingstone, Lloyd Coxsone, Neville Staple, and Dave Barker); archival footage of Jamaica, London, and TV/concert appearances by some of the featured artists; and truly artful recreations of past events with actors portraying various protagonists in this story, such as the late Trojan co-owner Lee Gopthal, Jamaican producer and Trojan sound system owner Duke Reid, and younger versions of Dandy Livingstone, Derrick Morgan, Bunny Lee, and more (they aren't given any lines and are usually shown in fairly ordinary situations in offices, studios, or dances, but nonetheless provide compelling visuals to accompany the audio of some of the interviews or samples of essential Trojan releases).

In sum, they provide a very cursory, but completely appealing outline of the label's history from its founding until it went under in 1975 (the origins and history of ska and its evolution to rocksteady and early reggae receive short shrift, too). Newcomers to Trojan will be intrigued and enlightened by what they learn, but anyone with a deeper knowledge of the label and its affiliated artists will be left wanting more (there's enough to cover here for a doc mini-series). Notably absent from the film is Trojan co-founder Chris Blackwell (after the viewing and brief Q&A with the audience, I asked director Davies about this as we were being ushered out of the theater and he told me that he very much wanted to include Blackwell, but was prevented from doing so, as Blackwell was contractually committed to telling his story for another project; Trojan label director and manager David Betteridge and Rob Bell stand in for him in the film) and with so many stellar artists released on Trojan over the years, one had the nagging feeling that far too many voices were left out (no doubt due to availability, budget and time constraints, and--most tragically--the deaths of many musicians).

At the heart of this film is the story of how a commercial enterprise (the joining of Chris Blackwell's and Lee Gopthal's similar ventures licensing reggae singles from Jamaican producers for release in the UK) unintentionally ended up influencing a generation (or two or three) of youth in the UK and beyond. And the film is most successful at conveying Trojan's enormous cultural and societal impact, as well as showcasing some of the label's finest music (which, of course, is released on the accompanying soundtrack album, full of superlative early reggae/skinhead reggae; a good reminder of how much extraordinary music came from this poor and tiny island nation).

Trojan's string of UK top ten charting pop hits in the late '60s and early '70s (including The Upsetters' "Return of Django," Harry J All Stars' "Liquidator," Boris Gardiner's "Elizabethan Reggae," Dave & Ansell Collins' "Double Barrel" and "Monkey Spanner," Desmond Dekker's "Israelites" and "It Mek," The Pioneers' "Long Shot (Kick De Bucket)," Bob and Marcia's "Young, Gifted, and Black" and "Pied Piper," the Melodians' "Sweet Sensation," and Nicky Thomas' "Love of the Common People") and success with its budget line of Tighten Up compilation albums was a result of skinhead reggae's massive popularity among both black and white youth. The sons and daughters of the Windrush generation (in the '50s and early '60s, over 100,000 Jamaicans emigrated to England after WWII after they were invited to help rebuild the nation and its economy) who largely felt alienated in Britain's overly racist society (there's a scene in the film where soundman Lloyd Coxsone recounts looking for employment at a government job center and finding that every listing was marked with a NCP, an acronym for "No Colored People") found that they shared a deep and common love for reggae with their white working class peers, which enabled all sorts of social connections to be formed (and making that generation of white Britons a bit less racist than the previous). Indeed, as reggae/punk DJ, filmmaker, and musician Don Letts reminds the viewer, the white skinheads of the late '60s/early '70s were, "the fashion kind, not the fascist kind," who were emulating the look of the black working class reggae fans and musicians. As well (as both Pauline Black and Neville Staple note), Trojan's artists and releases helped young, first-generation black Britons find validation and a sense of cultural belonging through the widespread embrace of reggae music and the representation of black British and Jamaican artists on the radio (even if it was usually pirate radio!), TV, and in the press.

The film glosses over the demise of Trojan, which was the result of many factors, including the transition to roots and dub in Jamaica (depriving the label of skinhead reggae to license), the business split between Gopthal and Blackwell (who went on to directly sign reggae musicians like Bob Marley and the Wailers, Toots and the Maytals, and Burning Spear to Island--and figured out how to successfully shape their sound for and market them to a white, rock audience), and the accumulated expenses from re-mixing, re-mastering, and adding pop strings to many later releases that never made it big. Also unmentioned was the common, but ugly and exploitive music business practice in Jamaica at that time--the music producer controlled the copyright/owned the recording. So, the producers of the licensed Trojan hits were paid all of the royalties due, little of which was ever shared with the artists themselves.

