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.

Bubble Up (Showcase Vol.1) : Wayne Jarrett

Another great Wackies production (also known as Showcase Vol. 1)with heavy roots beats and the soft spoken voice of Wayne Jarrett.  The original track list from  this 1982 release shows only six songs, but each one is either an extended mix or an instrumental.  A great overall album, but still with it's stand out tracks: #1 (Brimstone & Fire), #2 (Every Tounge Shall Tell), and #6 (Holy Mount Zion).  Keep in mind this is one of the original Lloyd "Bullwackie" Barnes productions out of his Wackies label in New York City.  A great talent for the time and place and an important step in the North American extension of the roots reggae movement of the seventies and in to the eighties.  These rythms are tight, the Wackies label could almost will things to come together in top notch style for each vocalist and different situation, with excellent results.  Everything dialed in straight.  Wayne Jarrett is a great roots vocalist, look for his works to be spread out over several Wackies, Greensleeves, and King Tubby compilations.

Lambs Bread International : Sylford Walker & Welton Irie

This is a great original 1970's roots album to the bone.  Although this is a Blood & Fire CD release from 2000, the music was recorded in the '77-'78 season of the pleasin' for the rootsman tradition.  Sylford Walker has a timid voice with an aggressive delivery in his chanting/singing/rapping style.  This album was produced by Glen Brown and mixed by King Tubby, during the prime of both careers.  Welton Irie adds a hard deejay version to six of the tracks, complementing the vocal track to make a couple nice extended track versions.  There are 14 tracks total.  Track #2 "Rolling Stone" in a great version of the title track, witch is one of hardest herb anthems - although many have never heard its message.  These are two relatively unknowns to people outside the reggae, but the triumphant sounds they'll allow to blast out your speakers should be listed in at least your top twenty albums of your collection.  Search around for Sylford Walker's '75 -'76 track "Burn Babylon" produced by Joe Gibbs.  An earlier sample of Sylford's style.

King Tubby meets Rockers Uptown : Augustus Pablo

This is for sure a classic roots set that shows you what reggae is all about.  This is a 1994 Abraham label CD release - originally released in 1977 on vinyl by Clocktower.  The material was recorded from '72-'75 with Chinna, Familyman, Dirty Harry, and others.  Clocktower is a reggae label that was formed in New York, but now works out of Ontario, Canada.  Abraham is another label name coming out of Clocktower and you can see similarities in disc production.  Pablo and Tubby blend bass and melodica  in and out of these tunes mixed down at King Tubby's with Errol Thompson.  There is also a 2004 Shanachie (US) label release with bonus tracks to the original 12.  All the tracks in this one are outstanding and you might recognize some of them as dubbed-out Pablo versions of popular Jacob Miller tunes.  This set of musical works is considered a prime example of seventies dub roots at it's finest - a cornerstone at the base of the Jamaican dub movement.

Freedom Sounds in Dub : King Tubby

I know that the number of King Tubby CD's out there is enormous.  Even for a reggae fan who holds the art of dub close to their hart, the Tubby library is endless.  So where do we find the best King Tubby discs or top notch compilations?  Blood & Fire, that's where.  Just like it's issuing counterpart Dub in the Roots Tradition : Scientist, Freedom Sounds in Dub is a great example of how this large available library of tunes can be condensed in to a stand out compilation.  Even if you only want a few pure dub cd's to anchor down your collection, this is a outstanding representation of Tubby.  Although I can really listen to this one over and over on repeat I'll still pick out a couple of my  favorites.  #1 (Ethiopian Version), #2 (Leaving Babylon Dub), and #11 (Tinson Pen Dub) are the top few of this 15 track set.  The recorded material is from the late seventies ('76-'79) and has the solid backing of the Soul Syndicate. 

Rich Man Poor Man : Barry Brown

There are 14 tracks on this late seventies greatest hits with most of them ranging from roughly 3 to about 4 minutes.  The Revolutionaries, Roots Radics, The High Times Band, and the Aggrovators are all credited as backing bands on different tracks giving this a disc a wide variety in instrumental styles.  This is a true Kingston production going down at Harry J's, King Tubby's and Channel One.  This is a fairly good representation of the Barry Brown style and coupled with King Jammy presents Barry Brown you should get the best of Barry Brown.  This CD is from the Moll Selekta label with material from 1978-1980.  My favorites in this one are #1 (Fire Fire), #4 (Pass Up the Chalice), and #7 (Burial).  This version of "Burial" is my personal favorite of all the attempted covers - very nice pace - very nice vocal delivery.  The last two tracks on this disc are the title track and it's dub counterpart, a very nice way to end the set,  instead of starting the album with the title track.

