Best Ever Albums

This Diary Isn’t For You

Jimmy Dread — Sat, 14 Dec 2024 13:41:38 GMT

Author: Jimmy Dread

Posted: 12/14/2024 18:41

Has it really been 4 years since I posted anything here? That can't be right, surely...

Regardless of where the time's gone (and I swear, as I near half a century on this planet, the days just blend into one another), and all the pressures of life/work/parenthood, music stays constant in my life, as indeed it has since I received The Hits Tape almost 40 years ago to the day in my Christmas stocking as a wee bairn. So whilst (semi) (ir)regular readers may have wondered where the enigmatic teddy bear with glowsticks went (did they ever replace Plug.dj?) I was always here, either spiritually or lurking in the ether.

I have now concluded the vast majority of 'new music' isn't for me. I'm getting old, everything's starting to sound the same, and to underline this there's a pair of slippers on my Christmas list (Ugg ones though - I've got to retain some modicum of style, even if comfort and warmth is the main driver). See, I'm stuck in my ways. I'm notorious at work as being 'the guy who doesn't have Spotify'. Most of the stuff I listen to digitally is via Bandcamp, and then mostly compilations of soul music that no-one knows and the like. I probably spend just as much time cleaning records these days as I do listening to them. And this year I discovered that my personality veers towards the 'geeky' (like they were telling me something I didn't already know - I've always been a cataloguer and arranger of things, from badges and stamps when I was a kid to even having my shirts sorted into colour and pattern order in my wardrobe).

And yet, I'm still buying records by the truckload, as well as cursing myself why I ended up getting so much stuff on CD in the 90s. I'm also selling more stuff than ever, an exercise in collection rotation whereby I ditch the stuff that's gathering dust (for a profit) to reinvest in some new discovery or other. It's turning out to be quite a lucrative enterprise, in fact my record record sale is nigh-on $2000 for an original copy of Pussy Plays by Pussy to some chap in North Carolina. Quite a story behind that, which I'll bore you with some other time.

So as we close 2024, what's been my highlights of the year? Recording these mostly for posterity, but for your entertainment:

1. Buying a collection of house/techno 12"s and making a c.£2000 profit on selling them
2. Adding a sub to my system - it sounds fuckin' ace, and I'd highly recommend it
3. Finally getting my hands on an original of In Sides by Orbital and the repress of Selected Ambient Works Volume II by Aphex Twin
4. The awesome Prince Philip dubplates compy - best album of the year by a country mile, and straight into my 'reggae' chart when I can be arsed to update it.
5. My son deciding he wants to be a drummer. Cue father-and-child rhythm section. We could be the next Sly and Robbie. If we were any good.

I'll post more another time, but I'm off to get a curry.

Re: This Diary Isn’t For You

Jimmy Dread — Sun, 20 Dec 2020 14:45:26 GMT

Author: Jimmy Dread

Posted: 12/20/2020 19:45

12" Of Pleasure

3. JAH SCREECHY - "Walk & Skank"

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The year is 1992. Rave has gone overground and 'toytown' techno is all the rage, at least for the kids watching Top Of The Pops. Whilst the genre has its occasional high moments (and despite what others may think, I still rate The Prodigy's "Charley" up there with the best of them), dire tracks by the likes of the Smart Es ("Sesame's Treat") and Shaft ("Roobarb & Custard") start to infect the minds of teenyboppers who probably think that this kind of music is commonplace in warehouses up and down the land. Luckily I was a little bit more savvy by this point, listening to Orbital (see previous entries), Beltram, LFO and the like. But nevertheless shoehorning references to British kids TV programmes was considered fair game for chart-bound house/techno-lite in the early 90s, and in many ways mimicked the nods to childhood that were prevalent in British psych during the First Summer of Love. Only with Lewis Carroll replaced by a cartoon character narrated by Richard Briers.

Given the uptempo vibe, BP, record label (XL - also home to the Prodigy) and timing (not the mention the break, featuring an electric piano and siren during the middle eight), SL2's "On A Ragga Tip" fitted in nicely to the scene, although Slipmatt and Lime (the SL in SL2, and not a reference to the postcode for the post part of Slough, as I later discovered) had already released the anthemic "DJs Take Control" by this point, so were hardly Johnny-Come-Latelys to the party. The hook however wasn't the frenetic breakbeat or the synths, but rather the sample that opened the track: Ay Ay ba day, Ba waddli-die day, Im ba day ba day, Ba waddli-die day... GWAN.

Fast-forward 10 years or so and with my teenage rave days consigned to my musical memory bank (in fact, I'd lobbed a lot of my Rave CDs out by then, for some unbeknown reason that probably felt perfectly rational at the time) and I'd fallen for 'reggae' in a big way. Regular trips to Soho's Daddy Kool and a nascent Sounds of the Universe yielded Trojan reissues and Studio One classics (on vinyl, of course), I'd ditched Britpop and started pushing the envelope of my tastes to such an extent that the glue came unstuck. Soul Jazz compilations were instrumental in this, and still to this day I get excited whenever I see them bringing something new out (by the way, their latest - "Black Riot", which is a set of early jungle and hardcore tracks - is highly recommended). After devouring the Dynamite series (100% Dynamite being my favourite VA compy of all-time) I eventually stumbled across their set of British MCs - "An England Story". Listening to it for the first time, with the likes of General Levy and Tenor Fly, I'd already heard enough killers to make it worth my while. And then... track 10... I've heard this sample before... THAT'S BLOODY SL2 M8.

"Walk And Skank" still makes me dance around like a loon no matter how many times I hear it. It's the soundtrack to a trip from Brixton tube, past Lambeth Town Hall and down Acre Lane to Supertone. It's rocking down Electric Avenue to Coldharbour Lane to check out Blacker Dread's wares. It's a life-affirming, head-nodding ride on the top deck of a Routemaster bus down the Old Kent Road. It's the dancefloor filler that'll get the whole damn crowd 'pon di floor. It's so fuckin' London it hurts.