All criticisms aside, "Rudeboy: The Story of Trojan Records" really is a great (and fantastic looking/sounding) introduction to the legendary label and all of its stellar music--and longtime ska and reggae fans will enjoy watching it. But anyone seeking a much more detailed and comprehensive history of the label and its magnificent roster of artists will find it in Laurence Cane-Honeysett's newly released (also to mark the label's 50th anniversary) and absolutely essential "The Story of Trojan Records."

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"Rudeboy: The Story of Trojan Records" To Be Shown at DOC NYC Festival!

Ska fans in the NYC area should take note that there will be a single screening of the new Trojan Records documentary "Rudeboy" on Wednesday, November 14, 2018 at 9:15 pm at the SVA Theater in Chelsea. The film is being shown as part of the DOC NYC film festival. (I've bought my tickets already and if you're interested, you should purchase them in advance now.)

"Rudeboy: The Story of Trojan Records" includes interviews with Roy Ellis, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Derrick Morgan, Pauline Black, Don Letts, Ken Boothe, members of The Pioneers, Marcia Griffiths, Bunny Lee, King Edwards, Dandy Livingstone, Lloyd Coxsone, Neville Staple, and Dave Barker.

Trojan Records is releasing a soundtrack to the film on both CD and LP; the CD is available now, while the LP will be issued on 11/9/18 (both can be ordered now through Amazon in the USA). Long-time fans will have the majority of these (classic) tracks, but new converts to the cause will have an incredible collection of reggae music to feast on.

Lastly, make sure to watch this preview of the movie that was broadcast on BBC News recently. If this doesn't convince you to go see "Rudeboy," I don't know what will!

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Duff Guide to Ska Fast Takes: Reggae Roast Soundsystem Featuring Tippa Irie "Real Reggae Music"

Trojan Reloaded
7" vinyl single/digital download
2018

(Review by Steve Shafer)

The first physical release on Trojan Records' new imprint Trojan Reloaded (created in celebration of the label's 50th anniversary to release new reggae music, as opposed to reissues of classics) sports two versions of Reggae Roast Soundsystem's winning "Real Reggae Music" featuring Tippa Irie. This summery, King Jammy-like digital dancehall cut (the DJ Madd Remix has more boom and bite to it, by the way) is a smart way to kick off this label, as both the Reggae Roast Soundsystem and Tippa Irie have been long-standing and popular champions of the London dancehall scene ("Inna London, inna yard/Reggae make you party hard"). Trojan Reloaded also has released the fantastic digital-only Murder EP (which deserves a physical release) from Reggae Roast Soundsystem that includes versions of the riddim by Charlie P and Brother Culture, and Natty Campbell. Trojan Reloaded's off to a cracking start--here's looking forward to more quality releases soon...

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Note: If you've already ordered/bought the impressive new Trojan 50 box set, the "Real Reggae Music" single is included; otherwise, the more budget-minded or long-time Trojan collectors will be able to pick up this 45 for considerably less!

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Trojan Records in MOJO!

Apologies for no new posts over the past two weeks--I was on holiday with the family. On our last day in Dublin, I picked up a copy of the September 2018 issue of MOJO at Tower Records (!) for the airplane ride back to the USA. In it is a great feature on the rise and fall and rebirth of Trojan Records (in recognition of their 50th anniversary) by reggae journalist Dave Katz that provides more info on co-owner Lee Gopthal than I've previously encountered. Plus, the giveaway CD Reggae Nuggets sports both classic and lesser-known Trojan tracks by Alton Ellis, The Heptones, Prince Far I, Ricky and Bunny, Dennis Brown, Phyllis Dillon, Johnny Osbourne, The Ethiopians, The Inspirations, The Beltones, Val Bennett, Ken Boothe, Lee Perry, The Crystalites, and Lester Sterling and The Skatalites (MOJO also has a list of what they consider to be the 50 greatest reggae albums up on their website--discuss amongst yourselves). Also on my reading list for the journey home was Margo Jefferson's fascinating cultural history of Michael Jackson, On Michael Jackson--check out the Guardian's interview with her; and Mark Andersen and Ralph Heibutzki's incredible We Are The Clash, the now-definitive history of the post-Mick Jones/Topper Headon Clash (Joe Strummer, Paul Simonon, Nick Sheppard, Vince White, and Pete Howard), which managed to achieve some legitimate triumphs--many blisteringly good live shows, like their 12/6/84 benefit show for striking union coal miners at the Brixton Academy (with a number a great new tracks in the set like "Are You Ready for War?," "Three Card Trick," "North and South," "Dirty Punk," "Jericho," and "This Is England") and their daft-but-brilliant, have-guitar-will-travel busking tour of the north of England--despite Strummer's struggle with depression/self-medication and Bernard Rhodes' absolutely ham-fisted hijacking of what could have been a pretty great album of new songs: Out of Control.

