...And The Final Few Laps Before We Hit the Showers!

Marcia Griffiths: Dreamland
Not surprisingly, there's not a whole lot of women reggae artists. Marcia has sung with Bob Marley, the title track was written by one of the original Wailers, and it's a mellow collection, simply produced and performed.



The Front Line: Virgin sampler
Again, samplers and anthologies are a great way to expose yourself to reggae, and the best compilations (like this one) work very well as albums. Vocal harmony groups, toasting, even some dub -- another fantastic collection.



I-Roy: Don't Check Me with No Lightweight Stuff
The Big Three toaster/DJ's of rockers reggae were Big Youth, U-Roy and I-Roy. Each had their distinctive style and sound (I-Roy would punctuate his raps with what sounded like the dry heaves). I am totally in the dark about most of this album, but I enjoy the crap out of it.




Easy Star All Stars: Dub Side of the Moon
There's no way this should work, but it does, and not in a Weird Al parody way, but as actual music. No kidding! Who knew Pink Floyd could take the heat of a reggae beat?

Okay, Enough About Reggae For Now..

Thank you, patient reader, for getting through my reggae marathon. I promise you, the end of the course is in sight...
So, what's the deal with Bob Marley? You can find his stuff in the pile 'o crap bins at Wal-Mart -- isn't he supposed to be really good? Yes, but...licensing can be pretty dicey in Jamaica, apparently. Just as Bob couldn't seem to control the fruit of his loins (heck, how many kids did he have???), neither could he control which or how many contracts he must have signed, so his early works have been packaged and repackaged with varying consistency and quality. Ironically, most of these bogus discs are the result of a great partnership between producer Lee Perry and the early Wailers. Much of what Bob later recorded for Island Records is a reworking of these earlier tracks, as was the same for many reggae artists -- Toots and the Maytals and Burning Spear for Island, the Mighty Diamonds and the Gladiators for Virgin are just some examples. Island made reggae an international sound, not without some controversial 'sweetening' for Western ears (guitar solos, keyboard gloss).
So here's Part 1 of my favorites, neither essential nor Desert Island, but a fan's collection, in no particular order:



Bob Marley: Kaya
Many of these are recuts of earlier versions, and there's more of the better known tracks on "Legend", which apparently everybody in the world owns (spend the extra bucks and buy the 4 CD box set "Songs of Freedom" if you can -- a fantastic career overview, and proof that Bob was still writing great songs until the end), but this and "Exodus" are usually the first Marley CDs I reach for.



Burning Spear: Chant Down Babylon
The subtitle is "The Island Anthology", and this is the best of his work for Island Records. A good investment, since you get the best tracks from his first 4 albums on Island, plus dub and extended versions. You also get the (shudder) 80's studio production and the irritating Energizer Bunny drumming of later releases, but there's the Dead cover "Estimated Prophet" to pull it out. Winston Rodney (who IS Burning Spear) has a smoky, jazzy voice (my wife insists he's braying) and the tracks from the album "Social Living" are mesmerizing.



The Upsetters: Super Ape
Lee Perry, again an Island release, in the full force gale of his genius. Sludgy, dubby, magnificent.



Toots and the Maytals: The Very Best of..
Toots has been called the Otis Redding of reggae, and it's true that American soul music is essential to his music. Again, much of these are revisited versions, but man, what a catalog of songs!

Dubwise, Part 2

So eventually, dub took off, and there are basically two schools: less is more, and kitchen sink. (I made these up.) Some dub stripped things down to the bone,and this may be the root of "all reggae sounds the same" -- you'd think there was only so much you could do with a bass/drum rhythm and the occassional 'chunka-chunka' guitar vamp -- and in most cases, this would be true. The genius of the best dub producers was their ability to use these basic elements and play them off each other, sonically and rhythmically. Augustus Pablo and "King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown" is one of the classics of this style, as is "Pick A Dub" by Keith Hudson and "Dub Me" (Morwell Unlimited Meet King Tubby's). Now these aren't hard and fast rules -- vocals float into the mix on "Pick A Dub", but generally, these are roots dub.

