Sunshine, Cruising

Sunshine, cruising aound 'nostalgic' Mexico we find ourself in Columbia, not really the savest place on the planet but maybe thats why they have such great music, live and enjoy whilst you can...The Cumbia Collection is just great , Joe Arroya would have been a global star if there had been some legally solid musical infrastructure in Colombia or had he not been such a nationalist and there for unwilling to move to the west. Time to cruise towards the Antilles and Trinidad , they transformed their calypso into something more steamy and faster they called it Soul Calypso , not sure what Soul music they thought off then, anyway its called Soca these days and Hot Hot Hot it is..Finally another nice Tropical Extravaganza of salsa and cumbia music for those that look for more depth..

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Los Muchachos - Fiesta
VA - Cumbia Cumbia (Cumbias de Oro)
Joe Arroyo y la Verdad - Rebellion
VA - Soca Train
VA - Tropical Extravaganza

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Los Muchachos - Fiesta (73 ^ 88mb)

I had to think about posting this one, its very 'camp', and yet 35 years ago this music would have taken the average westerner into exotic moods, the mystery and romance of the other world, where the jet set and james bonds' of the world roamed. These days the average westerner can drink his cervaza on the beach at cancun or acapulco the next day if he feels like it. Yes, the world is a lot smaller these days, and with the omnipresence of camera's and the tendency of those manipulating those to bring us the daily misery from those places, a lot of the innocent daydreaming, to which this kind of music catered, has been lost. What remains is parental nostalgia, still there are some nice tracks here and the muchachos still make music, but thats to be expected i guess



01 - La Cucaracha ( 3:04)
02 - Yo Vendo Unos Ojos Negros( 2:09)
03 - Duerme Mi Nina ( 2:25)
04 - Cielito Lindo ( 2:43)
05 - Subo Subo ( 2:33)
06 - El Pobrecito ( 2:16)
07 - Paso Doble ( 2:07)
08 - Guantanamera ( 3:22)
09 - Clavelitos ( 2:54)
10 - Adellita ( 2:18)
11 - Viva La Feria ( 1:59)
12 - De Domingo A Domingo ( 2:56)
13 - Cuchipe ( 2:06)
14 - La Bamba ( 2:37)

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VA - Cumbia Cumbia (Cumbias de Oro) ( 84 ^ 240mb)

Cumbia is originally a Colombian folk dance and dance music . Cumbia is very popular, widely known in the Latin music mainstream throughout South America, Central America and Mexico, with lots of regional variations and tendencies. The traditional instruments of cumbia were mainly percussion; different types of drums, claves and a güiro, and woodwinds; flutes. Modern cumbia includes instrumental mixing; guitars, accordions, bass guitar, modern flutes and modern deep-toned drums and other percussions.

Cumbia is a variant of the African Guinean cumbe music. Cumbia started in the northern region of Colombia, mainly in or around Cartagena during the period of Spanish colonization. The slaves were later influenced by the sounds of Amerindian instruments from the Koguis and Kuna tribes settled between the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Montes de María; like the millo flutes, gaita flutes and güiros. Africans and Amerindians working together as slaves created a mixture from which the gaitero (cumbia interpreter) appeared, around the 1800s, the European guitars and accordions were added later, through Spanish influence. It developped intp a danced courtship ritual rhythmically performed with music played by groups of men and women couples; women playfully waving with their long skirts and holding a candle, while the men danced behind the women, with one hand on his back and the other one holding his hat, putting it on and off and waving it. Men also carried a red type of handkerchief which they either wrapped around their necks, waved in circles in the air or handheld together with women. Until mid-20th century, cumbia was considered a vulgar dance, practiced only by the lower classes. That has changed meanwhile its 'mainstream' , still a good courting dance mind you .

Timbales beat the intro, thick brassy horns and electric guitar state the theme..Rudolfo's cumbia anthem 'La Colegiala' kicks off this collection of cumbia's, Columbia's mostpopular dance craze . 'La Colegiala' was a monsterhit thru out Latin america even spain and France. Cumbia with its regular rousing beat and a 2/4 loping gait is real uplifting music, it disticts itself from the relentless pace of merengue or salsa by the rocksteady bass. This collection covers the different styles of cumbia from the fifties up to now (84). All of them have been big hits all over the latin world, to set some apart is senseless, pick your own. This is a great collection, i'd say one of the best samplers i have in my vaults. "Baile la cumbia hasta la seis de la manana"



01 - Rodolfo y su Tipica RA7 - La Colegiala (3:58)
02 - Gabriel Romero - La Subienda
03 - Armando Hernandez y su Conjunto - La Zenaida (3:45)
04 - Adolfo Echeverria y su Orquesta - Amanciendo
05 - Pedro Laza y su Pelayeros - Navidad Negra
06 - Conjunto Tipico Vallenato - Cumbia Cienaguera
07 - Rodolfo y su Tipica RA7 - Tabaco y Ron
08 - Gabriel Romero - La Piragua
09 - Los Immortales - La Pollera Colora
10 - La Sonora Dinamita - Se me Perdio la Cadenita
11 - Los Warahuaco - El Pescador de Baru
12 - Conjunto Tipico Vallenato - Cumbia Sampuesina

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Joe Arroyo y la Verdad - Rebellion (89 * 441mb)

Arroyo began his musical career at the young age of eight when he sang in a strip joint in his hometown of Cartagena. His first break came after he signed with record label, Discos Fuentes, in 1971, and was overheard by bass player, singer, composer and producer Ernesto Estrada, better known as Frugo, who recruited him for his band. Arroyo continued to work with Frugo for the next decade. Although he nearly died from a drug overdose in the early ' 80s (comatose for 3 months), Arroyo recovered and in 1981 Joe brought together the most talented musicians of the barranquila area to form his own group - La Verdad (the Truth) . Featuring Arroyo's songs and arrangements the band was an immediate succes . La Verdads eclectic arrangments and fusing of different Caribean and Latin music, Pancaribean salsa , Cuban son, Cumbia, Merengue, Zouk and Calypso.

Committed to the roots of his music, yet unafraid to introduce modern elements, Arroyo has established himself as both a great folk musicologist, and a vital contemporary voice. There are few in the ranks who can both present an indigenous style typically associated with staunch nationalism, and simultaneously show no one style preference over another, while performing everything with equal respect and grace.



01 - Yamulemao ( 4:26)
02 - Rebellion (6:11)
03 - Bam Bam (3:08)
04 - Mary (5:24)
05 - La Vuelta (5:11)
06 - Musa Original (6:02)
07 - El Coquero (3:05)
08 - El Maletero ( 4:17)
09 - Son Apretao (5:11)
10 - Echao Pa'Lante ( 4:05)
11 - Tumbatecho ( 4:21)
12 - En Horabuena ( 4:20)
13 - Pan De Arroz ( 4:12)
14 - De Clavel (3:27)
15 - El Barbero (3:16)
16 - Rosa Angelina (3:26)

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VA - Soca Train (84 * 98mb)

Soca, or soul calypso originated in Trinidad from calypso. It combines the melodic lilting sound of calypso with insistent (usually electronic) percussion. Soca music has evolved in the last 20 years primarily by musicians from Trinidad, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, and the Lesser Antilles.The reputed father of soca was Lord Shorty (born Garfield Blackman), whose 1963 recording of "Cloak and Dagger" started the trend. It would be *Lord Kitchener (calypsonian) who would begin the noticeable and accredited transition. Like calypso, soca was used for both social commentary and risqué humor, though the initial wave of soca acts eschewed the former. Like all things related to sexual freedom, it became embraced because of its ability to reflect what people were thinking and their desires. Well the Nottinghill Carnival is going on at the moment for those wanting to share some of the spirit of it this album will help you for sure....



01 - Arrow - Hot Hot Hot (7:05)
02 - Sparrow - Don't Back Back (5:44)
03 - Gypsy - Soca Train (6:00)
04 - Gabby - Boots (6:20)
05 - Explainer - Notting Hill (6:43)
06 - Crazy - Soca Tarzan (5:28)
07 - Kitchener - Sugar Bum Bum (4:57)
08 - Wildfire - The Tide Is Low (5:57)

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VA - Tropical Extravaganza   (flac 344mb)

More cruising the Caribbean with this cocktail of salsa and cumbia music.



01 - Chucho Nuncira Y La Fuerza Mayor - El Meneito (3:58)
02 - Mamduko - Sin Tu Amor (5:04)
03 - La Sonora Majestad - La Negra Tomasa (3:45)
04 - Los Timidos - Dame Un Besito (4:27)
05 - Alfredo Gutiérrez - El Palito (3:12)
06 - La Sonora Matancera - Ritmo Tambor Y Flores (4:35)
07 - Lisandro Meza - La Alfombra Verde (3:26)
08 - La Misma Gente - El Loco (6:00)
09 - Los Alpha 8 - La Salsa Llego (4:39)
10 - Medardo Y Su Orquesta - La Boda (3:08)
11 - Pocho Perez - El Negrito (3:56)
12 - Marqua Y Su Combo - Que Linda Te Ves (3:32)
13 - Salsa Blanca - Manuela (5:02)

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All downloads are in * ogg-7 (224k) or ^ ogg-9(320k), artwork is included , if in need get the nifty ogg encoder/decoder here !

Sunshine, Have a cigar

Hello, more Sunshine music from the hurricane belt, i hop via Haiti to Cuba and find the musical landscape considerably changed . No voodoo stuff or sweaty bongo stuff so popularised by cinema and tv and the stereo sellers of the sixties. Les Shleu Shleu build on what already was a great musical tradition, music, the caribbean seems full of it. Los Van Van, another jewel in the cuban music crown, as was Lazaro Ros, who died 2 years ago age 80, that makes him 70 when he recorded the album i present here, afro-cuban gold. Finally for David Byrne's label, Luaka Bop's selected a great collection, Dancing With the Enemy, a great mix of grooves that hits and catches the body in a way that elevates the mind, all made in Cuba during the '60s and '70s.

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Les Shleu Shleu - Tete Chauve
Los Van Van - Songo
Lazaro Ros & Mezcla - Cantos
VA - Cuba Classics, Dancing With The Enemy
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Les Shleu Shleu - Tete Chauve (1969 ^ 97mb)

Kompa direct, was the pop music of Haiti as it incorporated more effective American- and French-style pop structures spawned mini-jazz bands that became perhaps the first fully Haitian form of pure pop. It was on late 1965 when a group of students from Bas Peu-de-Shose an area in P-au-P created one of the most successful mini jazz band called Les Shleu-Shleu.The original members were Smith Jean Baptiste (drum),Garry Cassagnol (guitar),Hugues Djackaman (singer) and Edouard Crévecoeur (accordion). Les Shleu-Shleu recorded and released several great albums.

Accordions wheeze and bass guitars lope along in a two-step; clarinets and soprano saxes ebb & flow merrily on a tide of joie de vivre. There's good drumming and vocals, : they share a mood, invoking those tropical open-air clubs. On the surface it sounds like a dance, but one at the edge of desperation, clinging to wistful jazz melodies half-remembered, sudden tempo swings from upbeat to lethargic and back, desperate to forget your troubles and live in the moment. The title track of translates as "Bald Head in New York," probably a lot more common today than when this was recorded. Despite the ugly cover, Tete Chauve jaunts off swingingly, but then we really catch a fire with "Ceremonie Loa." Saxophonist Georges Loubert Chancy is the star, in my estimation.