Dub in the Roots Tradition : Scientist

This is a Greatest Hits compilation of the master-skilled Scientist ; presented to us by Blood & Fire back in 1996.  The Blood & Fire label did a ton of reissue work in the 90's and it's nice to see that Scientist made their list of musicians, engineers, and vocal artists to honor with a high quality production.  15 tracks of choice cuts on this disc and all straight up roots dub.  A lot of familiar rhythms on this one but Scientist has a way of twisting the sounds in ways the other engineers seem to overlook sometimes.  The tunes range from about 1976 - 1979, this is said to be the beginning stages of the Scientist's dub journey.  My favorites on this one are #1 (King Tubby's Awnser), #2 (Dub Bible), #5 (Don't Rush the Dub), and #11 (Sunshine Version).  Like most Blood & Fire reissue/compilation products, the booklet and liner notes provide a great insight in to the time lines of Scientist's accomplishments and associations with his contemporaries.  scientist is sometimes known as the second great student of King Tubby's behind Jammy.  He's worked all over the world with the finest reggae musicians such as Roots Radics and I was able to witness his skills live at the now defunct Malibu Inn (http://hbreggaeblog.blogspot.com/2008/04/don-carlos-malibu-inn.html).  This is a nice disc to have in the dub section of your collection.  It would fit rite in with some of your favorite Tubby's (King Tubby's Hidden Treasure) (Dub Like Dirt) and maybe a quality Jammy's disc (King Jammy Presents Barry Brown) to round out your seventies roots dub.

The Roots of Dub : King Tubby

This is a classic set of 12 roots dub tracks from the mind of Tubby. It was originally released by Total Sounds on LP back in 1975, but I recently picked up a CD copy released by Jamaican Recordings. This disc has a nice combination of familiar Tubby cuts with some different tracks mixed in. It's nice to find some different Tubby beats, rhythms, and versions. Jamaican Recordings does a good job putting together a quality disc with nice sound quality ; produced by Bunny Lee and the backed by the Aggrovators. And of course mixed at King Tubby's in Kingston, JA. The booklet is really only a two page semi-history of Tubby that includes a brief statement by Bunny Lee. Over all I would say that this disc is a good representation of Tubby's approach to roots dub from the seventies - a good look at the past.

Rockers International 2 : Augustus Pablo

This CD is a Greensleeves 1992 release with 15 tracks total. This roots, dub, and vocal material was recorded at various places all over Kingston : King Tubby's, Randy's, Channel One, and Dynamic Sounds and includes tracks by Hugh Mundell, Augustus Pablo, the Pablo All Stars, Jacob Miller, Earl "Sixteen" Daley, and a few more. These tracks are a really a good set of Pablo versions you might not have heard before especially the one's from Hugh Mundell (Selassie I Veranda) the other standout track to me on this album is Junior Delgado (Away with your Fussing and Fighting). The engineering credit goes to King Tubby, Prince Jammy, and Philip Smart on this mid-seventies compilation. I think this is a pretty good album, but these are a little more obscure tracks that should be paired with earlier Pablo discs such as Original Rockers : Augustus Pablo, This is Augustus Pablo - Rebel, Rock, Reggae : Augustus Pablo, and Who Say Jah No Dread : Jacob Miller. This is a harder CD to find these days and all your usual reggae vendors might not have it - your best bet is to get a hold of a used copy. I'd say overall this is a pretty good CD, I definitely like some tracks a lot more than others.

Triston Palma Show Case in a Roots Radics Drum and Bass

This is the most impressive works I've encountered from Triston Palmer and I'm more than happy to give a quick review. This disc has 12 Tracks total - Alternating original vocal and then the dub track to follow. It was recorded and mixed at both Channel One and King Tubby's. Produced by Jah Thomas and engineered by King Tubby, Scientist, Professor, and Barnabas. Just a ton legendary talent on the production side of this disc. My favorites on this disc are #3 (Give me a chance) & dub ; the other is #9 (Time so Hard) & dub. These are both crucial sets of roots reggae with outstanding not overshadowing dub mixes. This disc was released by the Abraham label out of Ontario, Canada - but I'm not sure what year. This disc went in my permanent listening rotation soon after I heard it for the first time and I highly recommend at least checking it out.

