A Few Favourite Albums: Best Dressed Chicken In Town - Dr. Alimantado (1978)

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Best Dressed Chicken In Town - Dr Alimantado

Greensleeves

Produced by Winston Thompson (AKA Doctor Alimantado)

Released 1978

 Listen to the Best Dressed Chicken In Town that was issued in 2001 on CD with four bonus tracks:

11 Ital Galore 3:38
12 I Am The Greatest Says Muhammed Ali 2:58
13 Johnny Was A Baker 3:35
14 Tribute To The Duke 4.00

Original Tracklisting for the album:

Side 1

Side 2

Single released from the album

Best Dressed Chicken In Town

7" Yellow Vinyl 1978

A-Side: Best Dressed Chicken In Town

B-Side: Can't Conquer Natty Dreadlocks

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 (The Good Doctor Himself)

There are lots of links below to more music by Dr. Almantado and music that's associated to this album. Click on them to enjoy the sounds.

The Debut Album from Dr. Alimantado was actually a collection of previous recordings dating back to 1973 with Just The Other Day , Ride On (which was released as a single in 1974 on Ital Records - which was owned and run by Alimantado himself ) and Plead I Cause - which was originally titled Plea I Cause and issued as a B-Side to the 1973 single Jah Have Mercy on Ital. On the CD Reissue Ital Galore dates back to 1972 (the other bonus tracks: I Am The Greatest Says Muhammed Ali was a single with the Soul Syndicate in 1974 on Ital; Johnny Was A Baker was recorded in 1975 at King Tubbys; and Tribute To The Duke was recorded in 1977 but there was a version released under the banner of Dennis Ferron and Doc. Alimantado in 1976 on Ital Sounds.

It was the first album released from UK based Reggae label Greensleeves which had been founded in 1977 by Chris Cracknell and Chris Sedgewick. They had actually begun as a small record shop in West Ealing in 1975 and like other shops like Small Wonder, Beggars Banquet and Raw would move into the process of releasing records once they had moved to Shepherd's Bush in 1977.

The title track (originally called Best Dress Chicken) had been released on the Sun and Stars label in the UK back in 1975 (and in Jamaica on the Capo label the same year though it had actually been recorded in 1974).

The album employed several major reggae hits as the basis for the tracks, including Horace Andy and John Holt's version of  A Quiet Place which was also a recut of The Paragons classic Man Next Door - Got To Get Away was its actual title and was released as a B-Side in 1968 on Duke Records in the UK (on Poison Flour and I Shall Fear No Evil), John Holt's Ali Baba (on I Killed the Barber), and Gregory Isaacs' Thief a Man (on Gimmie Mi Gun which had been released as a single originally in 1975 on Ital Sounds) and My Religion (on Unitone Skank).

Best Dressed Chicken In Town is among my Top Three Favourite Reggae Albums and although there were to be other albums from him this one, more than any of them, stands the test of time.

Crytuff Dub Encounter Chapter 1 - The Arabs (1978)

Cry Tuff Dub Encounter Chapter 1 - The Arabs

Hitrun

Produced by Prince Far I (Michael James Williams on the record labels -  which of course is his real name)

Released 1978

A-Side

B-Side

Personnel
    Prince Far I - vocals

The Arabs (Roots Radics)
    Eric "Fish" Clarke - drums
    Sly Dunbar - drums
    Clinton Jack - bass guitar
    Flabba Holt - bass guitar, guitar
    Bingy Bunny - guitar
    Antonio "Crucial Tony" Phillips - guitar
    Noel "Sowell" Bailey - guitar
    Chinna - guitar
    Theo Beckford - piano
    Clifton "Bigga" Morrison - piano
    Creation Rebel - percussion
    Sucker - percussion
    Sticky - percussion

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For some reason this morning I was thinking about one of the great Dub tracks from Prince Far I and The Arabs called The Right Way:

Listening to that again led me back to the album Crytuff Dub Encounter Chapter 1 from 1978 which I hadn't listened to in a long time. So I thought why not share it on here and we can all enjoy it together!