On our travels around Ireland, I managed to miss the chance to see Madness perform twice. They played Galway a day before we arrived and were in Dublin while we were in Galway! (I did catch a BT advert that uses their cover of "It Must Be Love" on TV a few times, but it's not the same.) And Jerry Dammers did a DJ set in Dublin while we were on a brief detour to the (brutally hot) continent. So it goes...

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Duff Review: "Trojan 50th Anniversary Picture Disc" (plus Trojan Reloaded)!

Trojan Records/Sanctuary Records Group/BMG
Heavyweight vinyl picture disc LP
2018

(Review by Steve Shafer)

Of all the This Is Trojan 50! releases coming out this year celebrating the label's golden anniversary, the Trojan 50th Anniversary Picture Disc seemed like the most sensible one to pick up, since I felt compelled to partake in this significant milestone somehow ("The Story of Trojan Records" book by Laurence Cane-Honeysett comes out in October and I'll probably buy that, too). I've been collecting Trojan comps--the vast majority of them nothing short of excellent--since the early 1990s (some of my favorites include The Trojan Story, The Trojan Story Volume II, The Story of Trojan Records, Rebel Music, Reggae Chartbusters, Club Reggae, Blow Mr. Hornsman, Freedom Sounds, Music Is My Occupation, Clement "Coxsone" Dodd - Musical Fever 1967-1968, and Clancy Eccles And Friends - Fatty Fatty 1967 - 1970). Having said that, the downside of being along for the ride for several of Trojan's five decades has been seeing many of the same classic cuts packaged, go out of print, and then be repackaged over and over and over again.

The Trojan 50 box set (priced at $135 in the USA and containing six CDs, four LPs, two 7" singles, and some label merch) is quite beautifully designed and contains a veritable treasure trove of Jamaican ska, rocksteady, and reggae; but unless you're new to the genre (and if you are, by all means buy this, since you'll own some of the greatest music ever recorded) or an obsessive Trojan collector that has to have everything, you already possess the majority of these songs. Being a sucker for vinyl and picture discs (and Trojan vinyl can be hard to come by in the states--on a recent trip to New Orleans, I picked up a pretty beat up copy of the phenomenal 1969 Reggae Chartbusters comp because it was the first copy I'd ever seen in all my many decades of crate digging and it contains Dandy Livingstone's awesome "Reggae in Your Jeggae"; fortunately, the surface noise doesn't distract too much and I paid less than $10 for it!), I'm pretty pleased with my purchase.

The selection of tracks on the Trojan 50th Anniversary Picture Disc--all UK top 10 chart hits back in the day--is unquestionably spectacular. Of all the late '60s/early '70s Trojan classics here (Desmond Dekker and The Aces' "Israelites," The Pioneers' "Let Your Yeah Be Yeah," Harry J All Stars' "Liquidator," Ken Boothe's "Everything I Own," The Upsetter's "Dollar In The Teeth," John Holt's Kris Kristofferson cover of "Help Me Make It Through the Night," Althea and Donna's "Uptown Ranking," Susan Cadogan's "Hurt So Good," Dave and Ansel Collins' "Double Barrel," Bob and Marcia's "To Be Young Gifted and Black," and Nicky Thomas' "Love of the Common People"), the only cut I was unfamiliar with (and am glad to have) is Sophia George's relatively late (1985) but great top #7 UK hit, "Girlie Girlie." This is a record you can put on at house party and just let it play.