Built around the Never Let Go (aka Answer) Riddim that first featured on a Slim Smith track for Studio One (and if you've read my Studio One Top 50 earlier in this diary you know how highly I rate that combination), "Walk And Skank" had the authentic JA dancehall DNA but a pure London style, and interestingly shared the same riddim as Smiley Culture's "Police Officer", which originated out of Dub Vendor's Fashion stable/sound system. With "Walk And Skank" coming out of Brixton's Blacker Dread shop and Sir Coxsone's system, it was almost a retread of the Duke Reid/Coxsone Dodd days of the 60s.

If there's one track guaranteed to get every fucker out of their seat, this is it. It's also the only 12" I've got two copies of, the second of which - in some divine twist of fate - has "On A Ragga Trip" on the flip.

Link

Re: This Diary Isn’t For You

KitchenSink — Sat, 19 Dec 2020 18:04:15 GMT

Author: KitchenSink

Posted: 12/19/2020 23:04

having a fab time combing through all this. lots of incredible sounding recommendations presented with that unmistakably Jimmy Dread touch. just in time for the holidays

Re: This Diary Isn’t For You

Repo — Sat, 19 Dec 2020 13:16:08 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 12/19/2020 18:16

Fucking awesome write-up, brother! Loved it!!! �'�

Re: This Diary Isn’t For You

Jimmy Dread — Sat, 19 Dec 2020 13:03:48 GMT

Author: Jimmy Dread

Posted: 12/19/2020 18:03

12" Of Pleasure

2. THE SLITS - "Typical Girls"

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I started this series back in happier times - you know, when COVID-19 wasn't 'a thing' and we were all free to go around and party the night away without masks, social distancing and the like, and getting a drink down the boozer without having to buy a Scotch Egg to go along with it. Throughout 2020 - as I imagine has been the same for most on this site - it's been music that's kept me going, even if it's meant I haven't been able to travel around crate-digging as much as would do normally. Somehow I've managed to acquire another 130 records this year, which means that the postman has likely had enough of delivering square-shaped LP mailers to my door. Must sort him out with a gift. Maybe a new pair of shorts or some goose fat to rub on his legs to keep the chaffing at bay over the cold Winter months (why some mail folk insist on abandoning trousers in all weathers is a reason I'd never make it in the Royal Mail).

Anyway, I digress. This little love affair to the 12" single started with good intentions but other things got in the way, namely that some of the singles I wanted to feature I didn't actually own, so it felt a little disingenuous rabbiting on about them when I never actually had them to stick on the deck behind me whilst I pontificated about them. Partly the completist in me, I guess. Thankfully this is one I do have sitting on the shelf (obligatory picture of Rasta Mouse to prove it) so I feel duly qualified to wax lyrical about it.

The more I think about it, the more punk gets on my tits. Bar the first wave where everything was new and fresh (so say, from the Ramones' S/T to the Clash's debut), there's only so much you can say with adrenaline and amphetamine running through your veins. No surprise, then, that Lydon took some PILs, Strummer et al realised they weren't so bored of the USA after all and the Damned became a walking pantomime once the fascination wore off. Those who kept 'punk going' post-77 in Britain were a mix of the humdrum and the downright horrendous - the Oi! bands spring to mind, the likes of the Angelic Upstarts, Sham 69 and Cockney Rejects. Fucking terrible. Crass were right... PUNK. IS. DEAD.

And musically at least, they were right. But the mission statement of punk, a DIY call-to-arms summed up best by the Desperate Bicycles - "it was easy, it was cheap, go and do it" - certainly wasn't. The most 'punk thing' to come out of punk in fact wasn't Anarchy In The UK, New Rose, White Riot or Never Mind The Bollocks - it was, but a country mile, the Spiral Scratch EP. Make a record, press it yourselves, flog it to your fans, then press some more - you don't need a label, mass marketing or to look like a pin-up to carve your niche into the tapestry of pop music history. How exciting.

Naturally this means that you can bypass A&R and get your point across without having any classical musical training or being what could be considered as 'talented', at least in the technical sense. And if hi-octane bubblegum rock doesn't float your boat, pick a groove and mash it up. Just make sure you've got something to say... and if you can, get a boss producer in to help you articulate it...

...which is where The Slits come in. For a band that was (and I think still is) so maligned for their lack of musicianship, and back in their early days seen as one hot mess, "Typical Girls" as much anti-punk as it is punk. The sentiment is there - an attack on the role patriarchy has invented for women and how they'll only get by if they "don't create, don't rebel" and conform to whatever the system expects. But the music is miles away from the slapdash image the band had up to that point: walking bassline, tight rhythms, a chorus that sounds like something you'd hear out of a musical. And all underpinned by Blackbeard/Dennis Bovell's production - forward the bass, the drums leap off the plastic... in fact spinning the 12" of this reveals just how mighty a track this is.

Follow this up with the cut-up "Brink Style" mix - too sparse to be dub, built around the thud-thud of the kick drum, Ari's vocals drifting in-and-out between infrequent swooshes of guitar. It's almost haunting - post-punk in it's most experimental and skeletal form, a bit like Throbbing Gristle without the industrial din, or YMG without the purity of Alison Stratton.

Flip it over, and you get what for me is right up there as one of the best covers ever made. Every time I dropped the Slits version of "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" during sets, it always got people up, be they dub-heads, indie kids or punkers. It ticks all the boxes: the bass is immense (hardly surprising given Bovell's involvement), the drumming on point. Ari is on top form here - with her Deutsch twang, sneering attitude and warbled "guyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy" being the post-punk equivalent of Minnie Riperton's high note in "Loving You". For me, it's post-punk's finest 3-and-a-bit minutes. And that's saying something.

The minimal instrumental that closes the 12" - Liebe and Romanze - is ironically the closest the Slits get to dub here, and shares a similar DNA to PiL circa Metal Box. Less of a remix of the album track and more of a plodding deconstruction, it's not pretty in the slightest, although you'd probably nod along to it if you were mashed off yer tits. But hey, after "Grapevine", virtually everything pales.

The first few years after punk broke were for me the most exciting for British music - the clash of styles, the drive to "do-it-yourself", strong women coming to the fore with a mission to make their voices heard (Poly Styrene, Eve Libertine & Joy De Vivre, Siouxsie, Ana da Silva), and a lack of musical proficiency no longer an obstacle. This 12", and "Grapevine" in particular, ain't ever leaving my record box...

