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.

Silver & Gold : Prince Far-I

One more time around for Prince Far-I.  This is one of my favorite roots & culture artists off all time.  He was sadly taken from us in 1983 when a group of gunmen broke in to his yard at night with unknown intentions, not much is known about incident specifics.  His gruff, honest voice and righteous messages will continually live on through all of his followers and aficionados.  Silver & Gold serves as a type of greatest hits compilation for the seventies ('73-'79) with 19 tracks total, three of witch are Errol Holt tunes, whom he was producing at the time.  It's a Blood & Fire release with a nice booklet and the story of Prince Far-I.  The first track "Johnny Get Worse" is a great version of The Slickers' "Johnny Too Bad" and the highlight of an outstanding album.  Other classic Far-I selections include : "Dub to Africa" &  "Cry Freedom Dub".  Prince Far-I's catalog of music is sadly a short, but potent list.  Listen to Far-I when you feal you need freedom and seek wisdom.

Dub to Africa : Prince Far-I & the Arabs

This is one of the finest examples of roots dub in my collection.  Prince Far-I brings his band of musicians (the Arabs including Flabba) in to a storm of dub with some heavy bass thunder.  Not too fancy, not too many effects, these are just solid and constant dub tracks that will drop you off in to a trance, almost hypnotizing.  Far-I gives a brief introduction before each track making his presence felt through the rough grumblings of his wise and seemingly ancient voice.  He's one of my favorites and most of his workings are solid, but this one is just the tops.  This album dropped in 1979 on LP from the Hit Run label with the original eight tracks, right in the middle of Far-I's Cry Tuff Dub Encounter series.  Then Pressure Sounds released in on CD in 2007 with two bonus tracks.  All ten tracks are strong pieces that put together an outstanding dub set when listened to all the way through.  Track #1 (Ace Bass) & track #2 (Dub to Africa) get things going and before you know it you are in the middle of the album.

Cry Freedom Dub : Prince Far-I

Solid, hard, bouncing dub at it's finest is what you'll get with this set from the Tamoki-Wambesi-Dove label. Usually when I see Prince Far-I on an album cover I look forward to his rough and grough voice and I love it. This disc however has vocals only on the first track and all the rest is non-stop dub. The album is backed by the Roots Radics and all material was recorded from 1980-1983. My favorites on this one are #1 (Free Jah Jah Children), #2 (Blood on the Corner of Orange Street), and #8 (Famine in Africa). Famine in Africa has some creative instrumental (what I think is keyboard) work and I've now added this track to my permanent playlist. Recorded mostly at Channel One and engineered by Scientist and Maxie. Adding instruments and taking them away, stripping away everything but the drum and bass, and then building it back up takes a great ear for dub music and this disc stands tall.

Human Rights & Justice : Daweh Congo

If you've never heard of Daweh Congo, he's quite the unique artist. If I had to compare him to someone it would be the deep grumblings of Prince Far-I or the resonant chants of Burning Spear. He's the son of reggae artist Leo Graham, but started releasing his own material in the late 90's. Human Rights & Justice is a 2000 release off of the Roots & Culture label, and for me the highlight of Daweh's collection. I had the pleasure of seeing him perform live around the same time as the release of this disc and he was outstanding - staying true to his sound. My favorite tracks on this one are #1 (Human Rights & Justice), #2 (Jah is my Shepard), and #7 (Herb Tree) . Herb Tree is actually the Zungguzungguguzungguzeng rhythm and you'll recognize the work of Flabba Holt and others on tracks using vintage Roots Radics rhythms from the early 80's. Daweh recorded this one at Leggo's Studio in Kingston. This disc is actually pretty hard to find and I'm still using a burned copy I got from a friend back in 2000. Good luck in your search. If anyone finds it for sale, please leave a comment on the blog - I'd appreciate the lead !!!