01 - Tête Chauve a New York (3:48)
02 - Timidite (5:09)
03 - Mambo Instrumental (5:12)
04 - Cocoyer (5:22)
05 - Coeu Map Kimbe (4:33)
06 - Saint Valentin (5:47)
07 - Ceremonie Loa (6:44)
08 - Machan Yo (6:23)

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Los Van Van - Songo (89 99mb)

Los Van Van is a Cuban band led by bassist Juan Formell who foundecd the group back in 1969. They are considered to be one of Cuba's major timba acts, while Juan Formell has arguably become the most important figure in contemporary Cuban music. Juan Formell contributed countless innovations to the Cuban bass and clave, which paved the way for a radical reconceptualisation of rhythmic arrangements in Cuban music. The Van Van sound came to be known as songo (based on the songo rhythm), which laid the base for the later development of timba.

Using a charanga line-up as its base, Van Van added trombones and vocals. Their sound is a fusion of changui and son montuno with various types of music, including Afro-Cuban rhythms, rock.Los Van Van has consistently managed to adapt its style to the times, and remains, after 35 years, Cuba's most popular dance band. Along with pianist Cesar "Pupy" Pedroso, Juan Formell has written some of the most intriguing verses in popular dance music, including stories that run over several albums and with all types of social commentary. Both artists are undisputed masters of double-entendre in a musical culture where multiple meanings in lyrics are pervasive.



01 - La Titimania (5:17)
02 - Calla (5:37)
03 - Que Palo Es Ese (5:41)
04 - Sandunguera (Por Encima Del Nivel) (7:09)
05 - Muevete (Anda Ven Y Muevete) (7:30)
06 - Recaditos No (4:15)
07 - Ya Tu Campana No Suena (6:13)
08 - Y Que Tu Crees (5:35)

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Lazaro Ros & Mezcla - Cantos ( 95 ^ 91mb)

Ros was born in Havana, Cuba. His first major employ as a musician was in 1949, where he sang on Sunday afternoons for a radio station. After the 1959 revolution, he received international acclaim with the Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba (or National Folkloric Ensemble of Cuba) which allowed him to travel to France, Spain, and the United States. His music borrowed much from Africa, as he performed music of the of the Lucumí culture, of the Yoruba people from modern-day Nigeria, and of the Arará culture of the Dahomeyan people from modern-day Benin. Ros was largely self taught, and first learned to sing by learning the chants associated with Santería, a religion based in the Lucumí and Arará cultures. He also worked at the Cuban Institute of Ethnology and Folklore. He is recognized as a founder of Afro-Cuban rock He also recorded with a group called Olorun. In 2005, the year of his death, he was awarded the Orden Félix Varela First Degree, Cuba's highest cultural honour.



01 - Barasuayo (4:47)
02 - Ikiri Adda (4:39)
03 - Iya Maase Lobi Shango (5:03)
04 - Imbe Imbe (4:09)
05 - Akete Oba Oba (4:43)
06 - Adde Oya (4:27)
07 - Ibanlaye (4:26)
08 - Echubelekeo (4:11)

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VA - Cuba Classics 2: Dancing With The Enemy (91 * 99mb)

One of the first of Luaka Bop's many fine South American and Caribbean collections, Dancing With the Enemy features a fertile mix of modern, son-derived cuts made in Cuba during the '60s and '70s. The collection ranges from the classic acoustic-folk sound of Maria Teresa Vera's "Es No Es Na" and the vintage rumba stylings of Chapottin y Sus Estrellas' "La Guarapachanga," to the rock-inspired boogaloo and pop of Orquesta Reve. Also featuring choice mambo, descarga, and tipica sides, this 16-track disc will no doubt please students of modern Cuban music with credits that include Latin music innovators like Los Van Van, Celeste Mendoza, and Orquesta Riverside. Along with other important Luaka Bop compilations in the Brazil Classics series ( coming up later), Cuba Classics : Dancing with the Enemy is an essential record for fans of international music.



01 - Mi Rumba Echando Candela - Celeste Mendoza
02 - Eso No Es Na - Maria Teresa Vera
03 - Manzanillo - Orquesta Original De Manzanillo
04 - Yayabo - Orquesta Riverside
05 - La Guarapachanga - Chappottin Y Sus Estrellas
06 - Llegue Llegue / Guararey De Pastorita - Los Van Van
07 - No Me Llores - Conjunto Rumbavana
08 - Fifi Tete Y Popo - Orquesta Reve
09 - Fiesta Brava - Celeste Mendoza
10 - Saoco - Caridad Hierrezuelo Y Conjunto Caney
11 - Baile Usted Mi Son - Caridad Hierrezuelo Y Conjunto Caney
12 - Rumba Como Quiera - Los Zafiros
13 - Mis Compadres Puntean Son - Orquesta Pancho El Bravo
14 - Caminito De Zaza - El Jilguero De Cienfuegos
15 - Eres La Candela - Caridad Hierrezuelo/Caney
16 - Papa Ogun - Celeste Mendoza Y Los Papines

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All downloads are in * ogg-7 (224k) or ^ ogg-9(320k), artwork is included , if in need get the nifty ogg encoder/decoder here !

Sunshine, Sixties

Hello, my final Jamaican sunshine, where it all began, the sixties slums..shantytowns, the fight against poverty and violence, these artists managed to transcend, each in their own way. Sadly only one of the artist/prooducers i present here is still alive, Prince Buster . Joe Higgs reached 59 but the others died young, late thirties. Prince Buster was a hardhitter, ska his thing, yet i present his kinky side here, Joe Higgs was named the father of reggae , Jackie Mittoo and Don Drummond formed the Skatelittes but are here with 'solo' work . Chinese import Leslie Kong recorded and produced many a hit as this compilation shows, he died of a heart attack under strange circumstances. What to say about Bob, he wasnt a catholic, but a rastafari. B.t.w.  there's 3 original (rare) jamaican vinyls here.

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Prince Buster - Big Five
Joe Higgs - Life of Contradiction
Jackie Mittoo - Anthology
Don Drummond - Greatest Hits
Bob Marley - Early Days
VA - King Kong Compilation

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Prince Buster - Big Five ( 72 ^ 99mb)

Cecil Bustamente Campbell as a youth became interested in boxing and spent many hours sparring in local gyms. He had much promise as a boxer and won a good number of his fights. He also became interested in music which lead to him playing in a band. In 1961 he became a security man for Clement "Coxsone" Dodd who owned the Downbeat sound system, working with him on the open-air concerts. The "Trojan" Duke Reid and Sir Coxsone were battling it out in the sound system competitions. Buster did some DJ work with Coxone and took part in many fights that competition between sound systems and their devoted fans "rude boys" would bring. This fighting on numerous occasions earned him the title' Prince'.

By 1962 after recording himself on the Starlite label, Prince Buster released a production of the Folkes Brothers "Oh Carolina" , shortly followed a hit by Eric Morris with "Humpty Dumpty". These records were released on Emil Shalit's Melodisc record company which he formed in the 1940's. Due to the growth of Jamaican music and the new R & B sound, Shalit saw the need for a new label to concentrate on the new sound, the Blue Beat record label was born in 1960. For the first few years it enjoyed a monopoly in the U.K until the launch of Island records in 1962. The new sound that developed into Ska was sometimes referred to as Blue Beat because it mostly appeared on that label. Prince Buster either produced or recorded hundreds of records over the coming years.

Buster was an instant success and his records sold well, he eventually even had his own record shop " Buster's Record Shack. (His family still run the shop today). His early material was distinct from other music of that period, having an up tempo style with highly charged horny ska riffs dominated by cymbals. The Mods in Britain became very much interested in Buster's tracks and as they were on general release on the Blue Beat label, songs such as One Step Beyond, Madness, and Al Capone became big hits. Al Capone was the first Jamaican recorded song to enter the U.K top 20.

To change with the times Blue Beat was phased out and the more modern sounding FAB & Rainbow/Dice labels came out. Around 1970 the Prince Buster label was formed to try to revive the Melodisc group. Unfortunately, Prince Buster began to ease off with his recordings to concentrate on his juke-box business, and in 1977 Shalit wound up the Melodisc group. Prince Buster toured Europe & Britain regularly between 1962 and 1967 and appeared on the popular TV show Ready Steady Go in 1964, having just broken all records with a sell-out concert at Brixton Town Hall. He also toured the USA in 1967 with great success.

By the 1970s Buster had slowed down his career as a musician to focus on his business ventures. The ska sound was not as popular as it once was, but its influence was clearly felt in its descendants: rocksteady, which was slower than ska and more influenced by gospel and soul, and by rocksteady's better-known successor, reggae. By the late 1970s, Buster was in serious financial trouble. His business ventures were all posting losses or low profits, and the loans he had taken out to start them were catching up. Fortunately for him, ska was experiencing a revival in the United Kingdom. In 1979, the band Madness released its first record, a tribute to Buster called "The Prince", which urged ska fans to remember "the man who set the beat", stating "So I'll leave it up to you out there / To get him back on his feet." Interest in Buster soared during this time; he received royalties when his songs were covered by bands like The Specials, The (English) Beat, and Madness, and his old records were reissued and sold well. Between these boons, The Prince was indeed able to "get back on his feet."In the late seventies and early eighties he became an inspiration to the Two Tone bands.

Prince Buster is today living in Miami, Florida, USA, concentrating on his business interests.He still occasionaly performs, in fact he was at a festival in Belgium earlier this month.

Big Five album must rank among the sauciest albums ever released by an established artist, the title track on the music of rainy night in georgia finds better ways to spend the time "Right now I'm feeling sexy , Want a big, fat pussy this December night, Today I smoke an ounce of weed, Tonight I'm gonna plant a seed, In her wump, alright " (refrain), my favourite here, the one i spon many a time "the virgin ". Unsurprisingly, hypocrites are us haven't issued this one on CD, reason enough for me to accomodate here.



01 - Big 5 (3:36)
02 - Kinky Griner (2:05)
03 - Leave Your Man (2:32)
04 - Give Her (2:25)
05 - Bald Head Pum Pum (2:47)
06 - At The Cross (2:35)
07 - Fishey Fishey (3:21)
08 - The Virgin (3:23)
09 - Black Pum Bum (3:18)
10 - Every Man Pum Pum (2:25)
11 - Tonight (2:29)
12 - Wash The Pum Pum (2:25)
Xs - Pick of the bunch EP
13 - Ride A Donkey (2:05)
14 - African Rock (3:20)
15 - Cleopatra (3:21)
16 - Take It Easy (3:33)

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Joe Higgs - Life of Contradiction (75 now in Flac 224mb)

Jamaican singer Joe Higgs, known as "The Father of Reggae Music," died of cancer December 1999, at the age of 59. Higgs was hugely influential in the birth of the ska, rock steady and reggae forms of Jamaican music, and was widely respected as a composer, arranger and performer, but perhaps most of all as a teacher. Among those he trained were Bob Marley, Derrick Harriott, Peter Tosh, the Wailing Souls and Bunny Wailer.

