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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
"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.
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
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...
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 _________________ 'Reggae' & t'ing Folk 'n Stuff SHAMELESS RECORD DEALER PLUG
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
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)
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)
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. _________________ 'Reggae' & t'ing Folk 'n Stuff SHAMELESS RECORD DEALER PLUG
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.
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:
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. _________________ 'Reggae' & t'ing Folk 'n Stuff SHAMELESS RECORD DEALER PLUG
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"
Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.
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.
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...
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