Link

Re: This Diary Isn’t For You

Jimmy Dread — Fri, 17 Jan 2020 14:52:35 GMT

Author: Jimmy Dread

Posted: 01/17/2020 19:52

It's been a strange time of late at Dread Towers. Personally I blame a turntable that you have to take the platter off every time you want to change speeds. Anyhoo, my love of the long player I fear is slowly on the wane. Daily 30 minute car journeys to the town that gave us The Jam and War Of The Worlds doesn't give much time for me to absorb an album in its full glory, and being in traffic just makes me want to play banger after banger to the passers-by. Most of them have those blasted Air Pods rammed in their ears, but given that their ability to noise cancel isn't all that I decide to crank up the bass whilst sitting at traffic lights and broadcast frequencies that bypass the audible and travel into their legs...

Which means, some 25 years after the Criminal Justice Bill fucked over the party people, I'm taking the sounds of my rave days through the streets of Surrey. Which has got me diving back into my DJ box and got me thinking about my all time dozen 12"s that defined me - not just house/acid/techno, but those singles and EPs that, over two sides of wax, I couldn't live without. So, without further ado, join my on a trip through my mind/record collection and let's take a trip as I present a series somewhat unimaginatively titled...

12" Of Pleasure

1. ORBITAL - "Chime"

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Until 1991, every single piece of recorded music I owned was on tape. Most of these admittedly were carefully curated C90s lovingly complied from poorly edited recordings of tracks that featured in the Top 40 on a Sunday evening on Radio 1. Cutting out Bruno Brookes' voice and avoiding the "NUMBER 23!" sting at the start of each song was something of a rite of passage for a pre-teen music fan back then, and whilst I had a smattering of "proper" albums (Substance, a couple of Pet Shop Boys tapes, the Go West debut), the majority of my cassettes were compys. Of which most of these were Now That's What I Call Music compilations - the famed UK collections of chart hits of the last 6 months, thankfully without Mr. Brookes' interjections between tracks and the hiss of a hasty press of the record button on your boombox. Towards the end of the 80s they got pretty boring - Black Box's "Ride on Time", anything by Snap... euro-cheese shit in the main - and being too young to go raving I missed out on the whole Acid House thing until I backtracked long after the Second Summer of Love had ended.

During this era my local village library had a pretty decent range of tapes for hire, and I remember picking up several to listen to before my first CD player arrived on 25/12/91. At some point in 1990, after a walk to the village shops with my Mum and brother after school, I popped into said establishment and perused the offerings. Standard fare in the main, but it was the latest Now compilation, with it's faux-naif pixelated digital cover, that grabbed my attention most. Partly due to the tracklist - Primal Scream's "Loaded" and "Dub Be Good To Me" were both on there (tracks I fell in love with after Top Of The Pops and recording them off the radio) - but also because I was still a hardcore ZX Spectrum gamer in those days and the cover was reminiscent of something Ocean or Gremlin games might have had as cover art for whatever blocky arcade conversation they were planning to release. That said, there were a smattering of tracks that I remember liking when hearing the chart rundown and forgetting to press the record button in time 'cos Mum said tea was ready or I was on the lav.

Chime was one of those - an earworm with a nagging one-note intro and a bass line that swallows it up, followed by a Roland-sponsored kick-drum to the heart. Then a load of squelchy nonsense amongst a 303 that seemed to wander off on its own little journey round the Surrey stretch of the M25. I'd never heard anything like it, and it wasn't until half a dozen listens that I realised it was something pretty fucking special. Cut down to a radio edit on the Now album, it wasn't until much later I heard the full 12 minute track in all its glory. It's a proper anthem, recorded (allegedly) for less than a quid and still exciting the shit outta me after nearly 30 years.

I didn't hear the B-Side, "Deeper", until the 2000s. Fuck trance, this shit is hypnotic. Literally. An acid-drenched mantra with some Paul McKenna-type lulling the listener into a higher state of unconsciousness whilst the 303 mucks about in the background. The only thing it makes me want to do is reach for the glowsticks.

"Chime" is one of those landmark records of my musical journey that'll never grate. I may prefer other Orbital tracks over this as I've got longer in the tooth (specifically "Belfast", "Lush" and "Halcyon and On"), but my first exposure to the Hartnoll Brothers will forever be a pivotal moment in my life as a closet raver.

Link

Re: This Diary Isn’t For You

Jimmy Dread — Sat, 6 Jul 2019 13:33:57 GMT

Author: Jimmy Dread

Posted: 07/06/2019 17:33

Been a while folks. So 4 months into a new job and I absolutely love it - lovely workmates, impromptu black tie award ceremonies and cheap theatre/show tickets. The other day I got offered the chance to go and see Frank Skinner in a small theatre off Leicester Square for peanuts so I hot-footed it away from the office bang on clock-out time and hopped on a train to the smoke. En route I decided to hop over to Soho (rarely need an excuse) to check out some of my favourite haunts pre-gig. Phonica, Sister Ray and Reckless were all about to shut up shop for the evening and nothing leapt out at me, so before the walk down Wardour Street through Chinatown to Leicester Square I decided to pop into Sounds Of The Universe...

...now those who know me well will know that I rate SOTU pretty much above all other record emporiums (aside from possibly Honest Jon's and the ever-so-lovely Elephant Records in Winchester) - it's extremely hard to leave it empty-handed. I actually went in there with a purpose - to pick up the recently reissued 12" of Solid Foundation/Nicodemus by The Congos - but wasn't expecting to pick up anything else until I heard an absolute banger of a disco-funk track, namely this:

Link

Culled from an in-house compilation which acts as a cross between a soundtrack and tribute to late graffiti/art-pop artist Keith Haring which features everything from obscure electro to NYC no-wave to a Talking Heads track, ..."Guardian Angels" is one of those life-affirming tracks that (if you're anything like me at least) can't help but turn your head - Bernard Edwards-Chic-esque bassline, sumptuous soul vocals, and a vibe which conjures up images of the most heavenly block jam. The track's nearly as old as me, but it's the best thing I've heard all year. Instantly purchased (along with some dancehall and dub gubbins) - an essential summer jam, and a record I'm already starting to wear the grooves out of.