Higgs' debut single, made with partner Roy Wilson, as the duo Higgs and Wilson, was "Oh Manny Oh," and sold over 50,000 copies in Jamaica in 1960. This first single led to his signing by Edward Seaga, who later became Jamaica's Prime Minister during the 1980s. In 1964, after releasing a good dozen of singles with Higgs, Roy Wilson departed for the United States. That same year Higgs recorded "There's A Reward For Me," for producer Coxson Dodd's Studio One, a song that became an instant classic of suffering and hope. It was in Higgs' Trench Town yard that the young Bob Marley received years of private tutoring in vocal technique and stage craft from Higgs, years before he began recording with his group, the Wailers. Marley later admitted that "Joe Higgs was a genius," crediting him for his international musical success. He joined Marley and Tosh on their first american tour , replacing bunny wailer. After 2 dozen of singles as a solo artist , "Life of Contradiction" was his first album released in 1975.

In the 1977 reggae documentary film "Roots Rock Reggae," Higgs told director Jeremy Marre that "Reggae is a confrontational sound. Freedom - that's what it's asking for. Acceptance - that's what it needs." "Unity Is Power" followed in 1979. His 1983 single, "So It Go," which called attention to the plight of the poor who have no mentors in high places, caused Higgs political problems with the ruling party in Jamaica, and he left for Los Angeles, where he lived in a self-imposed exile until his death. During his last 15 years, he had resumed his unofficial career as tutor and mentor to a new generation of American-based reggae musicians, and continued to tour the world, headlining festivals throughout North America and Europe. Later albums included 1990's "Blackman Know Yourself," backed by the Wailers Band.

A majority of Higgs' songs were connected to his impoverished life in Trenchtown where he grew up. Higgs considered that it was out of the poverty and violence of Kingston's shantytowns such as Trenchtown and Johnstown that the reggae music had grown. Before reggae hit big on the western music scene with Bob Marley, it was understood as a "ghetto music". Higgs was the very first artist out the ghetto music scene to have lyrics which primarily dealt with every day troubles. In his own words, "the music originated from the confrontation of the struggle...



01 - Come On Home
02 - Got To Make A Way
03 - Wake Up And Live
04 - Life Of Contradiction
05 - Who Brought Down The Curtains
06 - There's A Reward
07 - Hard Times Don't Bother Me
08 - My Baby Still Loves Me
09 - She Was The One
10 - Song My Enemy Sings

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Jackie Mittoo - Anthology ( ^ 63mb)

Jackie Mittoo was among the true legends of reggae - a founding member of The Skatalites and an extraordinarily prolific songwriter, he was perhaps most influential as a mentor to countless younger performers, primarily through his work as the musical director at the famed Studio One.The keyboardist began learning to play the piano at the age of four under the tutelage of his grandmother. In the 1960s he was a member of The Skatalites, The Rivals, The Sheiks, The Soul Brothers and The Soul Vendors.

He emigrated to Toronto, Canada at the end of the 1960s. There he recorded three albums, Wishbone, Reggae Magic and Let's Put It All Together , set up the Stine-Jac label, as well as running a record store. He had a hit with Wishbone in 1971.
Mittoo continued to record for Jamaican producers in the 1970s, mostly for Bunny Lee. During the next decade, he worked regularly with Sugar Minott as well. In 1989, Mittoo joined the reunited Skatalites, but health problems soon forced him to bow out.Mittoo entered hospital on 12 December and died of cancer on 16 December 1990, he was forty two years old.



01 - Hairy Mary
02 - Stero Freeze
03 - Hot Tamale
04 - Elenor Rigby
05 - Get Up And Get It
06 - Sunshine Of Your Love
07 - Change The Mood
08 - Black Out
09 - Soul Ride

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Don Drummond - Greatest Hits ( pre 65 flac 70mb) reassembled from cd

Don Drummond, aka Don Cosmic, was born in 1932, Kingston, Jamaica. Like all legends, nothing seems to known about his early days, men like Don D are just here for a short while, then gone… In 1940's Jamaica, big band swing and jazz ruled, and the starting place for musicians was the Eric Dean Orchestra. Drummond joined them in 1955 after having been voted best trombonist in 1954, and later formed The Don Drummond Four.
He was also cutting specials for sound systems before being spotted by Clement 'Coxone' Dodd, performing at the Majestic Theatre. Coxone was impressed enough to take Drummond on him as a solo artist and session player. In the meantime, the specials Drummond had previously cut were starting to be released commercially in Jamaica and England to critical acclaim. Drummond started his recording career sometime around 1956, with his first record being "On the Beach" with Owen Grey on vocals.
In 1962, Chris Blackwell started releasing recordings in England, and many of Drummond’s compositions first saw the light of day on the Island and Black Swan labels. Drummond recorded over 200 songs.

In 1964, Studio One's musical director Jackie Mittoo began to assemble the best musicians in Jamaica to create a sound that would dominate the music scene for years to come. The seeds for the Skatalites were sown Drummond was the man Mittoo turned to, and he quickly became the most prolific composer and musician in the band. Late in 1964, "Man in the Street" entered the UK top 10, and later, in 1967 Drummond’s adaptation of the theme to the film "The Guns Of Navarone" gives him his second UK Top 10. These events confirm Drummond’s rise to the top and he is named as one of the five top trombonists in the world.Don Drummond was not just a genius. Drummond’s prestige among other musicians carried with it the hopes and dreams of all of Jamaica’s shantytown musicians. This was an incredible stress on a man whose life hovered between eccentricity and manic depression. New years morning 1965 his career came to a full stop, after he apparently without much cause stabbed to death his lover, exotic dancer Anita Mahfood. He was convicted and sent to a mental institution where he died 4 years later, officialy suicide but many believed he was murdered.

Recorded at Treasure Isle (Kingston, JA) by Duke Reid and backed by the Skatellites this rare vinyl album is a real treat . As it is rather short 25 min. i set it to minimum compression, 400kps quality and it sounds just great..pick it up !



01 - Corner Stone (2:31)
02 - Musical Communion (3:05)
03 - Mesopotamia (3:02)
04 - Cool Smoke (3:04)
05 - Burning Torch (2:58)
06 - Alipang (3:06)
07 - Don Memorial (2:54)
08 - Stampede (2:57)
09 - Thorough fare (2:59)

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

VA - King Kong Compilation (68-70) ( 81 * 82mb)

Leslie Kong and his brothers (Fats and Cecil) used to run a restaurant, ice-cream parlour and record shop named Beverley's in Orange street, Kingston. In 1961, he met Jimmy Cliff singing outside of his shop; this encounter led him to decide to launch his own label "Beverley's" and to record Cliff's first song "Dearest Beverley", launching his career. In 1962, he recorded Bob Marley's first singles: "One Cup of Coffee" and "Judge Not", and Jimmy Cliff's hit, "Miss Jamaica". Throughout the 60s he kept on recording many Jamaican artists from ska to reggae through rocksteady including Joe Higgs, Desmond Dekker, Toots & The Maytals. A wise businessman, Kong made from 1963 a licence deal with Chris Blackwell's Island Records subdivision "Black Swan" label, and with Trojan Records by the end of the 60s. Kong is also known for being the first Jamaican producer to get international hits with long-time collaborator Desmond Dekker, in 1967 with "007 (Shanty Town)" and above all in 1969 with "Israelites" which topped the UK Charts in April 1969 and went to number nine on the US charts in July 1969, selling over two million copies

Throughout his career, Kong employed the best musicians in town as a session band under the name of "The Beverley's Allstars" . Leslie Kong died of a heart attack, aged 38, in August 1971, after being allegedly 'cursed' by Peter Tosh of The Wailers over a dispute about the release of an album , better said it's title ' The Best of the Wailers; they believed that such a title was premature, saying that their best music was yet to come. Hmm, no CSI back then...



01 - Desmond Dekker & the Aces - Israelites (2:45)
02 - The Maytals - Monkey Girl (2:44)
03 - The Melodians - Sweet Sensation (3:39)
04 - Ken Boothe - Freedom Street (2:48)
05 - Tyrone Evans - Let Them Talk (3:10)
06 - The Pioneers - Sampie Man (3:03)
07 - The Melodians - It's My Delight (3:10)
08 - The Maytals - Peeping Tom (3:13)
09 - The Melodians - Rivers Of Babylon (4:11)
10 - Delroy Wilson - Gave You My Love (2:47)
11 - Bruce Ruffin - Bitterness Of Life (2:51)
12 - Ansel Collins- Night Flight (3:08)
13 - The Pioneers - Long Shot Kick The Bucket (2:47)
14 - Desmond Dekker & the Aces - It Mek ( 2:25)
15 - Ken Boothe - Why Baby Why (2:22)
16 - The Maytals - Monkey Man (3:27)

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

 Bob Marley - Early Days 1+2 ( flac 457mb)

Marley was born feb 45 , his father, Norval Sinclair Marley was a Jamaican of English descent, a Marine officer and captain, as well as a plantation overseer, when he married Cedella Booker, a black Jamaican then eighteen years old. Norval provided financial support for his wife and child, but seldom saw them, as he was often away on trips. Marley was ten years old when his father died of a heart attack. Thereupon Marley and his mother moved to Kingston's Trenchtown slum . He was forced to learn self-defense, as he became the target of bullying because of his racial makeup and small stature (5'4" or 163 cm tall). Marley became friends with Neville "Bunny" Livingston with whom he started to play music. He left school at the age of 14 and started as an apprentice at a local welder's shop. In his free time, he and Livingston made music with Joe Higgs, a local singer and devout Rastafari who is regarded by many as Marley's mentor. It was at a jam session with Higgs and Livingston that Marley met Peter McIntosh (Peter Tosh).

In 1962, Marley recorded his first two singles, "Judge Not" and "One Cup of Coffee", with local music producer Leslie Kong. These songs attracted little attention. In 1963, Bob Marley, Bunny Livingston, Peter McIntosh, Junior Braithwaite, Beverley Kelso, and Cherry Smith formed a ska and rocksteady group, calling themselves "The Teenagers". They later changed their name to "The Wailing Rudeboys", then to "The Wailing Wailers", and finally to "The Wailers". By 1966, Braithwaite, Kelso, and Smith had left The Wailers, leaving the core trio of Marley, Livingston, and McIntosh. Marley took on the role of leader, singer, and main songwriter. Much of The Wailers' early work, including their first single Simmer Down, was produced by Coxsone Dodd at Studio One. Simmer Down topped Jamaican Charts in 1964 and established The Wailers as one of the hottest groups in the country. They followed up with songs such as "Soul Rebel" and "400 Years". After a conflict with Dodd, Marley and his band teamed up with Lee "Scratch" Perry and his studio band, The Upsetters. Although the alliance lasted less than a year, they recorded what many consider The Wailers' finest work.

The Wailers' first album, Catch A Fire, was released worldwide in 1973, and sold well. It was followed a year later by Burnin', which included the songs "Get Up, Stand Up" and "I Shot The Sheriff". Eric Clapton made a hit cover of "I Shot the Sheriff" in 1974, raising Marley's international profile.The Wailers broke up in 1974 with each of the three main members going on to pursue solo careers.

