Are you referring to Beat Down Babylon and When Will Better Come? They came out at around the same time I think, just making sure I haven't missed something. Then when Trojan issued Beat Down Babylon on CD there was also the Curly Locks compilation on Heartbeat, same year I think. They had tracks in common so had to compete with each other.
Yes, technically one is an expanded reissue, but I call them comps as the original "Beat Down Babylon" album was really a singles comp, those, the Heartbeat and "Jordan" which was reissued by Heartbeat are it for Junior Byles albums, not a huge catalogue.
I have totally missed Jordan, I will have to check that out. There is also 129 Beat Street Ja-Man Special on B&F that has some Junior Byles that are not included on the other compilations (it's only four songs, two of them extended, but it is kind of the core of that release).
Another one I didn't know about. I see it is on Nighthawk, lots of good Roots on that label, keeping the flame into the 80's. Are there no more Junior Byles recordings from the time of "Fade Away"? Was that a one off?
That's a good question. I've read here and there of struggles he had with mental illness, and so it could be that it was affecting his output.
"Fade Away" is brilliant, but I think it's also a one of, I believe it's also the only Channel One recording to feature pioneering Jamaican musician Theo 'Easy Snappin'' Beckford, a bit of music trivia there.
Wow, just over twenty minutes, there's almost as much Junior Byles on "129 Beat Street Ja-Man Special 1975-1978" and that's him and other artists.
There is also a fifth volume for Ska that has been released, and before that the RSR Rude Boy Rumble. Later this year (June I think) there will be five more: Jamaican R&B/Blues, Classic Reggae, Tighten Up Reggae, Lovers Rock and Original Dancehall. I agree they are great for a newcomer, they have really selected some absloute core essential tracks for these first 5. In a way that is a new thing, because what they used to do for quite a while was have these releases where half were the same old well worn tracks and half were rarities desirable for the collector, and that really satisfied no one completely, not the guy that had to buy "Return of Django" for maybe the 20th time to get a few rare tracks, nor the newcomer who might be turned off by a lot of obscure tracks mixed in with the hits. I have no interest in these but I hope some Reggae debutante buys them and gets turned on.
the on-deck circle of this afternoon's needledrops ... Lee Perry/King Tubby dub confrontation is up first...
I love groups like New Order and of course the guys in my avatar, so I'm not opposed to drum machines or electric drums per se. But like you, I'm not a big fan of electronic drums in reggae. The best example I can think of in my collection is the Island 2CD Burning Spear anthology. It covers his first three (excellent) albums and then two more that he did for Mango years later, in the early 90s. The contrast in style is shocking, and not in a good way. :/ Ditto for Steel Pulse. I like everything up through Earth Crisis and then it sort of drops off the cliff...
I do like the Reggae Greats Sly & Robbie, a really nice Dub album, although I prefer the UK sleeve design, I think the only US Reggae Greats I have are the Perry and the Pablo Moses which only came out in the States, "Turn & Fire" is a nice collection of late period Black Ark disco mixes as well, I don't know the Dub Confrontation you've got there though, it looks a bit dubious to me, anything that has Perry's, Pablo's or Tubby's name together always rings alarm bells.
Angella records (discogs entry) apparently there is a second disc (which I don't have) and they both are compiled as a double cd on culture press... Finishing side 2 now. All music info is here... Haven't got to the sly and Robbie or blood vapor; turn and fire is next...
A double CD on Lagoon rings a bell, still not sure how kosher it is though, likewise "Blood Vapour" may not be exactly what it claims, but the Sly & Robbie is excellent and underrated, at least if you like their early eighties sound.
I was about to say the same, shady labels always love to combine those names because it sells. Pablo and Tubby is one thing, but Perry in combinatin with any of the other two...? How much material did Perry and Tubby really work on together, besides Blackboard Jungle? And Pablo recorded a bit at Black Ark, but did they collaborate on anything, and did he play on any of Perry's stuff? I'm sure these combinations exists, but they are rare. I mentioned it earlier in the thread, all those French labels: Culture Press, Lagoon, Edsoldun, Crocodisc, etc., are grey area and lead back to the same person, so beware. It might still be good music, but maybe not always what it says on the package, and mostly not licenced and payed for in the correct way (whatever that means in the Reggae world, but that is another subject...).
Cool. I remember enjoying turn and fire, and I remember liking some of the sly and Robbie, too. For some reason i wasn't hot on blood vapour, but I figured I would pull it out and needledrop it anyway because it fits the theme... Too bad the internet wasn't around twenty some-odd years ago when I bought these pieces of vinyl... I just went with my gut and bought stuff that looked like I would dig (recorded in the 70s, producers/players I recognize, etc.). But even then I knew not to support bootleg labels, but at the time, I had no idea... I have some of my older vocal albums to do after these dub titles... Wonderful way to spend a Friday evening...
Well, if you are going to only buy records where everyone involved has recieved their fair payment you'll end up with a pretty skimpy Reggae collection I guess. I just avoid those that are obviously mislabeled, like all those Dub albums that are pouring out from that "Jamaican Recordings" label (there are some genuine ones from them, but most are modern mixes by anonymous engineers, although Tubby, Perry and Pablo are mentioned everywhere), or where the material is available elsewhere on better conceived releases.
^^ Hence my post about the internet above. As the only one of my friends exploring this stuff, I didn't know what to do except check various record shops and pull the stuff that looked like it could be good. Fast forward 20+ Years later, and I have my needledropping setup going, and some time on my hands, and I am digging this stuff up again and checking it out...
On a positive note if you were buying twenty years ago I bet you got more than enough things that are expensive or hard to find now to more than outweigh any slightly dubious releases, "Turn And Fire" being one.