Re: This Diary Isn’t For You

Jimmy Dread — Sat, 18 May 2019 14:43:44 GMT

Author: Jimmy Dread

Posted: 05/18/2019 18:43

Well after next-to-no-fucker decided to give this diary a second glance when I last posted a list (maybe the fact I’ve given it the moniker “This Diary Isn’t For You” doesn’t help), I’ve decided to can my list of the Top 50 post-punk 45s between ‘77-83. It was a goodie too. Your loss.

Instead, here’s some neo-Soul goodness from Peckham via Bristol vis Mauritius. The fact it’s my current AOTY (and right up there with D’Angelo’s Black Messiah for me) should hopefully put you off until some of you have stopped crying into your pints about how the new National LP only got 7.6 from Pitchfork. I’ve never listened to a National album, as it goes. I hate guitars now.

Where We Going? by Reginald Omas Mamode IV

I might have just stumbled across something even better with a similar vibe, but going to keep that to myself until I’ve finished my smoko.

Re: This Diary Isn’t For You

Jimmy Dread — Mon, 25 Feb 2019 11:14:55 GMT

Author: Jimmy Dread

Posted: 02/25/2019 16:14

LittleM1971 wrote:

Bloody marvellous Jim...have really enjoyed working my way through these. Crossed a few more off from your top 50 by picking this one up off eBay cheap (sadly no DVD though)

Studio One Story by Various Artists

Can’t get me enough of these Studio One compys

Cheers Mike - glad you enjoyed it. Could have easily done a second part - so much that popped into my mind whilst I was compiling it that I couldn't squeeze in, but it just goes to show how deep Studio One's discography goes. I've got that Studio One Story LP and it's a beaut - the DVD is well worth a watch too, shame yours was missing.

Re: This Diary Isn’t For You

LittleM1971 — Sun, 24 Feb 2019 16:16:20 GMT

Author: LittleM1971

Posted: 02/24/2019 21:16

Jimmy Dread wrote:

Jimmy's Studio One Top 50

NUMBER ONE

Rougher Yet - Slim Smith
RIDDIM - Rougher Yet

Link

Look 'ere children...

First and foremost, thanks for sticking with the list thus far - if you like anything you've heard, be sure to let me know and I'll hurl a load of recs your way. But for now allow me to indulge in what I consider to be not only the best 45 to come out of Studio One, but also one of the best tracks released by anyone, anywhere. For "Rougher Yet" is not only a prime cut of rocksteady, but a voice of hope amongst the grief, a hymn to living right despite the circumstances, and an ode to resilience despite what gets chucked in your face by life. Slim Smith came to Studio One after being part of The Uniques, but it was clear that his vocal talents were wasted as part of a harmony trio and Coxsone thrust him front and centre. Despite the soul in his pipes there was always a hidden depth to Smith's vocals - a passion, an inner demon, call it what you will - which gave his performances something of an X-Factor. "Rougher Yet" is that once-in-a-generation track where everything is on point - vocal, backing, subject matter. It is, simply put and for me at least, the most perfect piece of music that came out of not only Brentford Road, but Jamaica in the 1960s.

Countdown in full...

1. Rougher Yet – Slim Smith
2. Armagedion Time – Willi Williams
3. Cuss Cuss – Lloyd & Devon
4. Equal Rights – The Heptones
5. Drunken Sailor – Freddie McKay
6. Love Me Forever – Carlton & The Shoes
7. Man In The Street – Don Drummond
8. Wall Street – Jackie Mittoo
9. Truths & Rights – Johnny Osbourne
10. Skylarking – Horace Andy
11. Africa – The Gaylads
12. I’m Just A Guy – Alton Ellis
13. Guns Of Navarone – The Skatalites
14. I’m Still In Love With You – Alton Ellis
15. Mean Girl – Larry Marshall
16. Rockfort Rock – Sound Dimension
17. No, No, No – Dawn Penn
18. Real Rock – Sound Dimension
19. Mr Bassie – Horace Andy
20. Bobby Babylon – Freddie McGregor
21. Feel Like Jumping – Marcia Griffiths
22. Soul Beat – The Gaylads
23. Party Time – The Heptones
24. Eye Of Danger – Michigan & Smiley
25. Danger In Your Eyes – The Paragons
26. When I Fall In Love – Ken Boothe
27. See A Man’s Face – Horace Andy
28. Simmer Down – The Wailers
29. Oh Mr DC – Sugar Minott
30. Fever – Horace Andy
31. Jah Light – Judah Eskender Tafari
32. Swing Easy – Soul Vendors
33. I’ll Be Around - Otis Gayle
34. Picture On The Wall – Freddie McKay
35. I’ve Got To Go Back Home - Bob Andy
36. No Man Is An Island – Dennis Brown
37. Murderer - Johnny Osbourne
38. It Takes Two To Make Love – The Termites
39. Change Your Style – The Paragons
40. Beardsman Ska – The Skatalites
41. Pretty Looks Isn’t All – The Heptones
42. Smile – The Silvertones
43. Pick Up The Pieces – The Royals
44. Bandulo – Freddie McGregor
45. Natty Kung Fu - Dillinger
46. Give Rasta Glory - Cedric ‘Im Brooks
47. Dancing Mood - Delroy Wilson
48. Easy Take It Easy – Dennis Brown
49. Nanny Goat – Larry & Alvin
50. No Bother With No Fuss - Angela Prince

Re: This Diary Isn’t For You

Jimmy Dread — Sun, 17 Feb 2019 06:08:26 GMT

Author: Jimmy Dread

Posted: 02/17/2019 11:08

Jimmy's Studio One Top 50

NUMBER ONE

Rougher Yet - Slim Smith
RIDDIM - Rougher Yet

Link

Look 'ere children...

First and foremost, thanks for sticking with the list thus far - if you like anything you've heard, be sure to let me know and I'll hurl a load of recs your way. But for now allow me to indulge in what I consider to be not only the best 45 to come out of Studio One, but also one of the best tracks released by anyone, anywhere. For "Rougher Yet" is not only a prime cut of rocksteady, but a voice of hope amongst the grief, a hymn to living right despite the circumstances, and an ode to resilience despite what gets chucked in your face by life. Slim Smith came to Studio One after being part of The Uniques, but it was clear that his vocal talents were wasted as part of a harmony trio and Coxsone thrust him front and centre. Despite the soul in his pipes there was always a hidden depth to Smith's vocals - a passion, an inner demon, call it what you will - which gave his performances something of an X-Factor. "Rougher Yet" is that once-in-a-generation track where everything is on point - vocal, backing, subject matter. It is, simply put and for me at least, the most perfect piece of music that came out of not only Brentford Road, but Jamaica in the 1960s.

