RED STRIPE OPTIONAL

Here's a random selection of reggae 45s, both the A-sides and B-sides, because, hey, it's always nice to hear them in the form that they would have been played back in the day at sound systems. I've always fantasized about being at one of those outdoor sound system dances back then. I'd stick out like a sore thumb, but if they were anything like the sound system dance I attended locally (in San Diego) back in the eighties, it wouldn't matter. Fuck, the bass alone knocked out half your senses. That was a long time ago, and I still remember the people I was with, the smell of the jerk chicken, the haze of smoke and the shuffle of the feet. It was held indoors, in the same rented hall that had also been home to many punk shows. So the venue was familiar, and because it was indoors everything seemed amplified. The music, the smoke, the smells. You really need to turn this shit up. Aw, what the hell, burn one.

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

Listen:

Delroy Wilson - Run Run mp3 at Marley Discography A-side
Delroy Wilson - Run Run (Version) mp3 at Marley Discography B-side

U Roy and the Heptones - Make Love Not War mp3 at Marley Discography A-side

U Roy and the Heptones - Make Love Not War (Version) mp3 at Marley Discography B-side
Lee Perry & The Upsetters - Jungle Lion mp3 at Marley Discography A-side

The Upsetters - Freak Out Skank mp3 at Marley Discography B-side
Scotty - Skank In Bed mp3 at Marley Discography A-side
Bongo Herman - African Breakfast mp3 at Marley Discography B-side

U ROY VS GROUNDHOG

I ran into U-Roy's "Natty Rebel" today. Holy shit. It didn't just sound good, it felt good. It felt like coming home. You probably have a few songs like that. Everybody has musical constants that follow them. U-Roy's one of mine. And boy, I sure don't have to go any further tonight. I'd already run ito the other three: Dillinger's "Cocaine" (for the umpteenth time), a smooth cut from Delroy Wilson, and a Donna-less Althia (really, no idea if it's the same Althia). Seemed as good a reason as any to pretend like the first day of spring is some sort of big deal. Cheer up east coast sad sacks, it'll be warmer before you know it. Said the warm west coast asshole.

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

Listen:
Althia - Love One Another mp3 at Juno Download
Delroy Wilson - Cool Operator mp3 at Juno Download 
Dillinger - Cocaine mp3 at Giant Panther
U-Roy - Natty Rebel mp3 at Le Blog de la Grande Chose
Earlier:
All Reggae posts Hey, quite a few of the old links are still good.

WE WAS ROBBED

Another smooth vocal stylist from the early days of reggae, Delroy Wilson was like a lot of his contemporaries. He got his start in his teens, in the rock steady era, and was already up and running when reggae hit. He had several hits on Studio One, and went on to record at other studios and on other labels, including his own for a short while. Sadly, he died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1995. While there are singers his age that had enjoyed enduring success, he was not to be one of them. In the '83 live video below, some of his moves are pretty smooth, but his gestures and vocal inflections seem a little overreaching, like the the work of a performer who is either buzzed, or struggling to hang on. That's just my impression (and it could be biased, based on his cause of death). Anyway you look at it, it's a sad thing he didn't have the longevity of his peers, because it wasn't for lack of early promise.

But, boy did he have some good stuff. Most of the songs below are early stuff, all top notch, really, I highly recommend you listen to all of them; but do check out that first one, "Adis Ababa." I mean it. Wah-wah and fuzz? Are you kidding me? In a reggae song? Hell yeah! Sounds weird on paper, I know, but this sucker is my favorite song this week, if not since Nora Dean.

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

Listen:
Delroy Wilson - Adis Ababa (1973) mp3 at Podcast Battle
Delroy Wilson - Easy Snappin' mp3 at Reggae Top Site (Studio One!)
Delroy Wilson - I Don't Know Why mp3 at Monsefar (Studio One with scratches!!)
Delroy Wilson - This Old Heart of Mine mp3 at Polaroidallaradio
Delroy Wilson - Got To Get Away mp3 at Daniel Johnson Writes
Delroy Wilson - Your Number One mp3 at Daniel Johnson Writes
Delroy Wilson - Have Some Mercy mp3 at Art Decade
Delroy Wilson - This Life Makes Me Wonder mp3 at Stereogum
Delroy Wilson - Conquer Me (via Box.net) mp3 at For the Sake of the Song
Video:
Delroy Wilson w/Prince Jammy, Bunny Lee - In A Dancing Mood (studio footage) at YouTube
Delroy Wilson - Live, 1983 at YouTube
Visit:
Delroy Wilson - Profile at AllMusic (Surprisingly detailed)
Delroy Wilson at Wikipedia
Delroy Wilson at Roots Archive
Related:
Other Reggae posts