In 1975, Marley had his international breakthrough with his first hit outside Jamaica, "No Woman, No Cry" from the Natty Dread album. This was followed by his breakthrough album in the US, Rastaman Vibration (1976). In December 1976, two days before "Smile Jamaica", a free concert organized by the Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley, Marley, his wife, and manager Don Taylor were wounded in an assault by unknown gunmen inside Marley's home. Taylor and Marley's wife sustained serious injuries, but later made full recoveries. Bob Marley received only minor injuries in the chest and arm and performed at the concert. Marley left Jamaica at the end of 1976 for England, where he recorded his Exodus and Kaya albums. It was here that he was arrested and received a conviction for possession of a small quantity of cannabis while traveling in London. Survival, a defiant and politically charged album, was released in 1979. Uprising (1980) was Bob Marley's final studio album, and is one of his most religious productions, including "Redemption Song" and "Forever Loving Jah".

July 1977, Marley was found to have malignant melanoma in his big toe. Marley refused amputation, citing worries that the operation would affect his dancing, as well as the Rastafari belief that the body must be "whole": This belief may have cost him his life as the cancer spread until may 81 when he died of it. Bob Marley fathered 13 children (2 adopted) the last one having been born 3 weeks after his death, N.B. spring 72 Bob managed to father 3 sons within a month..go figure well the tabloids werent interested in him in those days..

Bob Marley's music has continuously grown in popularity in the years since his death, providing a stream of revenue for his estate and affording him a mythical status in 20th century music history. He remains enormously popular and well-known all over the world, particularly so in Africa. Marley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Time magazine chose Bob Marley & The Wailers' Exodus as the greatest album of the 20th century.

Over the years many compilation albums of his sixties work have been released, the one i present here gives a nice overview with a good soundquality.




101 Trenchtown Rock 2:56
102 Lively Up Yourself 2:48
103 Sun Is Shining 2:10
104 Kaya 2:37
105 Duppy Conqueror 3:36
106 It's Alright 2:33
107 Fussing And Fighting 2:24
108 More Axe 3:26
109 Don't Rock My Boat 4:27
110 Do It Twice 2:39
111 Memphis 1:29
112 Copasetic 3:02
113 Mr. Brown 3:30
114 Love Light Shinning 2:35
115 Dreamland 2:42
116 Man To Man - Who The Cap Fit 3:29
117 Long Long Winter 2:56
118 400 Years 2:31
201 Mr. Chatterbox 2:17
202 Keep On Skanking 3:24
203 Soul Rebel 3:17
204 Cheer Up 2:00
205 Stop The Train 2:17
206 Mellow Mood 2:34
207 Go Tell It On The Mountain 3:12
208 Jah Is Mighty 2:23
209 Picture On The Wall 2:54
210 Rainbow Country 5:42
211 This Train 2:33
212 Downpresser 3:09
213 Concrete Jungle 3:08
214 Caution 2:40
215 Corner Stone 2:23
216 Dracula 2:51
217 Can't You See 2:41
218 I Like It Like This 2:47

***** ***** ***** ***** *****
All downloads are in * ogg-7 (224k) or ^ ogg-9(320k), artwork is included , if in need get the nifty ogg encoder/decoder here !

Sunshine, Seventies 'Clash'

Hello, Sunshine 'clashes' from the seventies, todays names have all worked and argued with each other at one time, those were the ways back then in Jamaica..Everyone trying to do their own thing, and yet they a realised a creative music scene that produced a constant stream of music, some of which even made outside the border. Unfortunely the jamaican music biz dynamics often begat mistrust and caused financiel disagreements and if that werent enough the artists were targeted by criminals aswell, this caused Peter Tosh his life, the same happened to my first presentation here Prince Far I . Big Youth managed to coast and toast thru it all till this date, Lee Perry 'scratched his own niche as it where, but his maniacal ways got him recognised as a mad music genius aswell enemies. Burning Spear has gotten the most recognition of themusic industry after dropping some of his edge which made him stand out and loved by the reggaefans in the seventies. Joe Gibbs released some dubmusic together with his (studio) Professionals but as a producer together sound engineer Errol Thompson, "The Mighty Two", had lots of succes with a string of musicians , until his biggest hit ruined him. Sir Coxsone Dodd played a major role in the development of the Jamaican music scene, his Studio One being the starting point of many a career, Bob Marley to name one. Obviously the Heptones started out there aswell .

***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Prince Far I - Silver & Gold 1973-1979
Big Youth - Dreadlocks Dread
Lee Perry - The Upsetter BoxSet
Burning Spear - Marcus Garvey / Garvey's Ghost
Joe Gibbs and The Professionals - Majestic Dub
VA - Best of Studio One
The Heptones - In Love With You
***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Prince Far I - Silver and Gold 1973-1979 ( 05 * 256mb)

Prince far I ( Michael James Williams) actually started his career in the sound systems, DJing that didn't pay the bills, however, and the young man also worked as a security guard at Joe Gibbs' studio. Eventually, he was then employed by Coxsone Dodd as a bouncer for the producer's own Studio One sound system. There the bouncer got to take the mic standing in, the end result was the "Queen of the Minstrel" released under the moniker King Cry Cry,

The career progressed slowly and as the titles to his early singles show, he had yet to find his true voice. Even after producer Enos McLeod recommended changing his name to Prince Far I -- the Voice of Thunder, under which name he was credited on the "Let Jah Arise" single, the performer had yet to set the island alight. He did, however, chalk up another minor hit with the Coxsone Dodd-produced "Natty Farmyard," It wasn't until 1976 that Prince Far I recorded his debut album, Psalms for I. Produced by Lloydie Slim, it comprised ten tracks in all -- the Lord's Prayer and nine psalms, across which the artist first previewed the sermon-esque deliveries that would become his trademark.Producer Joe Gibbs finally supplied the missing ingredient in 1977 for the seminal single "Heavy Manners." Utilizing the rhythm from Naggo Morris' "Su Su Pon Rasta," the producer spun a deeply dubby sound, the bass line as heavy as a rhinoceros and just as dangerous. Over this fierce, dread backing, Prince Far I sarcastically addressed the trenchant of laws enacted by the government to stem the tide of violence that had covered the island. On his new album, Under Heavy Manners, Prince Far I delivered Rastafarian diatribes and scathing political comments, supported by The Roots Radics that laid down the thunderous rhythms, from which Gibbs created the doom-laden, dread-laced atmosphere. It got him a cult following in europe and a deal with the Virgin label's subsidiary Front Line. The first fruits of this new union appeared in 1978 with the Message From the King album. Self-produced, the record was nearly the equal to its predecessor.

Prince Far I launched his own label, Cry Tough in 1978, as a home for his own work and for other artists with a similar philosophy. Utilizing the superlative Roots Radics (who appear as the Arabs), Cry Tough unleashed a stream of ferocious singles.Meanwhile back in Britain, Adrian Sherwood, established his own Hit Run label, domestically releasing Cry Tuff singles. In 1979, Health and Strength should have been released, but wasn't because the master tapes disappeared from Front Line's London office, the album remained lost until 1998. In that year, a former employee came across an old cassette he had dubbed previous to the tapes vanishing. Prince Far I obviously was not very happy with Front Line and having now fulfilled his contract with them, he moved on.. To Trojan but from then on he would work alongside Adrian Sherwood. with the Creation Rebel and Singers and Players, he recorded a number of singles between 1979 and 1981, as well as the album Prince Far I & Singers and Players, which was released on Sherwood's new label On-U. (The Roots Radics, aka the Arabs, aka Dub Syndicate.also recorded for On U)

The following year's Voice of Thunder , with "Ten Commandments" of particular note is released aswell as the third and fourth volumes of Cry Tuff Dub Encounter featuring further scintillating voyages into the heaviest of dub's doom. In 1982, Prince Far I collaborated with the British band Sons of Arqa for the "Wadada Magic" single. Later that same year, the group and artist paired again during the Jamaican's British tour, this time on-stage in Manchester for a stunning show captured on The Musical Revue album. Prince Far I returned to Jamaica and released his final album in the new year, Musical History. The plans for future recordings with the Sons of Arqa never came about as on September 15, 1983, Prince Far I's lfe came to an abrupt end when he was killed during a robbery at his home. In 1991, Adrian Sherwood sampled some of the artist's old vocals for the Dub Syndicate's album, Stoned Immaculate. The band even took him on tour in 1996 and again, through the magic of sampling, Prince Far I lived on providing the thunderous vocals to the group's musical set.

01 - Johnny Get Worse (3:01)
02 - Yes Joshua (3:19)
03 - Let Jah Arise (3:09)
04 - Jah Dub Version (3:13)
05 - Silver & Gold (3:03)
06 - Silver & Gold Version (3:05)
07 - 354 Skank (4:01)
08 - 354 Version (3:57)
09 - Things Nuh Bright (3:12)
10 - Equality Version (3:10)
11 - Who Have Eyes To See (3:21)
12 - Ears To Hear Version (3:31)
13 - Talking Rights (2:32)
14 - Talking Rights Version (2:29)
15 - No More War (3:37)
16 - War Is Over (3:39)
17 - Gimme (2:44)
18 - Gimme Version (2:51)
19 - Yes Yes Yes (12" Mix) (7:41)

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Big Youth - Dreadlocks Dread ( 75 ^ 73mb)

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, on April 19, 1949, Manley Augustus Buchanan had his moniker long before he had picked up a mic. He was named Big Youth by his co-workers at the Kingston Sheraton hotel, where the tall teen was employed as a mechanic. After a number of misses with several producers he finally scored with "The Killer" single, a DJ toast over the rootsy Augustus Pablo number, and the result was magnificent, followed up with "Tippertone Rocking, another major hit.Big Youth was now in demand and a number of hits followed. Big Youth's debut album, Screaming Target, arrived in 1973. produced by Gussie Clarke, was stuffed with classic rhythms, and filled with hits.

In 1975, the Dreadlocks Dread album appeared, accompanied by Skin, Flesh & Bones Band, the album remains a masterpiece of dread roots and provocative cultural toasts. Dreadlocks Dread had a massive impact on the U.K., where it was picked up by the Klik label and prompted Big Youth to tour there the following year. 1976 brought two albums in its wake, Natty Cultural Dread and Hit the Road Jack, both self-produced by a self-confident Big Youth at the peak of his powers. Again the albums featured a clutch of Jamaican smashes -Having now signed to the Frontline label in the U.K., Big Youth's debut album for the Virgin subsidiary was 1978's Isaiah First Prophet of Old. The thoughtful and thought-provoking DJ, as his records proved time and time again began to be seen as too radical for Virgin, and the label chose not to release the DJ's next two albums, Progress and Rock Holy. Nor did they pick up on the former's dub companion, the excellent Reggae Gi Dem Dub.

Big Youth continued to record, but no longer ruled the charts, and most of his singles were now self-produced and released through his own labels. He remained in the pictuure performing at the big festivals-too muchacclaim, guest starred on many
an album thru the nineties . The new millennium saw the release in the U.K. of the compilation Tell It Black, a two-CD set that rounds up 31 seminal songs from 1972-1975. But that pales next to Natty Universal Dread, released by the British Blood & Fire label that same year. Three albums and a total of 51 tracks brilliantly wrap up the best from 1973-1979 and include a clutch of Negusa Negast singles that have never been reissued.