As part of its celebrations, Trojan is releasing new music again through its new imprint Trojan Reloaded (the first 7" dancehall single on this label is "Real Reggae Music" from Reggae Roast Soundsystem, featuring Tippa Irie, which is available in the US on August 10, 2018--and their excellent digital Murder EP is out now). Here's hoping that this move creates lots of opportunities for some new reggae classics to be born...

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"Ska: A Music, Not a Typo" (Trouser Press)

A few weeks ago, we picked up six back issues of "Trouser Press" at the Archive of Contemporary Music, during one of their sales. While this incredible music mag was primarily concerned with covering New Wave in the late '70s/early '80s, it did offer a good deal of 2 Tone coverage (I have an issue with a great feature on The Beat and just found reviews of The Specials' More Specials and Madness' Absolutely in the January '81 issue with Gary Numan on the cover). And then I came across these pretty spot-on write-ups of several great Trojan and Mango ska comps from the November 1980 issue with The Cars on the front...

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Duff Review: Duke Reid "Judge Sympathy" b/w Roland Alphonso "Never To Be Mine" and Eek-A-Mouse "Ganja Smuggling" b/w "Smuggling Dub" (RSD 2018 Re-Issues)

(Reviews by Steve Shafer)

Duke Reid "Judge Sympathy" b/w Roland Alphonso "Never To Be Mine" (Orange vinyl 7" single, Trojan Records, 2018 re-issue): This was the first single Trojan released back on July 28, 1967 (the imprint had been created by Island Records specifically to release Duke Reid's productions in the UK). And as this year marks the label's 50th anniversary (a book and mega box set are forthcoming), it seems more than fitting that this would be re-issued for Record Store Day 2018 (this single was also part of the Judge Sympathy--Birth of Trojan 11 x 7" box set released in 2008).

On Duke Reid's "Judge Sympathy"--which capitalized upon/was an answer record of sorts to Prince Buster's rude boy crackdown "Judge Dread" trilogy (which included "The Appeal" and "Judge Dread Dance")--an uncredited Alton Ellis sings "I stand accused," while Judge Sympathy (Reid himself, one assumes), seeing a couple before him for "maintenance," instructs the husband to treat his wife better: "You must give her enough food to make her comfortable in her kitchen. You must also give her water until her child is old enough to carry her own water." Alphonso's track is a lush and lilting instrumental cover of Elvis Presley's 1960's hit "It's Now or Never" (based on Tony Martin's 1949 "There's No Tomorrow," which itself is based on the classic 1898 Neapolitan song "O solo mio" by Eduardo di Capua and Alfredo Mazzucchi). Both cuts are ace.

Eek-A-Mouse "Ganja Smuggling" b/w "Smuggling Dub" (Clear green vinyl 7" single, Greensleeves Records, 2018 re-issue): On this Henry "Junjo" Lawes-produced 1982 hit, one might have expected some sort of rebel posturing about dodging the police whilst drug running, but Eek-A-Mouse's tale (a spare, roots reggae lament, really) is about the extremes of capitalism (and results of racism and colonialism in Jamaica). Either one follows the rules and lives in desperate poverty or breaks the law and lives large: "Down dere in the ghetto I go, where sufferation I once know/Mummy and Daddy, all a' we so poor, we all had to sleep on the floor..." versus "One by one, load up de van, all of a ganja it a ram/Put it on a plane, the week gaan a Spain/Money jus' a pour like rain..." Roots Radics are featured on the b side with "Smuggling Dub." This release marks the first time the title cut has been issued on a 7" single outside of JA--and its dub previously was hard to track down, too. Pick it up, while you can.

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Duff Guide to Ska Fast Takes: Hopeton Lewis "There She Goes" b/w Vin Gordon and The Supersonics "Reggay Trombone," Johnny Clarke and the Flying Vipers "Highest Region" b/w "Highest Version," Mungo's Hi Fi featuring Johnny Clarke "Rain Keeps Falling" b/w "Spring Shower Dub"

(Reviews by Steve Shafer)

Hopeton Lewis "There She Goes" b/w Vin Gordon and The Supersonics "Reggay Trombone" (heavyweight 7" vinyl single, Trojan Records, 2017): This limited edition Record Store Day 2017 release boasts two unreleased Duke Reid productions from Treasure Island's archives. As both cuts are fantastic, one wonders why they lay hidden until now (perhaps the almost ridiculous abundance of incredible music in JA at the time made it difficult to choose what to release?). Lewis' sprightly rocksteady track (love the combination of flute and sax here) masks the heartache of the lyrics: "There she goes/And I'm lonely once again/There she goes/And I don't know where she's going/But she's gone, gone, gone." "Reggay Trombone" spotlights Vin Gordon's t-bone chops as he's backed by Tommy McCook's Supersonics on this cheerful and lively early/skinhead reggae instrumental. (Copies are still out there to be had at reasonable prices.)