Countdown in full...

1. Rougher Yet – Slim Smith
2. Armagedion Time – Willi Williams
3. Cuss Cuss – Lloyd & Devon
4. Equal Rights – The Heptones
5. Drunken Sailor – Freddie McKay
6. Love Me Forever – Carlton & The Shoes
7. Man In The Street – Don Drummond
8. Wall Street – Jackie Mittoo
9. Truths & Rights – Johnny Osbourne
10. Skylarking – Horace Andy
11. Africa – The Gaylads
12. I’m Just A Guy – Alton Ellis
13. Guns Of Navarone – The Skatalites
14. I’m Still In Love With You – Alton Ellis
15. Mean Girl – Larry Marshall
16. Rockfort Rock – Sound Dimension
17. No, No, No – Dawn Penn
18. Real Rock – Sound Dimension
19. Mr Bassie – Horace Andy
20. Bobby Babylon – Freddie McGregor
21. Feel Like Jumping – Marcia Griffiths
22. Soul Beat – The Gaylads
23. Party Time – The Heptones
24. Eye Of Danger – Michigan & Smiley
25. Danger In Your Eyes – The Paragons
26. When I Fall In Love – Ken Boothe
27. See A Man’s Face – Horace Andy
28. Simmer Down – The Wailers
29. Oh Mr DC – Sugar Minott
30. Fever – Horace Andy
31. Jah Light – Judah Eskender Tafari
32. Swing Easy – Soul Vendors
33. I’ll Be Around - Otis Gayle
34. Picture On The Wall – Freddie McKay
35. I’ve Got To Go Back Home - Bob Andy
36. No Man Is An Island – Dennis Brown
37. Murderer - Johnny Osbourne
38. It Takes Two To Make Love – The Termites
39. Change Your Style – The Paragons
40. Beardsman Ska – The Skatalites
41. Pretty Looks Isn’t All – The Heptones
42. Smile – The Silvertones
43. Pick Up The Pieces – The Royals
44. Bandulo – Freddie McGregor
45. Natty Kung Fu - Dillinger
46. Give Rasta Glory - Cedric ‘Im Brooks
47. Dancing Mood - Delroy Wilson
48. Easy Take It Easy – Dennis Brown
49. Nanny Goat – Larry & Alvin
50. No Bother With No Fuss - Angela Prince

Re: This Diary Isn’t For You

Jimmy Dread — Sat, 16 Feb 2019 10:51:29 GMT

Author: Jimmy Dread

Posted: 02/16/2019 15:51

Jimmy's Studio One Top 50

5-2

5

Drunken Sailor - Freddie Mckay
RIDDIM - N/A

Link

Released originally on Studio One offshoot Money Disc as "Drunking Sailor", this Freddie McKay track is most likely the hardest 7" to find on this list. Yet it's an out-and-out killer, cut from the same conscious cloth as Horace Andy's "Skylarking" (10). Backed by a stellar version courtesy of Brentford Road house band the Sound Dimension (only improved on by the sax rework provided by Cedric 'Im Brooks at the end of his Im Flash Forward LP), it's early reggae at its peak, and the fact that it's been long ignored is nothing short of criminal.

4

Equal Rights - The Heptones
RIDDIM - Equal Rights

Link

"Every man has an equal right to live and be free/no matter what colour, class or race he may be" may just be the best opening salvo of any Studio One track. Not only that, but it's backed by the tightest harmonies, Skatalite horns, nyabhinghi drumming, and all in a style that better suited odes to love rather than social comment. Deserves it place at the very top of any list of Brentford Road essentials, and for all the amazing tracks The Heptones cut for Dodd in the 60s and 70s (especially from their On Top LP), this is Sibbles et al at their absolute peak.

3

Cuss Cuss - Lloyd & Devon
RIDDIM - Cuss Cuss

Link

A rarity on this list, as unlike the vast majority of songs featured previously this was not Dodd-penned, but instead cut originally by Lloyd Robinson for Duke Reid back in the 60s. Fast forward to the late 70s and with Coxsone rehashing his own riddims for the early dancehall killers of the era it took a discomix rework, the addition of Devon Russell (aka Devon Irons, whose "Vampire" was a roots hit for Scratch out of the Black Ark) and a showcase edit to make-a dem dancehall shake. A testament not only to the original riddim (which Horace Andy also covered on his Dance Hall Style LP for Wackies, second only to this version), but also Dodd's production, albeit for a track which was never released as a single and was (to my knowledge) only originally found on the cracking Studio One Showcase Vol. 2 LP before ending up on revivalist reggae & dancehall compys-a-plenty. In fact I first heard this track on Soul Jazz's 100% Dynamite compilation, which coincidentally is also home to...

2

Armagideon Time - Willi Williams
RIDDIM - Real Rock

Link

As succinct a testament to the brilliance of Studio One as you could find. Featuring a killer riddim (c.f. 18 on this list), "Armagedion Time" blends roots with dancehall with such effect that it's hardly surprising The Clash loved it enough to cover it. Possibly Coxsone's most enduring 3 minutes, mainly as it brings together all 3 of his main strengths: horns straight outta the post-ska textbook, a sublime rocksteady beat and the consciousness of the early dancehall era before digital and slackness took over. Williams' best track by a mile too - his vocals are right up there with dancehall peers McGregor and Osbourne. Perfect as they come...

...and only bettered for me by one track, but that's coming in the next post...

Re: This Diary Isn’t For You

Anonymous — Mon, 11 Feb 2019 14:31:26 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 02/11/2019 19:31

Looking forward to the top 5, great work so far Jimmy

Re: This Diary Isn’t For You

Jimmy Dread — Mon, 11 Feb 2019 13:38:02 GMT

Author: Jimmy Dread

Posted: 02/11/2019 18:38

Jimmy's Studio One Top 50

10-6

10

Skylarking - Horace Andy
RIDDIM - Skylarking

Link

Timeless roots and the title track to Andy's debut LP, "Skylarking" is as potent an address to ghetto youth as Coxsone ever put out. A killer riddim, beauitful vocals - one of the most perfect 3 minutes of conscious music ever produced.