Big Showdown : Scientist vs. Prince Jammy

If you like solid roots dub this is going to be a great album for your collection. Let's begin with a "ringside" introduction by Jah Thomas - Big Showdown at King Tubby's is a Greensleeves production with Junjo Lawes and is presented showdown style with alternating dub tracks, starting track #1 with Scientist and proceeding from there. All tracks were laid at Channel One by the Roots Radics band - a ton of original reggae talent including Flabba Holt, Chinna Smith and many other notable musicians. The dubbed-out set list includes many tracks from Barrington Levy ( Bounty Hunter 2-Disc ) and is solid from start to finish - No favorites here, it's all good. The cover art puts our champions is a fun comical atmosphere, but this is some serious business once you get in to it.

Kingston All-Stars meet Downtown at King Tubby's 1973-1975

This disc is another great offering from the Kingston Sounds/Jamaican Recording label. Another great list of artists on this compilation include: Cornell Campbell, Johnny Clarke, Linval Thompson, Horace Andy, and others. Within the 14 Tracks total, you'll here rare tracks that have been left off many of these artists other discs. My favorite track on this on is #2 (Here Me Now Star - Cornell Campbell). This is really a great song/rhythm and Jamaican Recording has a dub version on their Dub Sampler Vol. 3. The booklet is a nice addition and breaks down each track and shows the credited musicians and other info for each one. At the end of the booklet their is a Two-Page breakdown on the materials included and the time frame from which they came from King Tubby. There are too many great reggae musicians on this disc to list here, but it's the usual line-ups of outstanding horn, percussion, guitar, and bass.

Who Say Jah No Dread : Jacob Miller

This disc shows us some great tracks from Jacob Miller alternating with the instrumental/dub track featuring Augustus Pablo and King Tubby. This is a great disc to have in your catalog because it serves a dual purpose. Not only do you get 6 Jacob Miller classics, but you get the complementary dub sides to these gems. This is a Jamaican production through and through. All material came from Dynamic, Randy's, and King Tubby's. Many of the usual suspects are present in the line-up: Bobby Ellis, Sly & Robbie, Chinna, and others. These classic mid-seventies sounds were compiled and released by Greensleeves in 1992, the sound quality is excellent and the set list is solid. My favorites on this one are: #3 (False Rasta), #4 (Hungry Town Scank), #7 (Who Say Jah No Dread), and #8 (Jah Dread). Even is you have some of this material on other discs - these tracks are set up nicely and it's a pleasure when listened to straight through.

Ital Dub : Augustus Pablo

This is a great album to really showcase Pablo and his melodica as the featured instrument. Original work from 1974-1975 and engineered by King Tubby. What you really get is 12 really dubbed out Augustus Pablo tracks. I have a CD copy from 1999 released by Culture Press. My favorite tracks on this one are : #2 (Road Block), #9 (Mr. Big), and #11 ( House Raid). Road Block is a version of the classic Bob Marley track and Mr. Big is a Natty Dread version, both are outstanding interpretations. House Raid is a Burial version and you really feal it through the haunting melodica of Pablo. When I'm looking at Augustus Pablo albums against each other, I like this one quite a bit. It's solid roots dubbed by the master Tubby and the sound quality is clean. Some of my other favorite Pablo albums are Authentic Golden Melodies : Augustus Pablo & This is Augustus Pablo - Rebel, Rock, Reggae : Augustus Pablo . Check them out for a more complete Pablo experience.

Columbia Colly : Jah Lion

This is a Lee Perry production originally released on LP in 1976 and later released by both Island and Mango on CD. It was recorded at the Perry's Black Ark in Kingston, JA. This is an interesting album because Jah Lion is also known as Jah Lloyd (Pat Francis). Most of his work was done under the name Jah Lloyd including one of my favorite albums "A Double Helping of Jah Lloyd and King Tubby". All of Jah Lion/Lloyd's work is solid roots dub and dj material weather it's with Perry or Tubby. There's eleven tracks total on this disc and my favorites are #1 (Wisdom), #5 (Columbia Colly), and #7 (Bad Luck Natty). There's also a Satta Version and Police and Thieves Version (Soldier and Police War) that round out this disc nicely. His smokey voice textures and chilled mellow delivery make Jah Lion and Columbia Colly a great disc to have on while just relaxing in the afternoon. There's a lot of classic rhythms are on this album and Jah Lion matches his vocals to each with great success.