Johnny Clarke "Highest Region" b/w Flying Vipers "Highest Version" (green 7" vinyl single, Jump Up Records, 2017): Phenomenal roots singer Johnny Clarke is supported by Boston's reggae/dub masters Flying Vipers on this excellent single (unofficially titled Johnny Clarke Meets Flying Vipers). The atypical and unsettling beat and stripped-to-the-bone dubby instrumental backing on "Highest Region" provides a sharp contrast to Clarke's plaintive chant of "We want, we want, we want to go home/To Zion, away from Babylon" (the restlessness and unease in the music won't be calmed until there's deliverance from evil). Its dub "Highest Version" is even further deconstructed to great effect. This is definitely one of the more unusual dub releases you'll find this year and very much worth owning.

Mungo's Hi Fi featuring Johnny Clarke "Rain Keeps Falling" b/w "Spring Shower Dub" (7" vinyl single, Scotch Bonnet Records, 2017): For Record Store Day 2017, Glasgow-based Mungo's Hi Fi created a fantastically spare and seductive new roots riddim track for Johnny Clarke to sing his message of love over ("Rain keeps falling/And my body is calling/You're my one and only/I don't want to be lonely/You're my pride and joy/We were meant to be/Life is just for living/Love is what I'm giving"). Notably, this cut and its great dub version feature the "flying cymbals" that harken back to Clarke's first hit in 1974 with Bunny Lee, Earl Zero's "None Shall Escape the Judgement." As to be expected, Mungo's Hi Fi and Clarke deliver nothing short of the best.

Duff Review: Susan Cadogan's "Take Me Back" EP!

(By Steve Shafer)

Susan Cadogan Take Me Back (digital EP and CD, Stonyhill Records, 2016): While she is best known for her Lee "Scratch" Perry-produced 1975 hit "Hurt So Good" (#4 on the UK charts) and her classic self-titled 1976 album of "romantic reggae" for Trojan (which was also produced by Perry and is being re-issued on heavyweight vinyl in late October in celebration of Scratch's 80th birthday this year), reggae singer Susan Cadogan has been fairly active in the 2000s (for example, see her recent single with Ken Boothe on Jump Up) and her voice is still in absolutely gorgeous shape. Having said that, it was still a wonderful surprise to find that she's released an EP's worth of really fantastic new tracks on her Stonyhill Records label--all co-written by Mitch "King Kong" Girio of King Apparatus and Prince Perry fame, who also performed on, recorded, and produced these tracks. (It's very much worth mentioning that Take Me Back was recorded in Jamaica, Canada, and Germany by an all star team including “Lucky” Pete Lambert of The Trojans on drums, Jammal Tarkington and Rodney Teague of Keyser Soze on horns, Ryan Chopik of The Harmonauts on organ, Meher Steinberg of Prince Perry/King Apparatus on keys, and Girio on guitars and bass--they've done Cadogan proud.)

As might be expected, Take Me Back is full of damaged love songs--all exploring the Venn diagram of ecstasy and agony delineated in "Hurt So Good." The EP opens with a sultry and ethereal version of One Night Band's "Crazy" (co-written with Girio and Lorraine Muller of The Kingpins, Fabulous Lolo, etc.), which is a stellar rocksteady track about taking stock of a relationship after it's done and one's head is clear: "I must have been crazy to beg you to stay/Crazy enough to take you in anyway... Standing by the open door/Waiting for you to hurt me once more." Things shift quickly to the irrepressibly optimistic "Take Me Back"--see if you can resist singing along with the backup singers during the chorus--a song full of eager anticipation for the good things that could come if all is forgiven. "I Don't Want to Play Around" sounds like it could be a recently unearthed 2 Tone single (that would have hit it big!). Cadogan's heartbreaking performance on the dark "Leaving" is simply devastating ("The hardest part of leaving you/Is knowing that you'll move on, too/Holding somebody's hand/Instead of mine"). And even though the subject matter is kind of bleak ("The neighbors still talk/My best friends ask/It's the worst it could be/But when you left this home/You also took the best from me"), the EP ends with "The Best of Me," a sprightly and crazy catchy early/skinhead reggae cut.