Released under the name The Arabs it was essentially an album by Prince Far I and Roots Radics (who have backed a number of Reggae Artists like Bunny Wailer, Gregory Issacs, Eek-A-Mouse and Barrington Levy to name but a few). Roots Radics had actually begun life as The Revolutionaries, the house band for Channel One Studio (who also released some albums on their own like the excellent Revolutionary Sounds in 1976). Roots Radics would go on to release a few albums under their own name, Outernational Riddim in 1980 was one of their finest. Dangerous Dub (King Tubby Meets Roots Radics 1981) and Radical Dub Session (1982) are worth checking out as well.

1978 had been a busy year for Prince Far I as besides this Dub project under the banner of The Arabs he had also released a couple of other albums that are worth a listen of two: Message From The King again with The Arabs (Front Line) and Long Life (also on Front Line).

Also in 1978 he had recorded his one and only Session for John Peel with Creation Rebel, which is always worth a listen to!

Pick A Dub - Keith Hudson (2016 Reissue)

 Pick A Dub - Keith Hudson & Family Man

Mamba Records

Produced by Keith Hudson

Released 1974

Side One

Side Two

Pick A Dub has been released on a number of different labels. In 1975 it was was released on Atra, Rockers Unversite in the UK. In 1981on Jah Lives in France. In 1994 it was released on CD for the first time on Blood and Fire in the UK (and also on Vinyl). Simply Vinyl reissued it in 2001. Jusic International released it on Vinyl in 2013 but under the banner of King Tubby & The Barrett Brothers.

The album was reissued in December 2016 on 17 North Parade/VP Records in the UK and US as a Double album.

The second album was called Pick A Vocal and includes 8 extra tracks

Tracklist

A1 Be Still - Keith Hudson

A2 Still Water - Keith Hudson

A3 In The Rain (Vocal) - Keith Hudson

A4 Wild Fire - Keith Hudson

A5 Fight On Fight On - Keith Hudson

B1Don't Think About Me - Horace Andy

B2 Addis Ababa - Delroy Wilson

B3 Fat Baby - Augustus Pablo

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It's not often that I get excited about Reissues and I have to say I was actually unaware this one had come back out until I saw it in the Reissues section in the latest edition of MOJO.

Pick A Dub was originally released in 1974 on Keith Hudson's own label Mamba (it was a very short lived label that released only a couple of albums and singles in a period of two years).

It was one of the first Dub albums I ever heard if I remember correctly and that was a couple of years after it first came out.

For those who know nothing about Keith Hudson let me just fill in a little of background that led up to this album.

Hudson was born in Kingston, Jamaica and as a schoolboy had arranged concerts with schoolmates who included Delroy Wilson, Bob Marley and Ken Boothe - oh to go back in a time machine to witness that little gathering!

He was a follower of Coxsone Dodd's Downbeat Sound System and begun hanging out with the likes of Don Drummond at around aged 14 and by 16 (1960) he had produced his first track Shades of Hudson that didn't actually get released until the late 60s. In order to raise money for recording sessions Hudson went to serve an apprenticeship in Dentistry. By 1968 he had his own label and the first hit came from the first recording session - Old Fashioned Way - Ken Boothe.

The list of folks who he has worked with is very impressive: Delroy Wilson, Alton Ellis, U Roy, Big Youth, Dennis Alcapone, John Holt, Bunny Gale, to name but a few. 

Pick A Dub was I think one of the first Dub albums to get a release in the UK I believe. He was living in London at the time and also released another album Flesh of My Skin, Blood of My Blood that has been hailed as a masterpiece.

He moved to New York in 1976 and his career took a bit of a downer and although he continued to release albums all the way up until 1982 he was seen as one out of step with the current trends in Reggae.

In August 1984 he was diagnosed with lung cancer and seemed to respond well to treatment but just a few months later on 14th November he took unwell and sadly passed away.

In 2004 there was a great compiltation released called The Hudson Affair on Trojan/Earmark. This is quite an amazing collection of his various collaborations over the years. Well worth a listen.