01 - Train To Rhodesia ( 3:31)
02 - House Of Dread Locks ( 3:15)
03 - Lightning Flash (Weak Heart Drop) ( 3:18)
04 - Natty Dread She Want ( 3:16)
05 - Some Like It Dread ( 3:00)
06 - Marcus Garvey Dread ( 3:00)
07 - Big Youth Special ( 2:27)
08 - Dread Organ ( 3:00)
09 - Black Man Message ( 2:50)
10 - You Don't Care ( 2:34)
11 - Moving On ( 3:05)

***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Lee Perry - The Upsetter BoxSet

Lee Perry is a towering figure in reggae , some call him a genius, others claim he's a madman. Truth is, he's both, but more importantly, -- a producer, mixer, and songwriter who, along with King Tubby, helped shape the sound of dub and made reggae music such a powerful part of the pop music world. Along with producing some of the most influential acts (Bob Marley & the Wailers and the Congos to name but two) in reggae history, Perry's approach to production and dub mixing was breathtakingly innovative and audacious -- no one else sounds like him -- others may have invented dub, many argue that no one experimented with it or took it further than did Lee Perry.

Perry began his surrealistic musical odyssey in the late '50s, working with ska man Prince Buster selling records for Clement "Coxsone" Dodd's Downbeat Sound System. Soon he was producing and recording for Dodd at the center of the Jamaican music industry, Studio One. After a falling out with Dodd , Perry went to work at Wirl Records with Joe Gibbs, but not much chemistry there either so in 1968, Perry left to form his own label, called Upsetter. The first release on Upsetter was a single entitled "People Funny Boy," which sold extremely well in Jamaica, it was the first Jamaican pop record to use the loping, lazy, bass-driven beat that would soon become identified as the reggae "riddim" and signal the shift from the hyperkinetically upbeat ska to the pulsing, throbbing languor of "roots" reggae.

From this point through the 1970s, Perry released an astonishing amount of work under his name and numerous, pseudonyms he came a major force in reggae music together with his band the upsetters they worked with every performer in Jamaica. He started his own studio the black ark . Where he recorded marley and the wailers who were subsequently pick up bt Island leaving Perry standing. All the hard work in the seventies didnt do his mental state much good and it is said that he burned down the black ark studio himself as he was convinced satan had taken up resedency there..

These days he lives in switserland and produces and creates his psychedelic brew of music. Over the years a number of compilations have been released some not so good, and many of Perry's tapes were stolen. Some of these recordings have shown up on poorly mastered, and expensive, anthologies. This one however is all Trojan






Lee Perry - The Upsetter Box (Africa's Blood 72, Rhythm )   ( 85 ^ 401mb )

Africa's Blood
101 - Do Your Thing (Ft.Dave Barker )
102 - Dreamland
103 - Long Sentence
104 - Not Guilty
105 - Cool And Easy
106 - Well Dread - Version 3 (Ft.Addis Ababa Children )
107 - My Girl
108 - Sawdust
109 - Place Called Africa - Version 3 (Ft.Winston Prince)
110 - Isn't It Wrong (Ft The Hurricanes)
111 - Go Slow
112 - Bad Luck
113 - Move Me
114 - Surplus
Rhythm Shower
115 - Tighten Up (Ft.Dillinger )
116 - Django Shoots First (Ft.Sir Lord Comic )
117 - Uncle Charley
118 - Sokup
119 - Double Power
120 - Lover Version



201 - Rumpelsteelskin
202 - Skanking (Ft.Dillinger )
203 - Kuchy Skank
204 - Connection (Ft.Dillinger )
205 - Operation
Double Seven
206 - Kentucky Skank (Ft.Lee Perry )
207 - Double Six (Ft.U-Roy)
208 - Just Enough To Keep Me Hanging On (Ft.David Isaacs )
209 - In The Iaah
210 - Jungle Lion
211 - We Are Neighbours (Ft.David Isaacs )
212 - Soul Man (Ft.Lee Perry)
213 - Stick Together (Ft.U-Roy)
214 - High Fashion (Ft.I-Roy)
215 - Long Sentence
216 - Hail Stones (Ft.I-Roy)
217 - Ironside
218 - Cold Weather
219 - Wrap You Waa

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Burning Spear - Marcus Garvey + Garvey's Ghost ( 75/76 )

One of the most brilliant and respected roots artists in Jamaica's history, Burning Spear (aka Winston Rodney) has unleashed a host of classic dread records over the years. Part Rastafarian preacher, part black historian, more than any other roots artist, Burning Spear has illuminated Rastafarianism in song, sharing his beliefs with an avid public.

It was Bob Marley, who set Rodney off to Kingston and a fateful meeting with Studio One head Coxsone Dodd. Rodney with singing partner Rupert Willington in tow, auditioned three songs for the producer. Dodd immediately picked one, "Door Peep," as the pair's debut. Before its release, however, Rodney chose the name Burning Spear for the duo. It was a moniker heavy with history and had formerly been bestowed upon Jomo Kenyatta, the Mau Mau leader who eventually became the president of Kenya.

Soon after "Door Peep" landed in the shops, Burning Spear expanded to a trio with the enlistment of Delroy Hinds. It was with this lineup that Burning Spear released a series of singles on Studio One, including the 1972 Jamaican smash hit "Joe Frazier (He Prayed)." The following year brought the group's debut album, Studio One Presents Burning Spear, with Rocking Time coming hard on its heels in 1974. Rodney's lyrics were pregnant with emotions, righteous anger at oppression, but aglow with a deep sense of spirituality. In 1975, they split with Dodd and joined forces with producer Jack Ruby. Their initial session produced immediate results; "Marcus Garvey," meant for sound system play only, was so successful that Ruby was forced to release it as a single. Its follow-up, "Slavery Days," proved its predecessor was no fluke. Inevitably, Dodd sought to take advantage of his former trio's new-found popularity and released a clutch of singles in response, taken from Spear's earlier sessions with him. Meanwhile, the group began recording the Marcus Garvey album, one of the greatest Jamaica has ever unleashed. Its heavy roots sound, dreamy, haunting atmospheres, and powerful lyrics capture the imagination and never let go. It was after the album took Jamaica by storm that the Island label stepped in and signed Burning Spear. However, they immediately outraged the trio by remixing the record for white consumption. Thereupon Rodney set up his own label, Spear in order to keep control of his work.

By the end of 76, after the succesful follow up album Man in the Hills, Rodney broke not just with producer Ruby but with his two bandmates. Retaining the Burning Spear name, the singer now set out on his own and self-produced his next album, Dry and Heavy. By now, Burning Spear had amassed a sizeable following in the U.K. and in October of 1977, Rodney made his first appearance in the country, backed by the local reggae band Aswad

1985's Resistance, was the first album in a string of Grammy nominations which lasted till the end of the century, obviously his work had lost some edge , his live pressence however was as vivid as ever. Spear started his own record label, Burning Spear Records, and released Freeman in 2003, followed by the hopeful Our Music in 2005.

Now there's choice here, Burning Spear - Marcus Garvey + Garvey's Ghost 210k quality in one 100mb download or Marcus Garvey, Garvey's Ghost seperately in 320+k quality



Burning Spear - Marcus Garvey ( 75 ^ 373mb )

01 - Marcus Garvey (3:26)
02 - Slavery Days (3:32)
03 - The Invasion (3:19)
04 - Live Good (3:12)
05 - Give Me (3:09)
06 - Old Marcus Garvey (4:01)
07 - Tradition (3:30)
08 - Jordan River (2:58)
09 - Red, Gold & Green (3:12)
10 - Resting Place (3:08)
11 - The Ghost (3:54)
12 - I And I Survive (3:53)
13 - Black Wa-Da-Da (3:52)
14 - John Burns Skank (3:47)
15 - Brain Food (3:11)
16 - Farther East of Jack (4:26)
17 - 2000 Years (3:46)
18 - Dread River (3:12)
19 - Workshop (4:32)
20 - Reggaelation (3:41)

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Joe Gibbs and The Professionals - Majestic Dub ( ' 78 ^156mb)

After some time spent in the US as an electronic engineer, Gibbs went back to Kingston, and opened a repair TV shop where he soon started to sell records. The fast growth of the local music scene encouraged him to be more involved in the business, and in 1967 he started to record some artists in the back of his shop with a two-track tape machine with Lee Perry aboard who just dropped out with Dodd.
After Perry went away to set his own label "Upsetters", Gibbs enrole the young Winston "Niney" Holness (later known as Niney The Observer) who helped maintain Gibbs' production on the top of the charts. During the rock steady period til 1970, he met success with numerous smashing hits. He made a perfect switch into the reggae sound with his first international success "Love of the Common People" by Nicky Thomas In 1972, Gibbs set up a new one studio and started to work with the sound engineer Errol Thompson, for what is considered as one of the most prolific collaboration in the reggae history. Together, known as "The Mighty Two", along with his studio band known as The Professionals (that includes bassist Robbie Shakespeare, drummer Sly Dunbar and guitarist Earl "Chinna" Smith) they produced hundreds of singles.

The classic 1977 Culture album Two Sevens Clash is probably Gibbs' most internationally acclaimed production but there's been many more.too long to list here. Then in 1980 disaster struck:Gibbs had a monster international hit with J.C. Lodge's hit of "Someone Loves You Honey". Unfortunately, he never paid a cent of royalties to the song's writer, Charley Pride, who sued and won. Unable to pay the huge settlement ordered by the Court, Gibbs went out of business.

These days his son Carl, thru the rocky one label, is reissuing works of his enormous catalogue.



01 - Ten Commandments ( 3:20)
02 - Majestic Dub ( 3:04)
03 - Social Justice (3:47)
04 - Kings Of Dub (2:46)
05 - Bionic Encounter ( 5:48)
06 - Edward The Eight (3:25)
07 - International Treaty (3:05)
08 - Martial Law (2:57)
09 - Nations Of Dub (3:10)
10 - Embargo (3:50)

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

VA - Best of Studio One ( 85 ^ 98mb)

Clement Seymour "Sir Coxsone" Dodd used to play records to the customers in his parents' shop. During a spell in the South of the United States he became familiar with the rhythm and blues music so popular there at the time. In 1954, back in Jamaica, he set up the Downbeat Sound System, being the owner of a amplifier, a turntable, and some U.S. records, which he would import from New Orleans and Miami. Dodd opened five different sound systems, each playing every night. To run his sound systems, Dodd appointed people like Lee "Scratch" Perry, who was Dodd's right hand man during his early career, U-Roy and Prince Buster. When the R&B craze ended in the United States, Dodd and his rivals were forced to begin recording their own Jamaican music in order to meet the local demand for new music, thus in 1959 he founded a record company called World Disc.
In 1963 Dodd opened Studio One in Brentford Road, Kingston. It was the first black-owned recording studio in Jamaica. He held regular Sunday evening auditions in search of new talent, and it was here he discovered Bob Marley, singing as a part of The Wailers. He gave the group a five-year exclusive contract, paying them £20 for each song they recorded. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the "Studio One sound" was virtually synonymous with the sound of ska and rocksteady, and Dodd attracted some of the best of Jamaican talent to his stable during this time, including eventual legends such as Winston "Burning Spear" Rodney, Delroy Wilson, Horace Andy and Sugar Minott.