I am in no way exaggerating when I state that this is one of the best ska/rocksteady releases I've heard this year.

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Jimmy Riley Passes Away at Age 68 in NYC

We missed this last week, but want to remember Jamaican singer, songwriter, and producer Jimmy Riley, who passed away on March 23, 2016 at age 68 in NYC (where he was undergoing treatment for cancer).

Riley was best known for his singing with the top rocksteady groups The Sensations and The Uniques in the mid-to-late 1960s, as well as his production and solo work in the 1970s and 1980s (including his massive dancehall hit "Love and Devotion" off his 1981 Sly and Robbie produced Rydim Driven album).

Laurence Cain-Honeysett recently posted a terrific in-depth overview of Riley's career at Trojan Records, while Billboard, NME, and United Reggae have run obituaries and remembrances.

Our deepest condolences go out to his family, friends, and colleagues.

The Duff Guide to Ska Record Store Day 2015 Ska Round-Up

Legions of (mostly) older music fans will be lining-up outside of your local mom and pop record shop this Saturday morning (April 18, 2015) to partake in the twice-yearly celebration of indie record stores and vinyl known throughout the USA, UK, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Mexico, Italy, and Spain as Record Store Day.

While I may grouse a bit about the pricey-ness of these limited-edition RSD releases (and how the UK RSD releases are consistently better than those available in the USA), each year you can find me in a record store or two (or three) on this day, hoping to pick up a few of that year's crop (usually new wave or post-punk related releases) that caught my attention.

So, while I'm more likely to be able to find some of the non-ska releases on my list this year (I'd like the Johnny Marr, Kate Pierson, and Buzzcocks singles; The Pop Group EP, and Replacements 10"), I'm sharing this recap of the some of the ska RSD releases that I'd be lucky to get my mitts on (and you would be, too):

1) For their first-ever Record Store Day release, Soul Jazz Records is issuing the Down Beat Special Studio One five x 7" box set, featuring the following killer singles (this is a UK-only release, limited to 500 copies--though, I suspect import copies will be available in the USA for a pretty penny):

• Willie Williams "Armagideon Time" b/w Marcia Griffiths "Feel Like Jumping"

• The Skatalites "Addis Ababa" b/w The Eternals "Queen of the Minstrels"

• Dawn Penn "No No No" b/w Dub Specialist "Hooligan (Dub)"

• The Mad Lads "Ten to One" b/w Jackie Mittoo "Totally Together"

• Michigan and Smiley "Nice Up the Dance" b/w "The Wailers "Simmer Down"

2) Demon Music Group is issuing The Beat's The 7" Singles Collection. This box set contains thirteen Beat vinyl 45s, from their 2 Tone debut, "Tears of a Clown," to their last Special Beat Service single, "Ackee 1-2-3"--and everything in between: "Mirror In The Bathroom," "Hands Off... She’s Mine," "Best Friend," "Too Nice To Talk To," "Doors of Your Heart," "All Out To Get You," "Hit It," "Save It For Later," "Jeanette," "I Confess," and "Can’t Get To Losing You." A 16-page booklet is included, presumably about the band and each single. Only 1,000 copies of this set are being pressed and it's a UK-only release.

3) Salvo is issuing Madness' "Lovestruck" (from 1999's Wonderful) b/w"Le Grand Pantalon" (a fantastic, reflective version of "Baggy Trousers" that was used in a 2011 Kronenbourg 1664 beer ad and was included on the 2013 A Guided Tour of Madness box set). Neither track has been available on vinyl before. Only 1,000 copies of this single will be for sale in the UK.

4) Trojan Records will be releasing a 60s ska/reggae compilation with cuts from Desmond Dekker and The Aces, The Upsetters, and the like. Titled Rude Boy Rumble, this 12-track LP will feature cuts chosen by Tom "Papa" Ray AKA The Soul Selector (also the owner of Vintage Vinyl in St. Louis, MO). This release will be available in the USA.

Happy record hunting this Saturday!