 

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!: Day 354 - King Tubby

A Declaration of Dub - King Tubby

Not Bad Records

Released 2014

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When it comes to Dub Music the first person to whom one must turn is King Tubby. He was the innovator, even in its most basic form he was doing it as far back as the late 60s. His elevation from Sound Engineer to in demand Producer began in the humble confines of his electrical repair shop on Drumalie Avenue, Kingston. It was there that besides the repairing of TV's  and Radio's that he began building large amplifiers for local Sound Systems. In 1961-62 he had built his own radio transmitter and had begun a Pirate Radio station that shut down once he heard the Police were out to find who was running it. In 1968 he began his own Sound System, Tubby's Hometown Hi-Fi and soon became a crowd favourite due to his use of echo and reverb sound effects, which was quite a novelty for those days!

Working alongside Duke Reid, who was one of the most important Producers in Kingston along with Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, Tubby had the opportunity to remix"Versions" (which were usually the instrumental B-Sides of singles) for Sound System MC's and these were very successful and led Tubby to open his own Studio in 1971.

Tubby built on his considerable knowledge of electronics to repair, adapt and design his own studio equipment, which made use of a combination of old devices and new technologies to produce a studio capable of the precise, atmospheric sounds which would become Tubby's trademark. With a variety of effects units connected to his mixer, Tubby "played" the mixing desk like an instrument, bringing instruments and vocals in and out of the mix (literally "dubbing" them) to create an entirely new genre known as dub music.

His name appears on hundreds of records as he did work for the likes of Bunny Lee, Lee Perry and Augustus Pablo, to name but a few. One of his projects with Augustus Pablo, King Tubby Meets The Rockers Uptown released in 1974 is considered by many to be one of the finest Dub albums ever!

In the Eighties he took to mentoring up and coming talent like King Jammy and Scientist (Hopeton Brown), expanding his Waterhouse Studio and focusing on his labels Firehouse, Waterhouse, Kingston 11, and Taurus, which released his productions of Anthony Red Rose, Sugar Minott, Conroy Smith, King Everald and other popular musicians.

In February 1989 he was returning from a session at his Waterhouse Studio and was shot and killed outside his home in Kingston.

Since then there have been many compilations on various labels bearing the name King Tubby. The one above was a bit of a new one to me. It's a UK release on an offshoot of Not Now Music, who specialise in these kind of archive Sets (they have also released sets of the music of Laurel Aitken, Derrick Morgan, John Holt, Max Romeo, Horace Andy and Byron Lee).

There are loads of King Tubby albums in full up on You Tube. You should check them out. Here's another that's worth a listen:

  King Tubby's Hometown Hi-Fi (Dubplate Specials 1975-1979) - King Tubby

Jamaican Recordings

Released 2013

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!: Day 311 - Culture

Two Sevens Clash - Culture

Joe Gibbs

Produced by Joe Gibbs

Released 1977

Personnel
    Joseph Hill – lead vocals
    Albert Walker – harmony vocals
    Kenneth Dayes – harmony vocals
    Lloyd Parks – bass
    Sly Dunbar – drums
    Lennox Gordon – guitar
    Robbie Shakespeare – guitar
    Eric "Bingy Bunny" Lamont – guitar
    Franklyn Waul – keyboards
    Errol "Tarzan" Nelson – keyboards
    Harold Butler – keyboards
    Uziah "Sticky" Thompson – percussion
    Herman Marquis – alto saxophone
    Vin Gordon – trombone
    Tommy McCook – tenor saxophone
    Bobby Ellis – trumpet

Singles on Two Sevens Clash Album

(not really sure of the order they were released or on what dates)

A-Side: Two Sevens Clash  - Culture

 B-Side: Version - The Mighty Two

1977 

Listen to A & B-Side Here

Two Sevens Clash was issued in the UK in 1978 on Lightning Records with I Am Not Ashamed on the B-Side

 

A-Side: I Am Not Ashamed - Culture

B-Side: I Am Not Ashamed (Version) - The Mighty Two

 1977

Listen to A & B-Side Here

 A-Side: Natty Dread Taking Over - Culture

B-Side: Natty Gone Clear - Joe Gibbs & The Professionals

1977

Listen to A & B-Side Here

 

 

A-Side: See Them A Come - Culture

B-Side: Version - The Mighty Two

1977

Listen to A & B-Side Here

 

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Two Sevens Clash by Culture is my second favourite Reggae album of all time. Like many I probably first heard the title track on John Peel and I've loved it ever since.