Larry Marshall in Dub / World in Dub

I've been shopping for some new reggae recently and went straight to my favorite on-line store, Ernie B's. They have the best selection of reggae I've ever seen. The layout and navigation of the website is super easy to use. They have sound samples on selected albums and offer many details including: brief reviews, contributing artists, recording locations, and more. My last purchase included Larry Marshall/King Tubby's I Admire You in Dub and Ranking Joe - World in Dub. I found them both in the "Blowout" list of sale items for about a dollar fifty each. That's right, they're that cheap !!! These are good albums too. I Admire You in Dub is 14 tracks of totally solid roots dub Tubby style. My favorites are #12(You Lie Version) and #13(Heavy Heavy Load) which is an extended version. This CD is a release off of the Motion label. I like most of Ranking Joe's material so I figured I would try World of Dub and I was pleasantly surprised by the 12 fresh dub tracks composed with the Twilight Circus Sound System. This disc has a more modern sound, at times similar to Some of Jah Shaka and Mad Professor's work at Ariwa. My favorites on this one are #1 (World in Dub) and #6 (Seek Ya Dub). These two discs are just a peek of what's at Ernie B's so check it out some time.

Harry Mudie meets King Tubby in Dub Conference Vol. 1

This is the first in a series of three great dub collaborations by the master King Tubby and 70's dub influence Harry Mudie. This album features straight forward dub with classic techniques and the touch of studio instruments. Very little sound effects and manipulation are used on this one. This album was originally released in 1976, but my CD copy is from '94. My favorite tracks on this one are: #1(Full Dose of Dub), #4 (Dub with a Difference), and #8 (Heavy Duty Dub). All these dubs were developed in both England and Jamaica. Full Dose of Dub features a hard conga drum rhythm to give it pop. Dub with a Difference is a great partnership of strings and horns with classic reggae drum work. In Heavy Duty Dub, the name is deceiving. It's actually a really mellow track; I get kind of a smokey lounge vibe from it. The second and third volume of this series are equally impressive and worth checking out.

Aggrovators meet the Revolutionaries at Channel One

Bunny Striker Lee productions released this All-Star album back in 1977. This is clean and professional roots/dub/instrumental, just classic JA sounds. With 11 tracks total, all recorded at Channel One, this is a great album to have in your collection. All tracks were produced and arranged by Bunny Lee and the list of contributing artists is extensive: Bobby Ellis, Santa Davis, Sly & Robbie, Chinna Smith, Tony Chin, Ansell Collins,Jackie Mittoo, Tommy McCook, and many more. These guys are responsible for a huge stock of genuine 1970's dub instrumental and you'll here this material dubbed out by legends such as King Tubby. The first 5 tracks were set by the Revolutionaries and tracks 6-11 were laid down by the Aggrovators. All the songs on this album are a standard length of 2-4 minutes and all instrumental, no extended/dub tracks. My favorites on this one are: #3 (Bionic Man), #8 (Special Brew), and #9 (Super Larger). My copy of this CD is 1998 and the sound quality is great - very clean and clear. Check it out !!!

Africans Unite : Sylvan White

You might not of heard about Sylvan White, but this compilation disc will make you remember him. It showcases his vocal work of the late 70's and early 80's with the sweet roots sound of The Soul Syndicate and The High Times Band. The mixing engineer is listed as King Tubby and the Producer Bertram Brown. This disc is a pleasant surprise with many extended mixes and alternate dub tracks. There are 13 tracks total, but my favorites on this one are #1 (Africans Unite), #3 (Mountain Top), and #4+#5 (Faith w/ Version). All tracks were recorded at Channel One and King Tubby's in Jamaica. There really isn't too much out on the market for Sylvan White CD's, but this one has great sound quality and a solid track list.

Dub Me : Morwell Unlimited meet King Tubby's

This is a top notch instrumental and dub album showcasing the work of the industries best studio musicians. Back in the 1970's, Blacka Wellington and Bingy Bunny were known as the Morwells. They dropped slow deliberate rhythms and laid a foundation of dub for the years to come. Other musicians and engineers included in this posse of greats are: Flabba Holt, Chinna Smith, and Ansell Collins. The collaboration of all these professionals led to development of many other groups such as the Roots Radics and the Revolutionaries. They recorded almost everywhere: Channel One, Randy's, King Tubby's, and the Black Ark. This disc in a 1997 release from the Blood & Fire label. The booklet is very informative and includes many good pictures. My favorite tracks on this one are: #5 (John Bull), #10 (Jungle Shuffle), #12 (Morpheus Special), and #14 (Stepping in HQ). It's a solid track list from start to finish so check it if you dig the roots reggae instrumental or King Tubby style.