He continued to be active in the music business into his seventies, and on Friday, May 1, 2004 Kingston's Brentford Road was renamed Studio One Boulevard in a ceremony which paid tribute to his accomplishments as a producer. He died suddenly of a heart attack four days later while working at Studio One.



01 - Cables, The - Baby Why
02 - Termites, The - My Last Love
03 - Marcia Griffiths - Melody Life
04 - Alton Ellis - Can I Change My Mind
05 - Johnny Osbourne - Jah Promise
06 - Michigan & Smiley - Rub A Dub Style
07 - Dennis Brown - Impossible
08 - Heptones, The - Party Time
09 - Larry Marshall -Throw Me Corn
10 - Slim Smith - Born To Love
11 - Gladiators, The - Roots Natty
12 - Sugar Minott - Oh Mr. D.C.
13 - Judah Tarafi Eskender - Rastafari Tell You
14 - Wailing Souls - Row Fisherman Row

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The Heptones - In Love With You (77 ^ 69mb)

The Heptones were formed in Kingston in 1965, with a lineup of Sibbles, Barry Llewellyn, and Earl Morgan. At first they called themselves the Hep Ones, but a one-word name seemed to make more sense to fans, and the change was made accordingly. Things started to take off for the group in 1966 when they caught on at Clement "Coxsone" Dodd's Studio One, the pre-eminent hit factory of the rocksteady era. Dodd helped train the group in the art of harmony singing, and also guided budding songwriter Sibbles, who developed a sly, sarcastic sense of humor. The Heptones had their first hit later that year with "Fattie Fattie," that was banned from Jamaican radio but thus sold nonetheless. They went on to record vast amounts of material for Dodd over the next five years, including their first-ever LP, On Top, in 1970. As the hits piled up, Sibbles became a staff songwriter and arranger, played bass with the Studio One house band on a multitude of recordings, and worked as an assistant producer and talent scout as well. In 71 Sibbles decided it was time to move on and started cutting music with a range of producers In 1975 they released their label debut, Night Food, produced by Lee "Scratch" Perry which featured mostly new versions of old Studio One material. The follow-up, 1977's Party Time, followed a similar blueprint, and also included an eye-opening cover of Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released." It proved to be the group's biggest-selling album in the international market, but the 1978 follow-up, Better Days, sold disappointingly by comparison, and Sibbles departed for a solo career not long after. The remaining members soldiered on for some time without much success and that was it..until in 95 the original line up reunited and recorded Pressure !



01 - In Love With You (3:03)
02 - Talkative (2:47)
03 - Only Sixteen (3:09)
04 - Fatty Fatty (2:45)
05 - Sweet Talkin' (2:09)
06 - How Can I Leave You (3:09)
07 - In A Groove (2:50)
08 - Baby (2:52)
09 - Oh Glory (3:49)
10 - Suspicious Minds (2:54)

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Sunshine, 8 / 9 ties

Sunshine, Now a somewhat more current perspective on Jamaican artists 8 /9 ties style. Reggae has evolved , spawned many styles, thanks to the digital age. The biggest constant..because they keep morphin'..Sly & Robbie present here with their first big morphing work Language Barrier, aswell as with their first all out assault on digital dub The Dub Factor reworking their Black Uhuru days , in the early 1990s they introduced a novel sound with the hits "Bam Bam" and "Murder She Wrote" producing the hitalbum for Chaka Demus & Pliers. Horace Andy's career is spanning a good 40 years now aswell though he's become well known only after joining Massive Attack. This resulted in rereleasing/remixing his previous Good Vibes..great. Finally two singers no longer with us, Tenor Saw's flame burnt bright but short as his life was cut short by a wreckless driver, Bim Sherman never got the credit he deserved, saleswise, but many-including me , have enjoyed his music and singing, he died days after being diagnosed with cancer.

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Horace Andy - Good Vibes
Tenor Saw - Fever
Bim Sherman - It Must Be A Dream
Sly & Robbie - Language Barrier
Black Uhuru - The Dub Factor
Chaka Demus & Pliers - All She Wrote

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Horace Andy - Good Vibes ( 96 * 311mb)

Horace Andy ( Horace Hinds) started with his first recordings, "Blackman's Country" and "I May Never See My Baby" in 1967 for producer Phil Pratt, but he didn't gain instant success, to some extent maybe because he tried in vain to sound like his then idol, rocksteady singer Delroy Wilson As with so many reggae artists, Studio One helped Horace Andy to make himself a name as a singer with several singles and records he cut for Studio One producer Clement Dodd (who also gave him his stage name), notably such songs as "Skylarking", "See A Man's Face" and "Every Tongue Shall Tell". Another Studio One classic is "Mr.Bassie", his respect to bassist and member of The Heptones, Leroy Sibbles.

Very soon many of the leading producers wanted to make records with Sleepy, as Horace Andy is also known. He then recorded - among others - for Phil Pratt again. Many tunes for those and other producers were available only as Jamaican 45s and have disappeared long ago, after the first pressing was sold out. In 1977 Horace Andy teamed up with New York based producer Everton DaSilva and from this collaboration comes the outstanding set "In the Light", which was produced together by Andy and DaSilva. Tragically this partnership, which also gave birth to a bunch of singles and 12", came to a sudden end when Everton DaSilva was murdered in 1979.

During the Eighties Horace Andy continued releasing music on a regular basis both in Jamaica(among others for Jammy, Sly & Robbie and Bobby Digital) and in the USA on his own Rhythm imprint and for 'indie'-label Rough Trade. A highlight of this period is the album "Dance Hall Style", one of two records Horace did with producer Lloyd 'Bullwackie' Barnes.
In 1990 he was approached by Bristol-based hitmakers Massive Attack to join them for recordings. Since then he contributed vocals to all of Massive Attack's records and they even reworked some of his earlier tunes. Other work of the 90s are two sets produced by Mad Professor and various singles with drum & bass partnership Mafia & Fluxy in Kingston, JAM.
October 99 saw the release of Horace Andy's latest album "Living In The Flood", with the title track co-written by Joe Strummer



01 - Reggae Rhythm - Its Gone Internationally (5:27)
02 - Serious Thing - A Serious Version (6:48)
03 - Skylarking - A Better Version (6:32)
04 - Youths Of Today - Jah Youths (7:02)
05 - Dont Let The Problems Get You Down - No Problem (6:45)
06 - Mr. Bassie Discomix (7:28)
07 - Pure Ranking Discomix (8:29)
08 - Good Vibes - Dub Vibes (6:15)
09 - Control Yourself - Version Under Control (5:29)
10 - Ital Vital - Ital Ites Dubwise (7:20)

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Tenor Saw - Fever ( 84 ^ 397mb)

Tenor Saw (Clive Bright) is one of the most influential singers of the early digital era; Tenor Saw's hypnotic wail was imbued with an almost religious fervour. He was raised in the Payne Avenue district of west Kingston, recording his debut, "Roll Call", in 1984 for George Phang's Powerhouse label after an introduction by Nitty Gritty. During 1985 he sang with Sugar Minott's Youth Promotion sound system and label, recording "Lots of Sign" and "Pumpkin Belly" (also versioned for King Jammy's). "Run Come Call Me" and "Fever" were also sizeable hits. None, however, could compare to "Ring the Alarm", which Tenor Saw voiced magnificently over Winston Riley's "Stalag" rhythm for the Techniques label. There was no bigger record that year and it continues to be regarded as an anthem in today's dancehalls. Unfortunately its one of those records that got lost during my Reggae roots nights , all that ganja ..so you'll have to do with the U tube vid Tenor Saw - Ring The Alarm

You won't find "Ring the Alarm" on Tenor Saw's debut solo album, Fever, as it focuses more on his work for Sugar Minott's Youth Promotion label. Still, even without that smash, this album is a testament to the legacy that he left. Saw's time in the sun lasted only 4 years, August 1988 his body was found at the side of the road outside Houston (Texas), a victim of a hit and run, by a speeding car. He died at 22 years of age; a great loss, not only for his family and friends, but for reggae music as well.



01 - Lots of Sign (3:34)
02 - Shirley Jones (3:26)
03 - Pumpkin Belly (3:20)
04 - Eni Meeni Mini Mo (3:47)
05 - Roll Call (3:52)
06 - Fever (4:34)
07 - Jah Guide Amd Protect Me (3:43)
08 - Rub-A-Dub Market (3:31)
09 - Run Come Call Me (3:25)
10 - Who's Gonna Help Me Praise (3:40)
Bonus Dub
11 - Surely Dub
12 - Run Come Dub Me
13 - Lots Of Dub
14 - Jah Guide Dub
15 - Rub-A-Dub Dub
16 - Dub Fever
17 - Eni Meeni Mini Mo Dub
18 - Praise Jah With Dub

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Bim Sherman - It Must Be A Dream ( 95 * 451 mb)

Born Jarrett Tomlinson in 1952 in Kingston (Jamaïca), Bim Sherman alias J. Vincent, In the early seventies the young Sherman swapped trades from fisherman to electrician when he moved in with one of his brothers in central Kingston. His closest musical friends were Keith Porter and Ronnie Davis, who would go on to form premier vocal group the Itals, but his first recording experience was with his early mentor Gladstone 'Gladdy' Anderson at the famous Treasure Isle studios. His first record to be released was cut at the Federal studio with Sid Bucknor who was the engineer for '100 Years'. 'Love Forever' followed, a self-financed affair on the Element label and then came a string of tunes now recognized as reggae roots classics on Sherman's own Scorpio, Red Sea and Sun Dew imprints. These singles met with a degree of local success and appreciation which convinced him to continue.

Like so many other young Jamaicans in the seventies Sherman decided to try his luck in the UK, after being persuaded to join 1979's Roots Encounter tour alongside renowned toaster Prince Far I, Creation Rebel and Prince Hammer. In fact his first album 'Love Forever' had been issued a year earlier on the Tribesman label, including the title tune plus nine other previous Jamaican singles. Sherman settled in the UK cementing a friendship and business relationship with the young reggae producer Adrian Sherwood, a long-time admirer of the singer. Bim Sherman decided to stay in London and became a regular collaborator for On-U sound. He also started his own label, Century Records.

Throughout the eighties and early nineties he was a featured vocalist on the highly acclaimed, Sherwood-produced "Singers And Players" series of albums for which he sometimes would record new versions of his old material. In 1984, Bim Sherman started "Century Records", originally through On-U Sound, and released two albums : "Bim Sherman And The Voluntary" and "Danger". "Century Records" then stopped releasing material, and Sherman's products started to appear on RDL, the "Revolver Distribution Label". Towards the nineties Century became operational again, with straight reissues of the RDL releases and with compilation CDs featuring tracks from the RDL albums. Subsequent Sherman releases were on Century, often featuring On-U-Sound musicians. Although Bim Sherman had a lot of devoted fans in the UK and Europe, it lasted two decades after he started his recording career before he finally made a commercial breakthrough in the UK charts. It was the release of Bim Sherman's acoustic masterpiece "Miracle" - released in 1996 - that made things happen for Sherman. Dance producer Steve Osbourne took the album track "Solid As A Rock" and made a remix. After it was released on single it scaled the UK charts and helped to re-energize Sherman's career. The next year saw the release of another strong album , "It Must Be A Dream", a collection of remixes.

