International Herb is amazing...but so are two sevens and bald head bridge....i just did a side of bald head bridge and now on to good things.....
As others have said, Reggae SQ can definitely be across the spectrum - my personal opinion being anything within 25% of far right is killing it...but I am also OK with some of the lesser SQ as to me somehow it has an authentic quality to it that just works...most other types of music id be bummed...however, there is stuff out that that can sound pretty great These may be difficult to source but there are a ton of Trojan releases that were put out in Japan in the late 70's that sound pretty great - across the board you should be happy. P-Vine (who I have a love/hate relationship with) also put out some crucial 80's sides that I'd concur with other posters saying the original Japanese pressings of the Bob Marley records are uniformly good, some great. I recently found a Japanese first press (ILS) of Max Romeo 'War ina Babylon' that has no business sounding as good as it does - a quick discogs scan has crazy prices on it, but if you can find one reasonable you won't be disappointed
On the Rega TT right now is YARD STYLE CHRISTMAS (a Joe Gibbs Production). Haha - ever hear Silent Night (Tamlins) with a dub by Trinity? Or I Saw Mommy Kiss a Dreadlocks? Great stuff....
The prices for the regular UK pressing are silly enough, this is probably the one out of the "classic canon" of Island albums (the ones that everyone has in their top lists) that goes for the most money in it's original pressing (I think it beats Super Ape, which is the contender). When Universal did a bunch of Island albums in the Back To Black series some years ago this sold out quickly while most of the others were around for years (some are still to be found new) and it was the only one where I had to settle for a used copy.
I got lucky which is rare these days for sure... Music on Vinyl (which I have no experience with) has been flooding the market with lots of reggae lately - can anyone comment on how these sound?
The Music On Vinyl stuff i have picked up is great sounding not sure on source probably digital Catalog - Music On Vinyl
Funny, as soon as I saw this thread heading I thought of "Survival". I regularly listen to a radio program where they play reggae, ska, dancehall etc from many eras. The fact - I was nearly going to say "the unfortunate fact", but let's just say "the fact" - is, that the recording quality was pretty crappy on many of the early reggae and pre-reggae records coming out of Jamaica. "Crappy" in the sense of the mix being all over the place, horns sometimes too loud, notes not sounding crisp. Now this is probably a culturally dependent judgment. The original artists and producers may not have heard anything wrong with their production, and certainly for many of their audience it did not necessarily detract from enjoyment of the finished product. Indeed I suspect that the lo-fi sound was part of the appeal; it gave the music a homegrown quality. It's not so different from the way many musical acts in the 1990s moved away from the pure, distortion-free sound that technologically had finally made possible, and and inserted clicks and pops and tape wobbles into their recordings to intentionally give it an amateur sound. The issue of "sound quality" is also arguably more important for some genres than others. If I am listening to a recording of Debussy piano preludes, I want very good dynamics and no discernible background noise. If I am hearing some early reggae or ska music, extra noise way not even be noticeable, or may simply be heard as part of the recording. For rap, the quality os almost irrelevant - and this is not a value judgment on the merits of rap as a genre, just saying that spoken word does not need to meet the same quality standards as singing.
Based on your recommendation, I went looking for the Blue Moon pressing on discogs, and found an affordable copy from a US seller, in NM condition. Just spun it for the first time. Sound is very good. I only have the Shanachie CD to compare and haven't listened to that in a long time, but I'm quite pleased with this purchase!
I try to warn people not to put too much faith into what I say about sound, as I don't have golden ears. But as long as you didn't spend a fortune I think that one is worth checking out, I think it is one of the good options, at least better than the CD you already have. Glad you enjoyed it, I would have felt bad otherwise...
For vinyl, an original pressing of Peter Tosh 'Wanted Dread and Alive' on Rolling Stones Records (Jacksonville pressing), you know - the tongue logo.
My understanding is that Blue Moon did a lot of Joe Gibbs stuff for the UK market I have a couple of lps they sound fine to me
There seems to be such a connection, they did a lot of the same things that came out on Lightning and/or Laser, so may have to do with that too. As I mentioned above I have a pressing of DEB's Wolf & Leopards that sounds like crap, it is plain defective with weird volume fluctuations and you get the urge to keep checking you needle to get rid of the fluff that you are sure must have gathered there. So Blue Moon are not great across the board, that one can be an anomaly, not sure, but serious lack of quality control to let it out like that.
