THERE GOES THREE HOURS

I just ran into a riddim rabbit hole. The riddim (reggae speak for rhythm) is from "Ali Baba" a John Holt song recorded at Duke Reid's in 1969. The blog 27 Leggings posted Dr. Alimantado's "I Killed the Barber", paired with a version of "Ali Baba" by Jackie Edwards from 1973, the version of the riddim that was used. Edwards's version was recorded at Bunny Striker Lee's, and was used as a riddim on a shitload of other cuts, King Tubby's "I Trim the Barber" among them. Yeah, this is just the beginning. I was curious if Holt's version was indeed the original, so with trepidation I decided to check. These sorts of inquiries usually end in a riddim click overload and tonight was no exception. In fact this rundown was more fruitful than usual. In addition to the full rundown at Riddim Guide (yeesh!), I ran into a mix with a shitload of "Ali Baba"/"Trim the Barber" versions, all mixed one to another, sometimes two playing at once (in separate left/right channels). Roland Alphonso, U Roy, King Tubby, I Roy, Tommy McCook, .. . a lot of heavy hitters. There's other riddims in the mix too, notably "Wear You to the Ball" and "Tide Is High" by the Paragons (both also Duke Reid product) with variations by Dennis Alcapone, Lizzy, and U Roy among others. It's massive, three fucking hours of versions based on a handful of riddims.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:

John Holt - Ali Baba (streaming) at YouTube
Dr, Alimantado - I Shot the Barber mp3 at Now That's What I Call Bullshit

Jackie Edwards - Ali Baba mp3 at 27 Leggings Go there to get it.

The mix:
Algoriddim 20160118: John Holt Part 1 at Internet Archive Three hour mix (streaming and download) of songs derived from riddims of John Holt songs (including his work with the Paragons) The first version of Ali Baba at 3:58.

Visit:
Ali Baba riddim at Riddim Guide