On Friday, November 17th 2000, the news of Bim Sherman's death - one of the true unsung heroes of roots music as well as reggae's most enduring cult figures - reached the reggae massive worldwide. After he got injured as a result of a fall, Bim Sherman was admitted to hospital where, on examination, he was found to have cancer. Then health matters didn't go well and within one week he passed away. It is obvious that his unexpected sudden death is a great lost for his family and friends. But be convinced that Bim Sherman's many committed fans, who supported the artist and his music for two and a half decades , mourned for the lost of this truly very underrated, extremely talented and diverse artist.

"All great singers and vocalists have one thing in common - their voice stands out like a uniquely tuned instrument that only one person can play. Bim Sherman [was] a singer/songwriter with a truly golden tone." ( Adrian Sherwood)



01 - My Woman (Groove Corporation Mix) (10:15)
02 - Just Can't Stand It (Youth Mix) (4:15)
03 - Can I Be Free From Crying (The Underwolves Mix) (7:38)
04 - Missing You (Tim Simenon Mix) (6:32)
05 - Lovers Leap (Skip McDonald Mix) (4:59)
06 - Simple Life (Adrian Sherwood Mix) (5:36)
07 - Solid As A Rock (Steve Osbourne Mix) (9:49)
08 - It Must Be A Dream (Mr. Scruff Mix) (5:50)
09 - Bewildered (Steve Osbourne Mix) (4:01)
10 - Over The Rainbow (Coco & The Bean Mix) (4:40)
11 - Golden Locks (Alan Adiri Mix) (5:02)

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Sly and Robbie - Language Barrier ( 84 ^ 277mb )

Da Riddem Twins
Drummer Lowell 'Sly' Dunbar (getting his nick Sly from listening to Sly Stone) and bassplayer Robert Shakespeare meet in the mid seventies. Dunbar already had quite a reputation as a drummer. He had played on several Jamaican hit records, a.o. Double Barrel by organist Ansell Collins. His rhythmic innovations to reggae drumming were becoming a trade mark for Channel One when he got acquainted with Aston 'familyman' Barrett's youthful protege bassplayer Robbie Shakespeare. Shakespeare had already done a good deal of studio work, like 'Stir it up' from Bob Marley and some stuff with the Aggrovators. When they heard each other playing, it didn't take very long for them to decide to form a rhythmic drum-'n-bass partnership, and Sly & Robbie was a fact.

Their first major project was providing backing for the late singer/songwriter Peter Tosh in his backing band Word Sound and Power. In this period they scored their first major worldwide nr 1 hitsingle with Peter Tosh and Mick Jagger: (Keep on walking) Don't Look Back. They recorded five albums with Peter Tosh: Equal Rights, Legalize it, Bush Docor, Mystic Man and Wanted Dread and Alive. While on a world tour with Peter, they lived on bread and water to save money to be able to start their own record label: TAXI Productions.
When they returned from touring, they indeed raised the TAXI label. They joined the band Black Uhuru and from there things really started. Black Uhuru, consisting of singers Ducky Simpson, Puma Jones and lead singer Michael Rose (now known as Mykall Rose) and Sly & Robbie on drum and bass turned out to become the most progressive sounding reggaeband of that time. In this line up 6 albums were released: Showcase, Sinsemilla, Red, Chill Out, The Dub Factor, and Anthem, each album being a large step forward towards innovating reggae music. After Anthem, Michael Rose left the group and was replaced by Junior Reid and two more albums were produced Brutal and Positive.

Far from restricting themselves to the Jamaican scene, (in which they have played for virtually every prominent Jamaican musical artist, they have became one of pop music's most sought after rhythm sections.
An artist with whom they were recording was Grace Jones. Sly & Robbie played on three albums. Everybody knows songs like 'I've seen that face before (libertango)' and 'Pull up to the Bumper'. The work with Grace Jones was the start of a heap international artists wanting Sly & Robbie to produce and/or provide the drum 'n bass backing for their songs and albums. Joe Cocker, Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan, Ian Dury, Herbie Hancock, Maxi Priest, Cindy Lauper, Barry Reynolds, Carly Simon... In reggae they backed and produced a talented new singer, Ini Kamoze, who's first album was a massive hit among the reggae audience.

They changed the face of Reggae several times: in 1976, they introduced a harder beat called "Rockers", which quickly replaced the then prevalent "One drop" style, then introduced the "rub a dub" sound in the early 1980s. Sly and Robbie were important in developing the trend towards computer assisted music and programming in the mid 1980s. Presented here, Language Barrier is an onslaught of aural alarms and craziness. Yet, holding it down like a rock are the inimitable Sly and Robbie. This is a great record. Very urban, self assured insanity, in a weird way. An album that has Bob Dylan on it, not to mention BIll Laswell, Wally Badarou, Herbie Hancock, et. al. . Daring stuff and i guess thats why they are still out there doing there thing.

Around 1990 a new turn in reggae music came up: raggamuffin or ragga. The drum computer became an important ingredient and started to replace live drumming on studio recordings. The Rhythm Twins released 'The Summit'in 1988, which is a record that contains eight instrumental tracks. Hard to define whether it's live drums or a drum computer (it is live drums), and this album can be seen as the last one on which Sly & Robbie play their instruments. From now on, Sly focuses on drum programming and production (Robbie still plays the bass), and again they produce a gigantic world wide hit: Murder she Wrote by Chaka Demus and Pliers.

They continued to innovate during the 1990s and early 2000s, fusing Dancehall and Latin music sounds (La Trenggae) or Dancehall and hip hop/R&B (their 2004 Big Up riddim). In 1999, their "Strip to the Bone" album paired them with electro producer Howie B, and together they explored new dub territories.

Sly and Robbie may well be the most prolific recording artists ever. One estimate is that they have played on or produced some 200,000 songs, considering that some of their riddims such as "Revolution" have been used on over 100 songs. After 30 years together, they still tour and record relentlessly.



1 - Make ' Em Move (7:58)
2 - No Name On The Bullet (6:03)
3 - Miles (Black Satin) (7:20)
4 - Bass And Trouble (6:06)
5 - Language Barrier (6:51)
6 - Get To This, Get To That (5:17)
Xs
7 - Boops (4:55)

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Black Uhuru - The Dub Factor ( 83 ^ 227mb)

Black Uhuru was founded in the late seventies by the then already established singer Don Carlos and Duckie Simpson ; after a while Michael Rose , who sang in hotels on the north coast of jamaica for tourists joined the group and the trio was complete. It was Michael Rose's rockstone gruff voice and his phrasing of syllables and consonants that made the sound of this vocal trio so distinguishly different from the multitude of other Reggae Trios . They had a local hit with the Prince Jammy produced "I Love King Selassie" . 'Puma' Jones , who was raised in New York heard this song and fell in love with this tune immediately . So she joined the group in time for their first international distributed album 'Sinsemillia' (Island Records 1980) on TAXI - Productions/Jamaica . This album was a huge success already and some of these songs are still played in bars , coffeeshops and Hippie hang-outs worldwide . The strength of songs like "World Is Africa"; "Push Push";"Every Dreadlocks";"Sinsemillia" and "Fire" make them timeless anthems . They toured and recorded with Michael Rose as Lead vocalist and further releasing the powerful RED album with more militant songs like 'Youth Of Eglington' or 'Sponjie Reggae' (maybe their best song) , A Live album from 1981 called "Tear It Up" , the still solid "Chill Out" the spacy "Dub Factor" and their 1983 album "anthem".

Quarrels about the status of Duckie Simpson (the Founder) and Michael Rose (the voice of Black Uhuru) lead to internal problems and Michael Rose left and Junior Reid replaced him . This lead to a rejuvinated sound and another highlight in the career of Black Uhuru . 'Brutal' and 'Positive' were good and advanced dub albums and both very successfull, and their tours were (nearly) as successful as before . The same problem occurred again . Junior Reid was the voice and wrote the hit songs , while Duckie Simpson stayed out of focus, his songs were no hits - but he was the head of Black Uhuru . So Junior Reid left as well to pursue a sucessful solo carreer, to make matters worse 'Puma' Jones died of cancer in 1990 .

So Duckie Simpson contacted his old buddy Don Carlos , but this duo didn't have the potential to perform the anthems , that made Black Uhuru the giants they were , so they recruted young singers , who loked good and had the ability to reproduce the songs from both Michael Rose and even Junior Reid for the bread & butter earning live tours . Sad. In recent years Sly & Robbie toured with them as Black Uhuru and at the big Reggae Festivals .



01 - Ion Storm (3:47)
02 - Youth (3:47)
03 - Big Spliff (4:04)
04 - Boof 'N' Baff 'N' Biff (3:27)
05 - Puffed Out (3:47)
06 - Android Rebellion (4:01)
07 - Apocalypse (3:45)
08 - Back Breaker (3:39)
09 - Sodom (3:17)
10 - Slaughter (4:24)

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Chaka Demus and Pliers - All She Wrote (93 ^ 333mb)

Chaka Demus ( John Taylor) is a well known reggae musician and deejay, best known for a string of hits which enjoyed chart success in the 1990s, in both his native Jamaica and around the world. He began his career in music after being caught up in the sound system scene, working for various systems such as Jammy's and Supreme. He became well known under the name of Nicodemus Jr. (a tribute to 1980s deejay Nicodemus) but by the time in which he began to record, he changed his stage name to the more formal, Chaka Demus. Under the productional guidance of Sly & Robbie Chaka Demus' rough DJ vocals were matched with Pliers' sweet, melodic, soul-influenced singing; this unusual vocal pairing created its own followers.



01 - Murder She Wrote (4:06)
02 - I Wanna Be Your Man (3:55)
03 - One Nation Under A Groove (4:18)
04 - Roadrunner (4:05)
05 - Friday Evening (3:56)
06 - Sunshine Day (3:54)
07 - Tracy (3:50)
08 - She Don't Let Nobody (4:08)
09 - Bam Bam (4:05)
10 - Tease Me (4:06)
11 - Let's Make It Tonight (3:54)
12 - Nuh Betta Nuh Deh (4:00)
13 - Twist And Shout (3:56)
14 - Gal Wine (3:34)

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All downloads are in * ogg-7 (224k) or ^ ogg-9(320k), artwork is included , if in need get the nifty ogg encoder/decoder here !

Sunshine, UK style

Hello again, after a 4 weeks break it's time to pick up the posting again. Some interesting responses to my last inside out post, i have to tell you i'm no fan of Dawkins but much less of organised religion. As for Monroe well thats another matter, and if anything the perfect antidote to those deluded religions. And thats why i will come back to him at a future date, for now as planned beforehand for the coming weeks sunshine music, reggae , roots, latin you get the picture.

