IS TIME

Oh hell yeah, these hit the spot. Just what I need before a three day-er. Althea and Donna 's "Uptown Top Ranking" is my all-time summer jam, and it's right on time. We're just starting to get summer-like weather (high 70s, 70° water). Like I need an excuse. The Horace Andy and Heptones cuts are favorites as well, and these all have the versions tacked on. Partake in something. Crank it fool.

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

Listen:
Althea and Donna - Uptown Top Ranking b/w Calico Suit mp3 at Internet Archive Original 1977 Joe Gibbs Record Globe 7" Version
Horace Andy - Skylarking b/w Skylarking (Version)  mp3 at Internet Archive Original 1972 Bongo Man 7" Version
The Heptones - Cool Rasta b/w Rasta Dub  mp3 at Internet Archive Original 1976 Cancer 7" Single Version

THIS TIME WITH JOE GIBBS' B-SIDE VERSION!

Just about every summer I post Althea and Donna's "Uptown Top Ranking". I don't remember posting it this past summer so I have no problem posting it again. When I went swimming just before sunset today the ocean was 67° and the air was 72° so it might as well still be summer. I don't really need an excuse anyway because this one has the B-side version clipped onto it, Joe Gibbs and the Professionals "Calico Suit". Dig what sounds like clavinet, you don't hear that often on a reggae record.

To fill this out there's a souple others. What's labeled as the original version of Horace Andy's "Skylarking" (pre-Studio One?) along with the B-side version. Regardless of whether it's the original, it's as good as the Studio One, with what seems to be a little different mix, still better than later recordings he did of the same song. Next, the Heptones with the original version of Cool Rasta, again with a version tacked on. I love all three of these songs and having them lengthened in any way is a bonus. Hang around, more reggae will be coming intermittently as long as the weather holds. Or doesn't.

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

Listen:
Althea and Donna - Uptown Top Ranking b/w Calico Suit mp3 at Internet Archive Original 1977 Joe Gibbs Record Globe 7" Version
Horace Andy - Skylarking b/w Skylarking (Version)  mp3 at Internet Archive Original 1972 Bongo Man 7" Version
The Heptones - Cool Rasta b/w Rasta Dub  mp3 at Internet Archive Original 1976 Cancer 7" Single Version

JAZZBO SMELLING OB NOODLE HOUSE

On the way home a wiff of Asian food while stopped at a stop sign reminded me of San Francisco in my twenties. I had a reggae mix playing in my car and coupled with the smell, I flashed on an apartment building I lived in when I was there. Now that I think about it, all of the SF apartment buildings smelled like Asian food when I was there. Nevertheless, the smell tonight and the music that happened to be playing, led to a flashback of sorts. It was about that time that I was just starting to discern different reggae sub-genres. You wouldn't think it would take roughly five years of listening to reggae to figure out that King Tubby is in a different universe than Alton Ellis but I was green, very few of my friends listened to reggae, and there was no internet. Yadda, yadd, yadda, and now you get some reggae.

Prince Jazzbo's "Crab Walking" was one that I wanted to post because it sort of combines different sub-genres of reggae. The riddim is from Horace Andy's "Skylarking", a classic early reggae cut from Coxsone Dodd's Studio One. Jazzbo toasts over it, and being an eight minute disco mix, there's a little dub in the middle of it. That's three cuts with the same riddim on the same label. Andy's original, Jazzbo's version and then the extended version and whoever did the dub part. That's nothing. There were at least five records on Studio One using that riddim. Riddim Guide lists over fifty on various other labels. There's three other unrelated favorites below too, because they were handy but are also the shit. Yadda, yadda, yadda, noodles.

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

Listen:
Prince Jazzbo - Crab Walking mp3 at Snuhthing Anything
Burning Spear - Social Living mp3 at Internet Archive 12" version, with a couple minutes of the version on the flip.
Horace Andy - See A Man's Face mp3 at Kazo Wailers
Gregory Isaacs - Poor and Clean mp3 at Kazo Wailers

DID THE PIONEERS COVER THEIR COVER?

Every genre has them. Covers. Some are good and some are bad. In reggae there is a fine line between a good cover and and a bad one. The good covers are usually either instrumentals, soul covers or Motown, or some older vocal thing. Rock covers by reggae artists are on double secret probation. One thing that absolutely shouldn't be done: incorporating rock riffs in a chunka chunka riddim. Listen to a few of the covers down there and then listen to Alpha Blondy's cover of "Whole Lotta Love". I'm sure some may like it. I don't. It just seems to be a little desperate for attention.

I've got an semi-related request. I really don't think anyone who reads this will have the answer (to crowd source successfully you must first have a crowd), but I have to ask: does anyone know the story of the version of "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" below by the Pioneers. The one I have was produced by Joe Gibbs. The one below sounds different, cleaner and mixed differently. I spent a bit of time trying to find out and found squat, So, just throwing it out there. Gibb's version is better anyway.