9

Truths And Rights - Johnny Osbourne
RIDDIM - Take A Ride

Link

Johnny Osbourne's dancehall-era output is largely ignored outside of those in the know, but I would implore any lover of soul music to dig out a copy of Truth & Rights and listen to it from start to finish. Released at a time when Coxsone saw the value in recycling some of his classic riddims, its blend of soul and reggae make it an essential listen from start to finish, with the title track being the standout moment.

8

Wall Street - Jackie Mittoo
RIDDIM - N/A

Link

A hypnotic, almost cinematic slice of Caribbean shuffle, "Wall Street" long languished ignored on the obscure Showcase LP until Soul Jazz dug it out and featured it on their Jackie Mittoo compilation Keyboard King At Studio One. Right up there with the seismic "Ayatollah" as Mittoo's greatest achievement, which considering his time as a Skatalite and member of one of Dodd's in-house backing bands is saying something.

7

Man In The Street - Don Drummond
RIDDIM - N/A

Link

The performer credit often varies between Drummond himself and Don Drummond & The Skatalites (who are undoubtedly present here), but it's unquestionably D.D's trombone that makes this perhaps the best Ska track Studio One ever cut. Drummond's life was as chaotic as this track - convicted for murder, committed for insanity, possibly bumped off by Kingston gangsters whilst incarcerated - but the man's talent could never be questioned, and this is his finest 3 minutes.

6

Love Me Forever - Carlton And The Shoes
RIDDIM - Love Me Forever

Link

Originally released on Dodd's Supreme imprint in 1968, "Love Me Forever" was the biggest hit for the Manning brothers, two of whom were later to form the Abyssinians. Legend goes that they were originally to be called Carlton And The Shades but a printing error ensued and the name stuck. Classic rocksteady, and handily collected on the Pirates Choice LP which also features (31) and (33) from earlier in the list.

(coming next... 5-2)

Re: This Diary Isn’t For You

Jimmy Dread — Fri, 8 Feb 2019 05:29:23 GMT

Author: Jimmy Dread

Posted: 02/08/2019 10:29

Jimmy's Studio One Top 50

15-11

15

Mean Girl - Larry Marshall
RIDDIM - Mean Girl

Link

Poor Larry - his missus sounds like a right pain in the neck. The riddim endured well into the 90s, long after The Mighty Diamonds had versioned it on "I Need A Roof", Sugar Minott's cover of which set the early dancehall scene on fyah in the late 70s.

14

I'm Still In Love - Alton Ellis
RIDDIM - I'm Still In Love With You

Link

If you needed further proof as to Coxsone's ear for a good backing track this encapsulates it to a T. Arguably Studio One's most recognisable riddim, purely down to both covers by Marcia Aitken and Sean Paul (as well as it famously being used by Joe Gibbs on Althea & Donna's "Uptown Top Ranking"), this masterwork was penned not by Dodd but by Alton Ellis himself, who goes down along with Bob Andy as one of the great singer-songwriters of the rocksteady era.

13

Guns Of Navarone - The Skatalites
RIDDIM - N/A

Link

Put out by Dodd in 1965 (on his Muzik City imprint), "Guns Of Navarone" stands up as both a boss track and one of the earliest exposures of ska to a Western (specifically British) audience. Taking its cue from the score of the 1961 film, it predates the rude boy fascination with Spaghetti Westerns that took hold throughout Kingston in the late 60s/early 70s (culminating in an age of Jamaican self-determination with their own take on the genre with The Harder They Come), and was Coxsone's first major success outside of Jamaica. Featuring Lee Perry's whelps and Roland Alphonso on 'vocals', it also showcases ska at its most vibrant and energetic. Alongside Prince Buster's "Al Capone", it's legacy is interwoven with the fabric of British working class society, from skinhead to the punk/reggae love-in in the late 70s. And all this despite the fact it sounds like it was recorded on something akin to a potato.

12

I'm Just A Guy - Alton Ellis
RIDDIM - Vanity

Link

As per (14), another piece of self-penned gold from Alton Ellis, the riddim of which has been versioned a slew of legendary producers over the years (from Jammys to Junjo Lawes to Bobby Digital, and Coxsone himself for the likes of Michigan & Smiley and Brigadier Jerry), although it's the original version that drips like sonic honey. Perhaps only rivalled by his younger sister Hortense's cover inna showcase style.

11

Africa - The Gaylads
RIDDIM - N/A

Link

Released in the mid-60s and originally the B-Side of a tepid cover of "Whistle While You Work" by The Soul Vendors, "Africa" is one of the most anachronistic and vital recordings to have ever come from Brentford Road. The Gaylads were one of Jamaica's foremost rocksteady combos (see (22) for their key work), but "Africa" is a radical departure from their oeuvre. Proto-roots, Afro-centric, weepin'-and-a-wailin' akin to Scratch at his finest, Nyabinghi drumming (likely Count Ossie) - the whole track is remarkable and a clear indication of the influence of Rastafari starting to seep into the Jamaican music industry, even in the days when Rasta was seen by the general populous as outside civil society and as anti-commercial as Britney Spears having Napalm Death as her backing band. The fact that it's The Gaylads' best track considering the quality of their other work speaks volumes.

(coming next... 10-6)

Re: This Diary Isn’t For You

Jimmy Dread — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 04:26:09 GMT

Author: Jimmy Dread

Posted: 01/29/2019 09:26

Jimmy's Studio One Top 50

20-16

20

Boby Babylon - Freddie McGregor
RIDDIM - Bobby Babylon

Link

Studio One goes Rockers. Freddie's best cut for Coxsone - conscious late 70s roots inna Studio One style, and the title track to his debut LP. Check out the above link for a tuff version of a riddim that ended up being a dancehall staple throughout the 80s and early 90s.