For me, it took a while to discover the genius in these albums. I was more a fan of the kitchen sink productions of (early) Lee Perry or the fantastically over-the-top "African Dub All-Mighty" series. Lions roaring, doorbells ringing, toilets flushing -- this was Spike Jones dub, and just the thing to hook a novice like myself.
For a taste, pick up on the Blood and Fire samplers. This label is run by reggae fans of the highest caliber, and they reissue the best (like the Morwells and Keith Hudson). Lee Perry is a stickier wicket -- too much of his catalog is over-indulgent and just plain weird, but for many folks, that's his genius. And we'll get to his Marley connection next...

Dub Chapter One, or: Give the drummer some ...and the bass player, too

As with much of reggae, the origins of dub are hazy (what were they smoking? Oh, right...) Essentially, dub versions were on the flip side of singles, usually the single hit stripped of vocals. The producer got 2 releases (while only paying for one) and using the studio, he could boost the bass, bring the guitar fore or aft -- and then play them at the sound system parties (imagine a bookmobile set up with big speakers, turntables, all the latest 45's). Then add what we now call rappers, then toasters, who'd talk/rap over the track with commentary on the original lyrics, whatever was in the news, film critiques -- anything was game. What we now call dub usually refers to the remixed, non-vocal version, although several of my favorite dub releases have the original vocals wafting through. Try "Planet Mars" (Mighty Diamonds) or "Garvey's Ghost" (Burning Spear) for a taste. Next...more dub sounds!

Singles Going Steady (and yes, "Idol" is on...)

I've been featuring anthologies so far, and really, that's okay, because reggae is mainly singles driven. Burning Spear, Bob Marley -- they later developed the reggae album, but even their albums were usually a collection of singles (and we'll save the whole Marley catalog problem for another day...) I bought the "Rebel Music" double LP because the album graphics were pop and non-threatening for someone like me, dipping their toes in the water. (Actually, the first "reggae" album I bought was by Third World, who managed to sound like the music I was used to -- heck, they covered "Now That We've Found Love" by The O'Jays! -- but other than their earliest releases, they were a reggae crossover band.) "Rebel Music" is uneven, but that's the thrill of anthologies -- the song you hated last week is your favorite the next. The Treasure Isle collection is totally magnificent: superb remastering from Heartbeat, an inspiring selection -- with complete versions (including intro) and rare dub versions. What's dub? Ahh, stay tuned!

Studio One Returns

The reggae recordings from Studio One have been given a stellar reissue campaign from the Heartbeat label (some have since been spiffed up and re-reissued with bonus tracks -- here I refer to the first round.) "Downbeat the Ruler" features instrumental tracks that formed the basis of many later hits. Brian Eno once compared his mining of his various releases (a bass note here, drum track slowed down and rejigged there) as musical composting, and that's very similar to what happens with reggae, though the raw material hasn't had a chance to break down into its component elements but rather hijacked piece by piece -- more in common with stripping down a car, I'd venture. "Mojo Rock Steady" is an assortment of vocal and instrumental tracks. None of these could be considered 'hits', but they work as a solid collection -- and (unlike Trojan), these are remastered, and they sound great.

Motor-Town, Philadelphia PA -- All in One Little Island

Many people who don't like reggae complain it all sounds the same. Well, in one sense, that's very true, because reggae borrows/steals from itself and others blatantly. A bass run in one song becomes a lead line in another, a popular rhythm gets endlessley recycled, and copyright is ignored. I've heard dubs based on Beatles songs, whole melodies appropriated without proper credit -- it's part of the outlaw nature of reggae. And yet, from a little island comes an echo of Motown, the Philadelphia International sound, the Hi Records sound of Memphis, Stax-Volt -- it's like hearing '60s soul radio bounced back with an Island spin. A great point-of-entry is "The Trojan Story" Volumes 1 & 2. The CDs haven't been remastered (heck, some sound like field recordings) but the lo-fi is part of the charm. As the cover says: "ska, rock-steady and early reggae music". Volume 2 reflects the more politically conscious state of reggae as it matured, but Volume 1 is naive, goofy and irresistable. And you gotta love the double-entendre cover image (it's a speaker grille, but...)