Joseph Hill (lead vocalist of Culture) said  Two Sevens Clash, Culture's most influential record, was based on a prediction by Pan-Africanist Marcus Garvey, who said there would be chaos on July 7, 1977, when the "sevens" met. The prophecies noted by the lyrics so profoundly captured the imagination of the people that on July 7, 1977 - the day when sevens fully clashed (seventh day, seventh month, seventy-seventh year) a hush descended on Kingston; many people did not go outdoors, shops closed, an air of foreboding and expectation filled the city.

I cannot even think how many times over the years that I've played it nor how many copies I've owned of it and lost as well!

Whilst production wise it sounds quite dated I think none of the songs have lost their shine at all.

The song Two Sevens Clash was recorded twice for John Peel Sessions first in December 1982 (and broadcast in January 1983) and then again in November 1988 (and broadcast in January 1989). You can hear the 1982 session in full below (it was released as part of the Strange Fruit series of Peel Sessions in 1987). Regarding the Sessions, John Peel told Interzone magazine: "It’s really impossible to say which is my favourite… Perhaps Culture, I wish they’d done more."

Two Sevens Clash was reissued on CD for the first time in 1987 with a different artwork to the original on the Blue Moon label.

A repress of the album on vinyl in the US on Rocky One in 2000 restored the original artwork and 11 years later another US label,  17 North Parade, reissued it on CD with liner notes by Harry Wise.

(Blue Moon Cover Art - 1987)

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!

Keeping It Peel 2016 - Reggae Peel Sessions

John Peel played all sorts of music on his shows including pop, reggae, indie pop, indie rock, alternative rock, punk, hardcore punk, breakcore, grindcore, death metal, British hip hop, electronic music, jungle and dance music. It's always good to remember that bands and artists who had only just begun (and some didn't even have a record contract) got a good leg up from recording a Peel Session. Many bands owe a tremendous debt to him for basically making their careers happen!

Reggae Music was always very popular on his shows and he played many tracks that would never have gotten an airing on any other radio show on the BBC at the time. 

When it came to the Peel Sessions he was on the ball bringing in a wide variety UK Reggae bands like Aswad, Black Roots, Matumbi, Misty in Roots, Reggae Regulars, Steel Pulse, UB40 and Zion Train. Occasionally he would have overseas Reggae "Stars" and there is nothing so sweet as hearing the sessions from Prince Far I (his only session and a magnificent one indeed), Culture, Mad Professor, Mikey Dread and The Twinkle Brothers. He even had Bob Marley & The Wailers back in 1973 do two sessions.

I have not included any of the Two Tone Sessions in the Playlist below. That would be deserving of a playlist in its own right.

Keeping It Peel 2016

Reggae Peel Sessions

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!: Day 276 - Willy Williams

Unity - Willy Williams

Black Star

Produced by Willy Williams and Nell

Released 1987

I thought a little Reggae music would be good for nice relaxing Sunday Morning.  Along with Dennis Brown, Dr Alimantado, Tapper Zukie, Dillinger and many others Willie Williams belongs among such company.

I really love this album Unity. It includes a number of his older tracks that have been re-recorded like Unity (which was first issued in 1979 as a 7" on In Land Records in Jamaica), Messenger Man (that was first released in 1977 on 12") and of course the mighty Armagideon Time that was first issued in 1977/78. Armagideon Time of course would become well known due to the cover performed by The Clash on the B-Side of London Calling.