19

Mr. Bassie - Horace Andy
RIDDIM - Mr. Bassie

Link

Killer, killer riddim (c.f. (50) from earlier in the list), and another example of Sleepy's vocal talent - a perfect mix of Alton Ellis, Marvin Gaye and James Brown, except chilled as fuck. Hypnotic early reggae stylings, great work by the Sound Dimension (guessing either Cedric Brooks or Deadly Headly on those sax breaks), and one of the best things Horace Andy laid his unique vocal stylings over. Essential. And speaking of riddims...

18

Real Rock - Sound Dimension
RIDDIM - Real Rock

Link

One of Dodd's most versioned tracks, most famously on Willi Williams' "Armagedion Time", later covered by the Clash. Dozens of uses of the riddim since its first appearance in 1967 (including by Coxsone himself - Johnny Osbourne's "Lend Me The Sixteen", Michigan & Smiley's "Nice Up The Dance" to name but two), but the original 1967 cut by Studio One's in-house band is the one.

17

No, No, No - Dawn Penn
RIDDIM - No, No, No

Link

Only lower down the order due to its history being tainted by that Godawful Steely and Clevie remix from the 90s with the U-Roy sample tacked on the front. Fucking disgrace, because this is not only a Studio One landmark, but still up there as one of the best female vocal performances from Jamaica. Vocal aside, the break (Sound Dimension again) is as synonymous with the track as the vocal. Surprisingly not versioned as much as you would expect for such a well-known riddim (although Ken Boothe had a go at it for Jammys - advice is don't bother), the original version is an all-time Jamaican classic.

16

Rockfort Rock - Sound Dimension
RIDDIM - Rockfort Rock

Link

In which you can see Ska changing into Rocksteady before your very eyes. Some erstwhile Skatalites stuck around Brentford Road after Tommy McCook left and formed the Jamaican version of the Wrecking Crew, and this is perhaps their crowning glory. If you're looking to start with Studio One, this (17) and (18 ) are as close to a Holy Trinity as you'd hope to find.

(coming next... 15-11)

Re: This Diary Isn’t For You

Jimmy Dread — Tue, 22 Jan 2019 06:26:20 GMT

Author: Jimmy Dread

Posted: 01/22/2019 11:26

Back after a lickie hiatus...

Jimmy's Studio One Top 50

25-21

25

Danger In Your Eyes - Don Evans & The Paragons
RIDDIM - Danger In Your Eyes

Link

With John Holt having departed to start a solo career and having previously hopped ship to Duke Reid's Treasure Isle, the Paragons returned to Brentford Road in the mid-70s and cut what was arguably their best track for Coxsone. The horns make it - as well as the tight harmonies - but what's perhaps most enduring about "Danger In Your Eyes" is how Dodd obviously knew a killer riddim when he heard one, re-using it for a straight-up (albeit pitched up) cover by Judah Eskender Tafari 3 years later, as well as...

24

Eye Of Danger - Michigan & Smiley
RIDDIM - Danger In Your Eyes

Link

Sing-jay stylee was all the rage of the early dancehall, and in Papa Michigan and General Smiley Dodd had two of its greatest exponents. The album they cut for Studio One - Rub-A-Dub Style - is wall-to-wall killer: 6 tracks of discomix with this being the standout. By no means the first DJs to cut for Coxsone (c.f. (45), Dennis Alcapone) nor the best (Prince Jazzbo and Lone Ranger were arguably more talented and had a deeper Studio One discography), but there's something irresistible about "Eye Of Danger" where M&S bounce off each other before the version/dub kicks in.

23

Party Time - The Heptones
RIDDIM - Party Time

Link

A belter of a rocksteady track, taken (unsurprisingly) from the stellar On Top LP. Recut at least twice by the Heptones for other producers (Phil Pratt, Scratch) and versioned all over the place, even up to the 2010s where Glen Washington (who cut a couple of LPs for Coxsone at the end of the 90s) reused it, "Party Time" is classic summer vibes stuff, and an utterly essential tune for any Studio One devotee.

22

The Soul Beat - The Gaylads
RIDDIM - N/A

Link

More rocksteady, but this time from an act which should have had as much of a legacy of the Heptones. The Gaylads turned out 45s on an almost monthly basis for Studio One in the mid-late 60s, and virtually all of them are knockouts. This - the title track of their debut LP (called Rocksteady in the UK) - perfectly sums up the period: effortless groove, piano (Jackie Mittoo possibly?) runs and stabs, male harmonies. It's nigh-on perfect.

21

Feel Like Jumping - Marcia Griffiths
RIDDIM - Boops

Link

It's impossible to overvalue Marcia Griffiths' contribution to Jamaican music. So often seen as a backing singer (from her early days with Byron Lee to her stint as support for The Wailers as an I Three) or the "and Marcia" in her duets with Bob Andy, she's been in the business for half a century and still maintains the credibility and longevity many of her counterparts have long since left behind. Her essential cut for Studio One will always be this - a groovy late-rocksteady classic (c. 1968) where instead of backing the likes of Marley or Andy it's her turn to take centre stage and tell the world what she wants to do. Cut on a riddim that most will know from Toots & The Maytals' "54-46", it's Studio One at its most anthemic.

(coming soon.... 20-16)

Re: This Diary Isn’t For You

Jimmy Dread — Fri, 21 Dec 2018 05:31:36 GMT

Author: Jimmy Dread

Posted: 12/21/2018 10:31

Jimmy's Studio One Top 50

30-26

30

Fever - Horace Andy
RIDDIM - Fever

Link

Horace Andy's longevity is testament not only to a voice that could melt polar ice caps (as Massive Attack would later testify), but also - from a Studio One standpoint at least - to being given some of the best riddims to sing over. "Fever" is a classic case in point - a killer vibe later rebooted by dancehall kings Jammys and Junjo, amongst several others. This won't be the last time he pops up in the list either, in case anyone's wondering why this classic is as low down as it is...

29

Oh Mr. D.C - Sugar Minott
RIDDIM - Pressure And Slide

Link

Although Minott would enjoy more popularity in the 80s (cutting for the likes of Wackies and Channel One, as well as through his own Black Roots imprint), his early work with Coxsone was some of the best he produced. Taking a well-trampled Tennors riddim (used previously by Prince Buster on "Shaking Down Orange Street" as well as others), Minott's stand-out Studio One moment was the flipside of rude boy, pleading with local law enforcement not to deprive a rural 'erb dealer of the only means to feed his family. Best heard on his Showcase LP, where it's presented inna Discomix stylee with the version immediately following the vocal cut.