Trojan Records to Release Record Store Day 2015 Compilation: "Rude Boy Rumble"

At the moment details are few, but it appears that Trojan Records will be releasing a 60s ska/reggae compilation with cuts from Desmond Dekker and The Aces, The Upsetters, and the like for Record Store Day 2015. Titled Rude Boy Rumble, this 12-track LP will feature cuts chosen by Tom "Papa" Ray AKA The Soul Selector (he's also the owner of Vintage Vinyl in St. Louis, MO).

"Reggae Golden Jubilee" Box Set Compiled by Edward Seaga

I happened to be watching the local NYC Time Warner news channel NY1 yesterday and caught this story about former Jamaican Prime Minister Edward Seaga visiting VP Records (Seaga helped study and promote Jamaican music, ran the WIRL record label, and was one of the key architects of Jamaica's independence--though I should note that his politics and policies have been conservative-leaning). NY1 isn't hosting the video of the segment--otherwise I would have posted a link to it here. Seaga was in New York signing advance copies of Reggae Golden Jubilee - Origins of Jamaican Music - 50th Anniversary, a four CD box set (featuring hit songs from the first 50 years of Jamaican independence) compiled by Seaga himself; he also contributed track by track liner notes.

Not all, but many of the tracks here will be familiar to most ska/reggae fans, but it still looks like a very decent compilation. (Even more ambitious--and highly recommended--is Trojan Records' stellar Freedom Sounds, which is a five CD set of much rarer material, most of it directly related to the struggle for and celebration of Jamaica's independence from the UK; perhaps I'll review it someday, if I ever have the time to really dig into it!)

Duff Review: "Prince Fatty Meets Mutant Hi-Fi in Return of Gringo!"

Mr. Bongo
2011
LP/CD
Also: 7" vinyl single of "Transistor Cowboy" b/w "Son of a Thousand Fathers"

(Review by Steve Shafer)

During the 1960s, the unlikely--but extraordinarily fruitful--pop culture co-mingling of Jamaican reggae with American Wild West mythology was largely influenced by the deliciously over-the-top "spaghetti Western" films of Italian director Sergio Leone and his "Dollars Trilogy" ("A Fistful of Dollars" in 1964, "For a Few Dollars More" in 1965, and "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" in 1966--all of which featured a then relatively unknown Clint Eastwood), though films by Sergio Corbucci ("Django," 1966) and Sergio Sollima ("The Big Gundown," 1966) also had an enormous impact on Jamaican audiences and culture.

These movies--featuring supremely confident and super-humanly skilled anti-heroes (traversing bleak, almost post-apocalyptic landscapes) confronting nefarious villains and meting out swift 'n' bloody justice via their blazing pistols/rifles/Gatling guns--were incredibly popular in Jamaica when they stormed local cinemas in the mid-to-late 60s, as they were simpatico with the rude boy/outlaw/rebel ethos propagated by and celebrated in reggae music. (Indeed, in the quintessential Jamaican rude boy film, Perry Henzell's 1972 movie "The Harder They Come," Jimmy Cliff's character Ivan Martin catches "Django" at the local cinema before going out in a blaze of glory himself.)

But these films also triggered the musical imagination of some of JA's greatest producers and musicians, such as Lee "Scratch" Perry and The Upsetters (whose "Return of Django" climbed as high as #5 on the UK singles chart in 1969), Lloyd Charmers and The Hippy Boys, Derrick Harriot and The Crystalites, Harry J, Clancy Eccles, Joe Gibbs, and many more who released dozens upon dozens of "Dollar" sides (many of which can be found on the brilliant and essential Trojan compilation For a Few Dollars More: 28 Shots of Western Inspired Reggae).

On the superb Prince Fatty Meets Mutant Hi-Fi in Return of the Gringo, Mike Pelanconi (Prince Fatty) and Nick Coplowe (Mutant Hi-Fi) both pay tribute to the spirit of their musical Jamaican forerunners, as well as compellingly expand the canon of Western-themed reggae (though sometimes fondly tongue-in-cheek: see the Eastern European/Transylvanian-flavored "The Good, The Vlad, and the Ugly" or the almost noir-ish "Blondes Have More Guns").

The scorching album opener, "Transistor Cowboy," starts with a pair of echoing gunshots exploding one at a time from each speaker, heralding the wicked, minor-key surf/rockabilly guitar licks that ride magnificently over a frenetic ska backbeat, sounding for all the world like Dick Dale fronting The Upsetters. (Throughout the album, there are fantastically evocative sound effects galore, as well as dialogue clips from real and/or imagined Westerns--check out Old Testament revenge-themed "Wear the Black Hat (If the Black Hat Fits).")

