I think all the material on Calling Rastafari was newly recorded for Nighthawk, right? It is only the Itals tracks from it that are not part of Omnivore's reissue campaign. Wiser Dread and Knotty Vision consisted of licenced material. Another artist Omnivore have not reissued are Meditations, there was a compilation on Nighthawk called Reggae Crazy, that was also old licensed material and I think the compilation has later been reissued by the group themselves. It is surprising that there is that stray Morwells track on this new compilation, since I think that stuff would have been originally licensed as well (and as I mentioned later released by RAS).
Yes, Calling Rastafari is a NH production When I did the due diligence of the NH catalog, I found very few unreleased tracks. From the top of my head (my notes are not with me): a track by Culture backed by the Wailers, a Justin Hinds track with the Wailers, and a number of tracks by Leonard Dillon Other things of interest to the hard core fans were things like an acapella of Bunny Wailer's Arab Oil Weapon, a demo by Jimmy Cliff (probably on a tape owned by Niney), Rasta No Born Ya acapella, etc... Not sure what was released or not, but these are wicked still The most interesting thing is that the tapes were in good to great shape and the sound of these songs was absolutely pristine and slamming. Compared to reissues using vinyl sources, the difference was day and night.
I don't think we've had any Chinese music in this thread: (Chinese military band plays Koffee's "Toast" for the visiting Prime Minister of Jamaica.) Posting to celebrate that Koffee has been nominated for a Grammy: Best Reggae Album Nominations - Grammy Awards 2020
Shameless self promotion warning! TABOU1 and TAXI are releasing SLY & ROBBIE DUB SERGE Back in 1979, Sly & Robbie produced Serge Gainsbourg's "Aux Armes, etc..." with Geoffrey Chung. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of this best selling album, the went to Anchor Studios in Kingston, JA and re-recorded the entire album (plus a couple of other Gainsbourg tracks) Bravo and I dubbed the crap out of the instrumentals and, voila! Here is a link to stream the record, which is first released online (it's now on Bandcamp, but soon it will be available everywhere) Sly & Robbie Dub Serge - Deluxe Edition, by TAXI TABOU1
Hi Guillaume, thank you for the link. Great to hear these dubs! Can't wait for the CD edition to become available.
Thanks, at the moment I dont plan on a physical release. Vinyl costs an arm and a leg and doesn’t sell that well despite the labba labba about vinyl’s come back. The files on Sly & Robbie Dub Serge - Deluxe Edition, by TAXI TABOU1 are hi res, better def than CD. I know some still like a physical object, but I just don’t have the financial wherewithal anymore and I hate to say that, but I dont feel a sacred fire about the mission to save vinyl, if you see what I mean
I got to admit I was not expecting to hear that about the excellent sounding DUB SERGE. Maybe one day there will be a CD version. Please keep us updated. Checking Amazon UK today I see they are currently selling (at a reduced price) the 5CD Original Album Series budget package box set issued by Parlophone/Warner that includes 5 Peter Tosh albums. I have not heard any of the albums in question but I'm sure this is a great bargain that will appeal to many. PETER TOSH ORIGINAL ALBUM SERIES - currently £6.99 https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00KM4787C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Well, at SACD is also ok to me... Very pity there will be no physical format for these fine recordings.
Thanks for the heads up on this! I have considered this set a few times but I always skipped it because the CDs don't include the bonus tracks that were on the earlier EMI remasters/reissues. But for 6.99 I won't worry about bonus tracks. There are some decent deals in amazon.de's 3-for-25 deal right now. Such as: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B00VNAA2MC?ref_=plp_pc_dp_A1U6JFFEDCOGXA_B00VNAA2MC&m=A3JWKAKR8XB7XF (Culture on the Frontline... 4 albums on 2CDs) https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01M66UIYY?ref_=plp_pc_dp_A1U6JFFEDCOGXA_B01M66UIYY&m=A3JWKAKR8XB7XF (Rico/Man from Wareika/Wareika Dub 2CD) https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01LZERMXJ?ref_=plp_pc_dp_A1U6JFFEDCOGXA_B01LZERMXJ&m=A3JWKAKR8XB7XF (Gladiators Virgin Collection... 4 albums on 2CDs) https://www.amazon.de/dp/B000001EB0?ref_=plp_pc_dp_A1U6JFFEDCOGXA_B000001EB0&m=A3JWKAKR8XB7XF (Lee Perry Arkology 3CD) https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0092YHGKM? (ref_=plp_pc_dp_A1U6JFFEDCOGXA_B0092YHGKM&m=A3JWKAKR8XB7XF (UB40 5 album set, similar to the Tosh set) https://www.amazon.de/dp/B00VNAA2LI?ref_=plp_pc_dp_A1U6JFFEDCOGXA_B00VNAA2LI&m=A3JWKAKR8XB7XF (Burning Spear/Social Living-Living Dub)
Unfortunately I know where Guillaume is coming from, CD sales are down and even if you sell 800 or 1,000 records you aren't making any money, labels are at the bottom of the food chain, they lay all the money out then make a very small margin whilst distributors and retailers take the lion's share, hence certain labels charging really high prices or only selling direct, if a big company like Yep Roc can't make the Studio One catalogue work what can you do.