28

Simmer Down - The Wailers
RIDDIM - N/A (covered by Johnny Clarke)

Link

Regular readers will know that I'm not the biggest Bob Marley fan out there. So it's hardly a surprise that my all-time favourite Wailers track is this: pre-reggae, urgent, frenetic, raw - and Bob at his most pure vocally until he moved away from Studio One and Scratch and into the world of AOR. Indeed, I urge everyone reading this to pick up a copy of The Wailing Wailers to sample more pre-Island Wailers (and the original cut of "One Love"). As for "Simmer Down", the riddim was never re-used, although Johnny Clarke cut a cover of it in the mid-70s inna reggae style (which sounds bland to these ears. Stick with the original).

27

See A Man's Face - Horace Andy
RIDDIM - See A Man's Face

Link

Quintessential Horace Andy - a conscious message, delivered with warmth, gusto, the purest vibrato, against a perfect backdrop of (what one can only assume) Jackie Mittoo's foreboding organ riff. Hardly the most celebrated or widely known track in his Coxsone discography - perhaps not helped by it first appearing on Studio One offshoot Sight 'N' Sound rather than the parent label - but on reflection not only one of Horace Andy's, but also Dodd's best.

26

When I Fall In Love - Ken Boothe
RIDDIM - When I Fall In Love

Link

Coxsone was fortunate to be blessed with some major vocal talent in the late 60s. But for purity of voice and the smoothest of delivery Mr. Rocksteady himself couldn't be surpassed. I'd always held Ken Boothe's tracks in contempt over the years - a combination of his watery output in the 70s ("Everything I Own", for example") and being the face of "UK Pop Reggae" as the Clash coined it on "(White Man In) Hammersmith Palais". Then I heard his work for Coxsone. It's different league. There's loads of other Boothe cuts from his Studio One era to discover (try “Moving Away” or “Home Home Home” and also sample the Man & His Hits LP - "Thinking" was a whisker away from making this list, and I implore you to give it a listen), and from an outsider's point of view it's just a pity his later work saw his Brentford Road period output get tarred with the same pretty lame brush.

(coming next... 25-21)

Re: This Diary Isn’t For You

Jimmy Dread — Tue, 18 Dec 2018 11:02:45 GMT

Author: Jimmy Dread

Posted: 12/18/2018 16:02

Jimmy's Studio One Top 50

35-31

35

I've Got To Go Back Home - Bob Andy
RIDDIM - I've Got To Go Back Home

Link

Rocksteady's dominance of the Jamaican dancehalls was an all-too-brief affair, coinciding with the burgeoning self-governance of the Jamaican music industry post-independence and one of the hottest summers on record. When Ska transmuted into Rocksteady in the mid-60s the influence of US R&B and soul was easy to spot, and whilst vocal trios and jazz-turned-Ska musicians still prevailed the rise of the Jamaican balladeer saw Coxsone sign and record some of the finest pre-reggae talent around. Bob Andy was that rare breed at Studio One - a singer/songwriter that relied on his own creativity rather than Dodd penning the hit - and this, his 1966 island-wide smash (later collected on the essential LP Bob Andy's Song Book) preempted his later international popularity with fellow Studio One artist and future I Three Marcia Griffiths on tracks such as "Young, Gifted and Black" and "Pied Piper".

34

Picture On The Wall - Freddie McKay
RIDDIM - Picture On The Wall

Link

"Picture On The Wall" was cut for both Coxsone and Duke Reid's Treasure Isle, but as proto-reggae goes it's the Studio One cut that carries the most clout. Like (49) another ode to rejection and loss - a universal song theme that just goes to show that not all reggae necessarily concerns itself with Jah and di 'erb - but the question remains why he didn't just chuck that fucking photo in the bin and be shot of the cow. Oh well...

33

I'll Be Around - Otis Gayle
RIDDIM - I'll Be Around

Link

Tune, tune, TUNE. A cover of the 1972 hit for the Drifters, "I'll Be Around" is perhaps the most soulful track Studio One ever put out, and it's a great shame that Otis Gayle's career did very little after this point (a handful of singles only is all he's got to show for one of most honeyed, almost Philly-sounding voices that ever recorded for Coxsone). The riddim here though - criminally underused and not really geared for the dancehall - is fyah: Jackie Mittoo's organ is the star, and whilst one could argue that Johnny Osbourne's spin on the version ("We Need Love") is even better it's the original cut that's the deepest for this skanker... speaking of which...

32

Swing Easy - Soul Vendors
RIDDIM - Swing Easy

Link

...another riddim later used by Coxsone for Osbourne (on "Can't Buy Love", also to be found like "We Need Love" on Truth & Rights), in which some ertswhile Skatalites (Dizzy Moore, Mittoo, Alphonso among them) were kept on by Dodd to form the latest incarnation of his Studio One house band. And it's testament to the enduring quality of both the track and the musicians that this riddim was still prevalent in Jamaican dancehalls throughout the 80s and 90s, with the likes of Frankie Paul, Gregory Isaacs and even Shabba Ranks versioning it. The original more than stands up on its own, however.

31

Jah Light - Judah Eskender Tafari
RIDDIM - N/A

Link

One of the most upfront roots tracks ever put out by Studio One, and one of only 5 45s cut by Brother Judah for Coxsone, "Jah Light" is something of an anomaly on this list. Far from being against Rastafari, given his dancehall/sound system origins Dodd's music was more about the dance, the vibe of roots reggae seeming to clash with his musical mindset at least from an outsider's point of view. That said, this song has always been prized by Studio One aficionados, so much so that it wound up on the killer Pirate's Choice compilation, released as a reaction to a bootleg 'best of Studio One' put out in Canada. Seriously worth tracking down for this scorcher, as well as (33) and at least one track that'll feature near the top of this lickle countdown an' t'ing...

(coming next... 30-26)

Re: This Diary Isn’t For You

Skinny — Mon, 17 Dec 2018 06:22:35 GMT

Author: Skinny

Posted: 12/17/2018 11:22

Loving these, by the way.