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!: Day 271 - Skinhead Reggae

Dawning Of A New Era - The Roots of Skinhead Reggae - Various Artists

Trojan Records

Released 2005

Dawning Of A New Era - The Roots of Skinhead Reggae
Tracklist
CD1
1.: John Jones - Rudy Mills
2.: Give Me Back - Derrick Morgan
3.: In Like Flint - Good Guys
4.: Tommy's Dream - Tommy McCook
5.: Son Of Reggae - Sylvan Williams
6.: Quaker City - Eric Barnett & Theo Beckford Group
7.: Regga Beat - Pioneers
8.: Groovin' At The Cue - Dandy & His Group
9.: Revenge - Derrick Morgan & Desmond Dekker
10.: Fat Man - Derrick Morgan
11.: South Parkway Rock - Val Bennett
12.: Rescue Me - Reggae Girls
13.: What You Gonna Do - Reggae Boys
14.: Night Of Love - Ansel Collins
15.: Wala Wala - Pioneers
16.: Mix It Up - Kingstonians
17.: Forest Gate Rock - Lester Sterling
18.: Soul Scorchia - King Cannon & Harry J All Stars
19.: She's So Fine - Glen Adams
20.: Magic Touch - Junior Soul
21.: Reggie On Broadway - Lester Sterling
 

CD2
01. Another Scorcher - The Tennors
02. Avengers - Tommy McCook
03. 5 to 5 - Lloyd Charmers
04. Rock Steady Gone - Dandy
05. Reggae Hit the Town - The Ethiopians
06. Su Su Su - The Pioneers
07. Dip It Up - The Sparkers
08. Splash Down - The Crystalites
09. Peanut Vendor - Tommy McCook
10. Wooh Oh Oh - Keith Blake
11. My Argument - Lloyd Charmers
12. Wise Message - Rico & The All Stars
13. Cool Hand Luke - The All Stars, , Brother Dan All-Stars
14. Drop Pon - The Crystalites
15. Eastern Organ - The All Stars, Brother Dan All-Stars
16. Baby Baby - Val Bennett
17. Cat Woman - Glen Adams
18. Parapinto - Karl Bryan and Johnny Moore
19. Last Laugh - Lloyd Charmers
20. Reggae Girl - The Tennors
21. Spoogy - Lester Sterling

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It's always a cool thing when you just sort of stumble upon something that delights you. I have loved discovering many of the great treasures that Trojan Records have put out in the form of the various Boxsets spotlighting particular aspects of Reggae (Rocksteady, Ska etc) and so finding a set that I hadn't seen before was a real thrill.

Dawning Of A New Era - The Roots of Skinhead Reggae came out 11 years ago and surprisingly I had never heard of it until recently. Forty-Two slices of early Reggae, mostly drawn from 1968-69 with a few of the tracks having been recorded in London

I was surprised to see this on Amazon going for such a ridiculous price (£78.14 New and £51.48 Used!).

Dawning Of A New Era - The Roots of Skinhead Reggae seems to be a good companion to another Trojan Records release this time from 2003: Dancehall '69: 40 Skinhead Reggae Rarities. Again on Amazon it's a bit of a shocking price - £270.24!

I'm pretty sure that if you hunt around the Internet you'll be able to find both of these albums at a more reasonable price.

CD1

CD2

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!: Day 212 Jimmy Cliff

Rebirth - Jimmy Cliff

Universal

Produced by Tim Armstrong

Released 16th July 2012

US Chart #76

UK Chart #83

Personnel
Vocals, percussion – Jimmy Cliff
Backing vocals – Aimee Allen, Ashli Haynes, Dash Hutton, Jean McClain, Jordis Unga, Nicki Bonner, Tim Hutton
Baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone, flute – James King
Bass guitar – J Bonner
Drums – Scott Abels
Lead guitar, rhythm guitar – Tim Armstrong
Organ – Dan Boer
Piano, guitar – Kevin Bivona
Saxophone – David Moyer, Liam Philpot
Trumpet, trombone – Jordan Katz, Michael Bolger

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Rebirth had been the first Jimmy Cliff album for eight years and hooking up with Tim Armstrong of Rancid had been a stroke of genius I reckon. A number of the songs on the album are Cliff originals written prior to entering the studio but once there he co-wrote Cry No More, Children's Bread, Reggae Music and Outsider with Armstrong and then there are cover versions of Guns of Brixton (The Clash), Ruby Soho (Rancid) and World Upside Down (a co-write with Jamaican artist Joe Higgs).