A superb selection of Prince Buster produced Ska coming out of Japan in the next couple of days, and probably a retailer nearer you not long after PRINCE BUSTER SKA SELECTION [Roll On Charles Street CD] Track List 01. Pink Night - Buster All Stars (Unreleased) 02. Hey Train - Buster All Stars (Unreleased) 03. Roll On Charles Street - Roland Alphonso (Unreleased) 04. Raining Outside - Raymond Harper (Unreleased) 05. Almost Like Being In Love - Roland Alphonso (Alternate take) 06. High Blood Pressure - Prince Buster 07. Raindrops Falling - Derrick & Patsy (Unreleased) 08. Stir The Pot - Prince Buster, Derrick Morgan, Eric Morris & Patsy 09. Stop That Train - Spanish Town SkaBeats 10. Islam - Prince Buster 11. Charles Street Cowboy - Buster All Stars (Unreleased) 12. Prince Of Peace - Buster All Stars (Alternate take) 13. Rude Rude Rudie (Don’t Throw Stones) - Prince Buster 14. Sudden Attack - Don Drummond 15. Vietnam - Don Drummond (Unreleased) 16. I Won’t Let You Cry - Prince Buster 17. Only Soul Can Tell - Dakota Jim (Slim Smith) 18. I’m Sorry - Prince Buster (Unreleased) 19. Summer Time - Unknown Artist (Unreleased) 20. Sunshine With My Girl - Prince Buster
An essential compilation and also an example of a label having to charge a lot to make anything on their release, I've ordered it, but the price was a shock.
fantastic! I was realy longing for better (re)mastered albums of Prince Buster after his passing (sounds silly, but I understood he was sitting on his tapes - almost never willing to let release new albums). Does anyone know if that album is making use of original tapes or which master engineer is being asked for this? PS: I'm reading HAV for the mastering at the backside of that album. What or who is that?
From the blurb All tracks are taken directly from tape; this release is truly a feast for lovers of ska and Jamaican R&B in general.
If you havn't heard any of those albums then it's a "no brainer" (as they say)! Yes, all the stand alone CDs had bonus track, and there was also a 6 CD box set (just a "fat boy" case) that had those albums (plus Captured Live) and then collected all those bonus tracks at the end (plus some live BBC material), it is out of print, but can be found for cheap if one looks around (not as cheap as the Original Album Series set though). Here: Peter Tosh - 1978-1987 That looks enticing, I bought the previous Let's Go To The Dance, but as mentioned these are pricey, and I'm a much less a fan of Ska fan than of Rock Steady, so I'll have to think about it. So are we to excpect there to be a continuing series of Prince Buster releases now?
Re Prince Buster, there's also an interesting new compilation on a French label. Unfortunately, it's as pricey as the Japanese ones. Prince Buster – Africa - Islam - Revolution The online samples sounded fine, so I ordered a copy. Will report back when I've had a chance to listen to it.
20% off all Doctor Bird titles until midnight on December 15th: Cherry Red’s 12 Days Of Christmas: Day 3 – Enjoy 20% off Doctor Bird's Reggae reissues! - Cherry Red Records (Note that this campaign negates the usual multiple item discount system Cherry Red has for the single CDs, so this is most effective on the double CDs, which are otherwise never discounted. The offer excludes pre-orders.) Yes, I saw mentioned on Pama, by someone involved with Rock-a-Shacka, that there is to begin with, in the immediate future, a second volume of Ska coming out.
Released today, In.Dig.Nation Collective Presents Rock & Groove riddim EP, with Sevana, Jaz Elise, Naomi Cowan and Lila Iké riding the riddim under the wachtful eyes of Protoje. YouTube: Rock & Groove Riddim - YouTube Spotify: Rock & Groove Riddim I kind of like these ladies, and the riddim is an pleasant easygoing thing that reminds me a bit of vintage Sly&Robbie (think "Sitting & Watching" or something).
Not sure I’d call it ‘crucial’ but the new Lee Perry dub LP which On-U have put out is a very good record: Lee Scratch Perry - Heavy Rain. Vinyl 12, CD. Bleep.
Lee Perry has put out 2-3 records every year for the last decade and I haven't heard any of them. I say that because I want to explore this music at one point. I see them get high marks. But, I am skeptical at the same time. I have heard good things about the Heavy Rain album. Also, the Rainford album that came out earlier this year. Anyone that has been keeping up with what Scratch has been putting out the last 10-20 years want to suggest the best of.
I think I've just about kept up with the flood of Perry LPs, there are usually one or two good ones a year, I'll try and do a short list of twenty first century ones for you that aren't terrible or just cash ins.