There’s a complication called , This Is Reggae Music. It’s a 2LP gatefold. It’s a Jonz cut and it sounds fantastic! There are a few variations and volumes but this is the one I have: Various-Reggae & Ska This Is Reggae Music UK 2-LP vinyl record set (Double Album) (583642)
I can second this. It's a superb sounding album and a nice sampler of all that's great about mid 70s reggae. There's also a few otherwise hard to find tracks too. This was one of the few albums, after the Bob Marley catalogue and Lee Perry - Arkology that really got me started with reggae.
I have an original UK pressing of War Ina Babylon and have seen a couple more, as well as also owning original UK Island pressings of Party Time, Police and Thieves, Burning Spear - Marcus Garvey, Man In The Hills and Dry & Heavy, Wailing Souls - Wild Suspense, Bunny Wailer - Blackheart Man and I'm sure a few more, but I've never even seen an original of Super Ape. I'd love one. I still only have it on CD.
I have a promo pressing of the domestic Bob Marley Uprising. It’s astounding. It makes my system sound like I just did a pricey upgrade.
Original pressings of the first 3 Steel Pulse albums: Handsworth, Tribute and Caught You all sound great. True Democracy and Earth Crisis are no slouches either. Original pressings of Sinsemilla and Red from Black Uhuru are also really great.
Black Uhuru's "Red" The Abyssinians' "Satta Massagana" Steel Pulse's "Tribute To The Martyrs" and "True Democracy"
Jamaican mixes are different from Rock or anything coming out of the Western countries. Many, for instance think that Studio One sounds terrrible. I was one of those unfortunates until I heard a selection of S1 singles being played on Sugar Minott's sound system in his courtyard and realized my folly. Their music was mixed for and enjoyed in HUMONGOUS sound systems. And just because they had non conventional ways of setting their preamps, their tweeters (in the trees), etc... doesnt mean they didnt know what they were doing, QUITE THE CONTRARY And a lot of the mixing engineers from Jamaica were groundbreakers whose technique got imitated later on, proving once again that they had something that nobody else had
There are quite a few on CD, this is a great format for audiophile reggae as the master tapes are being dusted off more and more. For example all reggae titles in the The Best Of [name of artist] (20th Century Masters) series kick butt. For Toots and the Maytals, that is the only disc of theirs I need. Got a wide distribution so you’ll find it in the used bin. The UK Trojan Nyahbinghi box set includes a perfect studio “Trojan mix” of each song from Dadawah - Peace and Love (Wadadasow). I demo’d all the proper album releases including the new Dug Out (meh) and 90’s Trojan two-fer (needle drop), but only the box set crushes it. The bass and drums and reverb are perfect. Vinyl Me Please just released the “Trojan mix” on vinyl, so you have that option too. For lovers rock check out Various - 81 Sessions (In The Front Room) on Ariwa. Some of Mad Professors’s earliest studio recordings and they are masterfully produced with quality song writing and instrumentation especially those by Aquizm. Mad Professor is an audiophile I suspect. For sale on the Ariwa bandcamp. Wareika Hill Sounds first album on Honest Jons. You get that Jamaican trumpet and dub effects too. The Heptones – Unreleased Night Food. Lee Perry’s production of their Party Time album is often cited as their greatest, but this studio session beats it. The disc is getting hard to find. Imagination - Night Dubbing. Quite a groovy record! Most if not all vinyl pressings are regarded to be a mess, but CD is fabulous. The Senior Allstars – Dub From Jamdown Darker Than Blue. Recent German tribute of beautifully recorded cover songs. As for other modern artists, I agree with the earlier Hollie Cook suggestion (check out the album Twice) and also point to Chronixx - Dread and Terrible.
only on Vinyl, here are some audiophile gems: The Skatalites - The Legendary Skatalites. The original on Jam Sounds is ridiculous, a holy grail. Unfortunately all the CD releases are very poor needle drops. Barrington Levy - Run Come Ya! This is my favorite release, his vocals are true and clear backed with great instrumentation and showcase-style dub transitions at the end of the tracks. Zion Initation - Showcase. I was smitten after the first track. The album is heavily featured in the Take Us Home: Boston CD compilation.