I'm starting where we left the eigthies . A rarity arguably, Mwanamke Mwfrika, the first female reggae group mixed up by the Mad Professor. Dr Pablo & the Dub Syndicate is a tree from Sherwoods Forest (ON U 30) need i say more . As for Linton Kwesi Johnson absolute tops, engaged lyrics and great dubmusic to support, dub poetry in motion indeed. Now, Steel Pulse didnt raise their Birmingham Handsworth Wood Boys School to the ground but they did start their revolution there and kept spinning to much acclaim for decades. Rootsman transformed his love for reggae from recordshop assistant to DJ, Clubowner to finally releasing his in demand dubplates on his own label. All too much acclaim as was the experimental global dub fusion "In Dub We Trust" , his first album.

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Mwanamke Mwfrika - African Woman Abroad
Doctor Pablo & Dub Syndicate - North Of The River Thames
Linton Kwesi Johnson - Forces Victory and Bass Culture
Steel Pulse - Handsworth Revolution
The Rootsman - In Dub We Trust

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Mwanamke Mwfrika - African Woman Abroad (82 flac 214mb)

In 1981 a group of seven female musicians formed arguably the first completely female reggae group, Akabu started out in 1981 as Mwanamke Mwfrika (African Woman). The group at that time was composed of Vyris Edghill, Valerie Skeete, Madeleine "Jo" Edghill, Paulette "Levi" Coke, Samantha Edghill, Diane "De Bass" White, Caroline Williams, and Shelome "Issachar" Coke. With this lineup, they released their first album, "African Woman Abroad" mixed by Mad Professor ( only 1000 copies of 'African Woman Abroad' where pressed).
During the late 80s and early 90s lead vocalists Valerie and Vyris frequently provided backing vocals to On-U Sound releases and acts of the period, especially Bim Sherman, Dub Syndicate and Gary Clail.In 1988, they changed their name to Akabu and released a self-titled album. The long and successful collaboration with On-U sound culminated in Akabu's 1995 'Warrior Queen' album (ON-U LP71), co-produced with Adrian Sherwood, turning out to be the last studio album of the original line-up, though many live shows followed. ( Vyris Edghill passed away in July 2002)



01 - Ethiopian's Live It (3:35)
02 - Black Woman (5:08)
03 - We A Seh (4:25)
04 - Classic Steppers (5:10)
05 - African Woman (5:27)
06 - I Believe (5:10)
07 - Same Situation (4:12)
08 - Dem Took I Away (3:55)

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Doctor Pablo and Dub Syndicate - North Of The River Thames (On-U 30) ( ' 84 now in Flac 243mb)

Doctor Pablo (Peter Stroud) Instrumentalist and composer whose most well known work was with Adrian Sherwood's On-U Sound System. He played melodica (hence the use of the name Pablo - stolen from Reggae's most famous melodica player Augustus Pablo) as well as composed songs on numerous Creation Rebel, London Underground, African Head Charge and Dub Syndicate releases. He featured on the early Cry Tuff albums, Dr Pablo was an original member of the Dub Syndicate, and was responsible for the haunting melodica and keyboard melodies to be found on other associated contemporary tunes. The good Doctor was also seen on countless stage shows with the original Creation Rebel line-ups through the period of the late seventies with live sound mix by Adrian Sherwood.



01 - Man Of Mystery (5:48)
02 - Dr Who? (4:57)
03 - Pressurized (3:46)
04 - Tribute (4:16)
05 - A Taste Of Honey (4:16)
06 - North Of The River Thames (6:50)
07 - Red Sea (6:00)
08 - We Like It Hot (3:40)

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Linton Kwesi Johnson - Forces Victory and Bass Culture

Linton Kwesi Johnson (aka LKJ) is a British based dub poet. Johnson attended Goldsmiths College in New Cross, London, which currently holds his personal papers in its archives; in 2004 he became an Honorary Visiting Professor of Middlesex University in London. In 2005 he was awarded a silver Musgrave medal from the Institute of Jamaica for distinguished eminence in the field of poetry. Most of Johnson's poetry is political, dealing mainly with the experiences of being an African-Caribbean in Britain. However, he has also shown himself more than capable of writing about other issues, such as British foreign policy or the death of anti-racist marcher Blair Peach. His most celebrated poems were written during the government of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The poems contain graphic accounts of the alleged regular racist police brutality

His poetry involves the recitation of his own verse in Jamaican Creole over dub-reggae, usually written in collaboration with renowned British reggae producer/artist Dennis Bovell. Johnson's best known albums include his debut Dread Beat An' Blood, Forces of Victory, Bass Culture and Making History. Across these albums are spread classics of the dub poetry school of performance - and, indeed, of reggae itself.



Linton Kwesi Johnson - Forces of Victory (79 now in flac 217mb)

01 - Want Fi Goh Rave (4:20)
02 - It Noh Funny (3:41)
03 - Sonny's Lettah (Anti-Sus Poem) (3:50)
04 - Independant Intavenshan (4:15)
05 - Fite Dem Back (4:25)
06 - Reality Poem (4:41)
07 - Forces Of Victory (4:50)
08 - Time Come (3:21)

Linton Kwesi Johnson - Bass Culture (80 now in flac  183mb)

01 - Bass Culture (6:02)
02 - Street 66 (3:44)
03 - Regga Fi Peach (2:42)
04 - Di Black Pretty Booshwah (3:31)
05 - Inglan Is A Bitch (5:26)
06 - Loraine (4:07)
07 - Reggae Sounds (3:10)
08 - Two Sides Of Silence (2:08)

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Steel Pulse - Handsworth Revolution ( ' 78 now in Flac 223mb)

Steel Pulse originally formed at Handsworth Wood Boys School, in Birmingham, England and comprised of David Hinds (lead vocals, guitar), Basil Gabbidon (lead guitar, vocals) and Ronald McQueen (bass). Hinds, as songwriter, has always been the engine behind Steel Pulse, from their early days establishing themselves in the Birmingham club scene onwards. A support slot for Burning Spear brought them to the attention of Island Records. Their first release for Island was the Ku Klux Klan 45, a considered tilt at the evils of racism, and one often accompanied by a visual parody of the sect on stage. By this time their ranks had swelled to include Selwyn 'Bumbo' Brown (keyboards), Steve 'Grizzly' Nisbett (drums), Alphonso Martin (vocals, percussion) and Michael Riley (vocals). Handsworth Revolution was an accomplished long playing debut and one of the major landmarks in the evolution of British reggae. However, despite critical and moderate commercial success over three albums, the relationship with Island Records had soured by the advent of Caught You (released in the US as Reggae Fever).

They switched to Elektra Records, and unveiled their most consistent collection of songs since their debut with True Democracy, distinguished by the Garvey-eulogising 'Rally Round' cut. A further definitive set arrived in Earth Crisis. Unfortunately, Elektra chose to take a leaf out of Island's book in trying to coerce Steel Pulse into a more mainstream vein, asking them to emulate the pop-reggae stance of Eddy Grant. Babylon The Bandit was consequently weakened, but did contain the anthemic "Not King James Version", which was a powerful indictment on the omission of black people and history from certain versions of the Bible.

The Steel Pulse message of hope, education and activism has struck a chord with music lovers worldwide. Their international success has resulted in a Grammy award for their 1986 classic Babylon The Bandit, and nominations for subsequent albums Victims (1991) and Rastafari Cennial (1992). In 1989, the group contributed Can't Stand The Heat to the soundtrack of Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing. In 1994, the group headlined some of the world's biggest reggae festivals including Reggae Sunsplash USA, Jamaican Sunsplash, Japan Splash and Northern California annual Reggae on the River Festival.

"We're not here to start a physical revolution, we're just here to open everybody's eyes and let them check themselves and continue in a very educational mode to change things on that tip", Hinds explains. "We're losing ourselves and I think it's very important for us to realize that. Too many of our youths have been lost to drugs, or by the gun, or not having the education needed to persevere and move in an upward direction."



01 - Handsworth Revolution (5:15)
02 - Bad Man (5:39)
03 - Soldiers (4:40)
04 - Sound Check (3:30)
05 - Prodigal Son (5:10)
06 - Ku Klux Klan (3:43)
07 - Prediction (5:25)
08 - Macka Splaff (4:19)

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The Rootsman - In Dub We Trust (' 95 also in flac now 424mb)

The Rootsman (John Bolloten) is a musician and DJ based in Bradford, England. His musical career began when he was living in Edinburgh, Scotland and taught himself to play guitar in 1978 at the age of 13 and formed his first punk band. After 3 concerts, he decided that being a guitarist in a band was not for him and he retired from that aspect of the music business. He moved to Bradford in 1983 and quickly immersed himself into the local reggae scene. He worked for over two years in the local Roots Record Shop, where he began to be known as "Rootsman". In 1985 he started selecting on local sound systems and the following year began to play on university radio and local pirate radio stations. This continued for a number of years until he founded his own club night "Dub Me Crazy" at the end of 1991.

A residency with the innovative Soundclash club in Leeds followed a couple of years later, and Rootsman began playing alongside leading DJs like Dr Alex Patterson from The Orb, Andrew Weatherall, Justin Robertson (Lionrock) and others. In this period, Rootsman also founded the Third Eye Music label and released the debut album from Dayjah and The Disciples, entitled "Storm Clouds" which was very popular on the roots scene. Heavy demand from local club-goers who wanted to buy the music they were hearing at Soundclash and Dub Me Crazy convinced him to release his work. Subsequently, The Rootsman's debut EP "Koyaanisqatsi" (a cult favourite of his DJ set) was released in May 1994.

Rootsman released the classic "Natural Born Thrillers EP", his first release on Third Eye Music and a successful fusion of the steppers and jungle styles. The follow-up "Authorised Versions EP" carried on this innovative tradition and served to consolidate and increase his grass-roots following. Rootsman's debut CD "In Dub We Trust" was released in July 1995 and followed on from these earlier experiments and contained dub reggae like never heard before. A myriad of diverse samples and beats all tied to a heavyweight rhythm section made this CD one of the most original to be released that year. Not only was dub mixed with the furious beats of jungle, the album also brought African, Arabian and Asian sounds into the mix. It was a truly groundbreaking collection that set a new blueprint for dub-influenced music, and Rootsman began to label his own sound as "experimental global dub fusion". "In Dub We Trust" was a big success, especially in Europe. The Rootsman's been very prolific since, a bit too much to recall here, visit his Base--there's set downloads aswell there, or check the extensive Wiki on him here



01 - Old Pan Killer (Burial Mix) (4:24)
02 - Blueprint Dub (4:21)
03 - Intifada (6:02)
04 - Western Sahara (4:28)
05 - Dubbing The Maghreb (5:05)
06 - Mektoub (4:45)
07 - Perilous Time (6:19)
08 - African Style (6:36)
09 - Return Of The Ustad (Voc Jeeta) (5:17)
10 - Bind Us Together (Unity Dub Mix, Voc Dayjah) (7:08)
11 - Apocalypse Now (7:04)
12 - Temple Of Light (4:45)
13 - Jungle Lion (4:47)

Rootsman @ Base

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All downloads are in * ogg-7 (224k) or ^ ogg-9(320k), artwork is included , if in need get the nifty ogg encoder/decoder here !