Ethiopian Kings (1975-1980) : Rod Taylor

Welcome, Reggae people, to Rod Taylor's finest tracks.  This disc is a total of 14 tracks, many of which are extended mixes, disco cuts, and dub tracks; all from the late seventies in to the eighties (1975-1980), a true time for roots reggae.  With all cylinders hitting hard on the Reggae scene in the 70's, Rod Taylor might have slipped through our fingers as one of the great roots vocal sounds.  He has worked with a few different producers, mixing engineers, and backing bands, so this disc is a solid compilation from the different production shops and experts.  His voice, roots style, and sound compare to that of Linval Thompson & Johnny Clarke : if you don't know, you might mistake him for one of these other great vocalists.  Sharing common producers and mixing technicians sometimes produces a "familiar" sound.  Producers Tracks on this disc include : Bertram Brown (tracks 1-3), Prince Far-I (tracks 4-5), Mikey Dread (tracks 6-7), Ossie Hibbert, Dudley Swaby, and others.  The Highlight tracks on this one are #1 (Ethiopian Kings - Discomix), #6 (His Imperial Majesty), #7 (Behold Him), and #14 (Night in September).  Really the disc as a whole is excellent and I highly recommend adding it to your collection.  Some other extended version and dub tracks for songs on this disc are out there from big hit names such as Mikey Dread and Big Youth, especially for "Ethiopian Kings" & "His Imperial Majesty".  Backing bands on this one are Soul Syndicate, the Revolutionaries, and some Roots Radics as well.  Recorded @ Channel 1 : Mixed at King Tubby's by King Tubby, Scientist, & Prince Jammy.  This disc also has a nice 5 page booklet with Rod Taylor interview excerpts and career history.  I'm looking for more Rod Taylor, but usually find myself coming back to this disc; it's the best example of his work so far that I have found.

Ten to One : Dillinger

This is a 2 Disc set with the second disc being the straight dub crossover of disc one. I'm reallly hooked on the dub set on disc 2 rather than the original vocal chant performance of Manchester, England's own Dillinger. This seems to be some sort of value pack offering from "Classic Reggae" by Secret Records in 2007. This set is produced by Niney the Observer and you can tell, the production work on the dub tracks is excellent. There are 14 tracks on each disc, I tend to favor the dub CD and my favorites on that one are: #5 (My Dub Leads the Way), #9 (Dub Jamboree), #13 (Foreign Dub), and #11 (Hurry Dub) which is a pretty tough "Stir It Up" version. The Bass is a clean and heavy as lead. This is great for the ride or the sound system. A lot of familiar beats including the stir it up version. Credits indicate this material was recorded at Channel One, Tuf Gun, and Joe Gibbs and engineered by the legendary Scientist & Errol Thompson. All tracks are backed by the Soul Syndicate band featuring Sly & Robbbie. Although I mainly talk about the dub set, some of the disc 1 vocal have killer lyrics. The best of CD 1 tracks are #2 (My Address) and # 5 (My Sound a Boom). You should be able to score this disc on the used internet market for less than $10 USD.

Non Stop Disco Style : Dillinger

The title is a little deceiving on this album. This disc is not what us Americans would refer to as "disco style". It's actually some pretty hard core roots DJ work from one of the greats. The original release for this material is from 1978 and it was originally an LP release from the Canadian labels Clocktower & Abraham. 10 tracks total on this disc - I really don't have any true favorites on this disc. The alternating DJ tracks with the dub tracks to follow really kept me listening all the way through the album. The CD's released from the Abraham label are solid productions, but sometimes hard to find. A lot of great seventies roots, DJ, and dub have come through this label. The lack-lustre production of the liner notes and packaging leaves a little information and research for us to find, but the quality of the musical production makes up for it big time.

Zim Zim : Billy Boyo

You might not have ever heard of Billy Boyo, but this dj was heavy on the dancehall scene when he was just a teenager back in the early eighties. Zim Zim is his most popular compilation studio work and the material was recorded in 1983. My CD copy of this album was released by the Silver Kamel label out of London in 2002. There are 12 tracks total on this disc. Six straight-up dj vocal tracks alternating with their dub track counterparts inna showcase style. My favorite tracks on this one are: #1 (Jamaica Nice), #2 (Dub Freeze), #6 (Dread Skank), and #12 (BB's Posse). The sound quality on the 2002 cd release is very clean and sounds excellent with the dub tracks cranked up. Billy Boyo was not as famous as some of his contemporaries like Little John, Ranking Trevor, and Dillinger but his youthful voice and flow are true and his message is clearly heard.