I had a lot of love for this album when it came out, and still do four years on. The album was nominated and won a Grammy for The Best Reggae Album, and rightly so I reckon.

Rolling Stone had it at #12 in their 50 Best Albums of 2012.

It's such a great album and it's no wonder pretty much all of the critics were high in praise for it (yes I know, they do get some things right every once in a while).

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!

Mojo's 50 Greatest Reggae Albums

I was a little disappointed to discover that the 50 Greatest Reggae Albums that was being advertised in the latest issue of Mojo was in fact not new list at all but one dating back to 2002 and posted on the Mojo Website back in 2014.

That disappointment though got me looking afresh at their list and I thought I'd post their Top Ten and then look at some of the albums that clearly should have been higher and also a few of the albums that seem to be missing from their Top 50 (I realise that if you ask ten people what their Top 50 would be you are bound to get ten different answers and so the ones I think are missing and the placement of ones in Mojo's list is really just my own opinion). Click on the links to enjoy the music.

In case you missed it, back on the 7th July I posted my own Top 10 Reggae Albums  and interestingly only two of the albums that Mojo have in their Top Ten made mine!

Mojo's Top Ten

Greatest Reggae Albums

#10. War Ina Babylon - Max Romeo and The Upsetters (1976)

#9. FABulous Greatest Hits - Prince Buster (1967)

#8. African Dub All-Mighty Chapter 3 - Joe Gibbs (1976)

#7. 14 Dub Blackboard Jungle - The Upsetters (1973)

#6. Funky Kingston - Toots and The Maytals (1973)

#5. Heart of The Congos - The Congos (1977)

#4. Ska Boo-Da-Ba - The Skatalites (1966) - Not Complete Album

#3. The Harder They Come - Various Artists (1972)

#2. King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown - Augustus Pablo (1977)

#1. Catch A Fire - Bob Marley and the Wailers (1973)

Albums That Should Be Higher
#16. Two Sevens Clash - Culture (1977)
#17. Best Dressed Chicken in Town - Dr Alimantado (1978)
#22. Night Nurse - Gregory Issacs (1982)
#26. CB200 - Dillinger (1976)
#33. East of the River Nile - Augustus Pablo (1978)
#34. Right Time - The Mighty Diamonds (1976)
#39. Handsworth Revolution - Steel Pulse (1978)
#41. 1000 Volts of Holt - John Holt (1974)

What's Missing?
(Here's 21 albums just off the top of my head, I'm sure you could think of others)
M.P.L.A. - Tapper Zukie (1976)
Rastaman Vibration - Bob Marley and the Wailers (1976)
Natty Rebel - U-Roy (1976)
Under Heavy Manners - Prince Far I (1976)
Message From The King - Prince Far I (1978)
This is Desmond Dekker - Desmond Dekker (1969)
Forces of Victory - Linton Kwesi Johnson (1979)
Jacob "Killer" Miller - Jacob Miller (1977)
Police and Thieves - Junior Murvin (1977)
Red - Black Uhuru (1981)
Social Living - Burning Spear (1978)
Reggae Chartbusters Volume 1 - Various Artists (1969) 
Dread At The Controls - Mikey Dread (1979)
No Man Is An Island - Dennis Brown (1970)
Ska with Laurel - Laurel Aitken (1966)
Rebirth - Jimmy Cliff (2012)
Live at The Counter Eurovision 79 - Misty in Roots (1979)
Wise and Foolish - Misty in Roots (1982)
New Chapter of Dub - Aswad (1982)
Baldhead Bridge - Culture (1980) 
Roast Fish, Collie Weed & Cornbread - Lee Perry (1978)