Other highlights include The Skatalites-inspired "Up the Creek"; a very Specials-sounding "Moscow Mule," with its sparse and eerie Jerry Dammers keyboard line and Roddy Radiation guitar riffs; the Mexican/Latin horns of "Across the Border"; the mournful melodica heard in a "Plague of Locusts"; and their respectful tip of the hat to the incredible spaghetti Western film scores of Ennio Morricone (sample "Titoli" from "A Fistful of Dollars" here) with the whistled melody of "Son of a Thousand Fathers" (which actually features Alessandro Alessandroni, the musician who whistled and performed on many of Morricone's spaghetti Western soundtracks!). You can almost see the shimmering mid-day heat rising off the caked earth in the harsh, quivering and bending guitar chords on the "Way Back to Town." And the album closes--no doubt, in tribute to Dick Dale (whose sound is borrowed so heavily here and who also covered and scored a big hit with this song in 1963)--with a raucous and blisteringly fast reading of the Hebrew folksong "Hava Nagila" (its offbeat rhythmic structure makes it a natural ska cover).

One can only wish that there could ever be a spaghetti Western film worthy enough to go along with this spectacular soundtrack...

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The CD, LP, and single are available in the US through Ernie B's Reggae.

Preview all of the tracks on the album here.

Duff Review: The Emotions "You Are the One" b/w Phil Pratt & the All Stars "Girls Like Dirt"

Trojan Records/Big Shot
2011
7" heavyweight vinyl

(Review by Steve Shafer)

While Dance Crasher is somewhat skeptical of its accuracy, Trojan states that both sides of this superb re-issue are Ken Lack/Caltone productions--though all quibbling about the veracity of these claims will melt away when you have a chance to hear these gems for yourself. Both were probably recorded during the transitional summer of 1968, which seems about right, as The Emotions' "You Are the One" (can you hear Max Romeo in there?) is still rooted in rocksteady, while Phil Pratt's boastful "Girls Like Dirt" is already evolving toward the next Jamaican musical idiom: early/skinhead reggae.

Thematically, these cuts dovetail together nicely as character sketches of the two types of guys in the world. On "You Are the One," The Emotions sweetly declare their undying love ("You are the one for me/Yes, my love/No one in the world/Can ever change me/From loving you/I was born/Born to love you/Yes, my love"), while Phil Pratt doesn't even bother to even look back when his girl says it's over ("She can go her way and see me no more/Cause I've got girls like dirt"--translation: I don't care if you leave me, I've got girls galore who want me). Of the two songs, Pratt's bad boy act is more compelling both musically and lyrically--and is a revelation that I'll keep coming back to revisit.

The Duff Guide to Ska Grade: A

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Support Your Local Musicslinger!

This Saturday (4/16/11) is the international Record Store Day, so I'm urging (if not begging) you to go out to support your local recorded music shop (if you're lucky enough to have one left near you). I'm taking my son (there is a new, RSD limited-edition Green Day/Husker Du vinyl single that I'm dangling in front of him to get him out the door)...gotta teach them well, they say.

It happens that there are a few releases of direct interest to the ska/reggae fan (though, of course, the overall list of RSD releases in the UK is much cooler that here in the US of A):

US:

- Peter Tosh, "Legalize It" b/w "Equal Rights," (7-inch)

(Here is the complete list of US RSD releases--I'll be picking up singles from The Cars, DBs, Ramones/Red Hot Chili Peppers, NY Dolls, and Bad Brains.)

UK:

- Big Audio Dynamite, limited-edition numbered single (7-inch)

- The Clash, “The Magnificent Seven,” on red vinyl and CD with different B-sides (7-inch, CD)

- Toots & The Maytals, "Do The Boogaloo" b/w "Bim Today, Bam Tomorrow," on heavyweight vinyl (7-inch, Trojan)

(Find the complete list of UK Record Store Day releases here.)

If somebody in the mother country could pick up the RSD releases by The Clash, BAD, Toots, Echo and the Bunnymen, and The Smiths (The Queen is Dead on 10" vinyl!) for me, I'd sure appreciate it! Drop me a line!