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

Listen:
Alton Ellis - It's A Shame mp3 at Internet Archive
Horace Andy - Ain't No Sunshine mp3 at Internet Archive
The Pioneers - Papa Was Rolling Stone mp3 at Internet Archive
Faye and Mystic - California Soul mp3 at Internet Archive
Nostalgia 77 ft Alice Russell - Seven Nation Army mp3 at Internet Archive
Alpha Blondy - Whole Lotta Love mp3 at Internet Archive

NOW WITH ADDED DISTRACTIONS!

Yeah, this record has been here before, a bunch. It's one of my favorite reggae LPs, early Horace Andy on Studio One. Seriously, this is the shit. As close to the true sound of classic Studio One from the golden age, the early seventies, as you're gonna get. The reason I'm posting it is because I had a jolt earlier today. I was going down my alley on the way to the beach and a car driving down the street at the end of the alley drove by playing, no, blasting Horace Andy's original version of "Skylarking", the Studio One version. I doubt seriously that anyone but me would get worked up about something like that, at least not in this neighborhood. Here's why: It's kind of obscure, you have to be into reggae to know the song, and you have to be really into reggae to know the Studio One version. Most Horace Andy compilations feature the song, but a later version recorded who knows where. And then there is the stuff he did with Massive Attack. Not my thing. Another thing is that my neighborhood ain't exactly dread central. There's a fair amount of rastas, but they don't typically broadcast their tunes from a car. Most of the reggae you hear around here is either Bob Marley, some digital type dancehall shit (not a big fan of dancehall nor digital reggae) or some horrid white reggae crap (Slightly Stoopid lives in town). In fact, I think that today might be the first time I heard any Studio One Horace Andy outside of my own apartment or house (years ago I lived in a house where we played it quite a bit).

Amazingly the link I've posted before for the whole LP was still good (it's been online for twelve years). So, yeah, if you like the samples below, go get it. For those of you who have been there, done that, there's a couple related things down there too. Someone posted a  dub version of the Studio One "Skylarking"version on YouTube. I let it run while I was working on this post so I wasn't paying attention when the song ended. Then it started again and it wasn't the same version. So I opened the screen it was playing in and it was a cover, by a kid! What's more, this kid does all sorts of classic reggae, he sings and plays organ. This kid does a cover of Jackie Mittoo's "Ghetto Organ"!! Even if no one else thinks that's fucking awesome, I know my friend Scott will. He gets it.

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

Listen:
Horace Andy - Skylarking mp3 at Tumblr
Horace Andy - Skylarking (+ dub) (streaming) at YouTube
Horace Andy - Where Do the Children Play (streaming) at YouTube
Horace Andy - Mamie Blue (streaming) at YouTube
The full LP:
Horace Andy - Skylarking (download) at Global Grooves Click on the green download button, fill in the captcha, and you're gold baby.
The wiz kid:
Kailash - Ghetto Organ at YouTube Jackie Mittoo cover
Kailash - Skylarking at YouTube Horace Andy cover
Kailash - His channel at YouTube

TONIGHTS EARWORM CHAMP

This would be one of those nights that I don't feel like sitting in front of a screen. A few weeks ago I'd take the opportunity to just walk around the neighborhood, maybe down to the beach, and just chat with the people I know when I run into them. No agenda, just cruise around. Now the streets are just about empty. I live by myself and this day after day of the same thing is getting groundhog day-ish. "Social living is the best", so repeats Burning Spear in his "Social Living". The song, rather repeated lyric, has been stuck in my head for days, like a fucking mantra. I found a download of it, so here's that and a couple other cuts, unrelated but also reggae and also good.

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

Listen:
Burning Spear - Social Living mp3 at Internet Archive 12" version, with a couple minutes of the version on the flip.
Burning Spear - Social Living (streaming) at YouTube
Horace Andy - See A Man's Face mp3 at Kazo Wailers
Gregory Isaacs - Poor and Clean mp3 at Kazo Wailers
Prince Jazzbo - Crab Walking mp3 at Snuhthing Anything

HORACE ANDY GETS THE SPECIAL CHAIR TONIGHT

Okay, so this is the 3000th post here. Rather than muttering about any imagined significance, a milestone that really isn't, blah, blah, blah, I figured I'd just crack my knuckles and post an all-time favorite of a random genre. It wasn't hard to come up with a handful. More than a handful to be exact. Maybe it'll turn into a series of posts, but before that gets decided let's just start with one. Horace Andy's Skylarking LP, his first, from the golden age of reggae, top shelf stuff, beginning to end. Released on Studio One with a backing of a band so archetypal that their riddims still being used today. Skylarking is one of my favorite LPs of all time and as good as the music is, there are other reasons that made me re-access it after my first few listens decades ago. It was a couple of roommates and their varied and open minded listening habits that drew me back into it. We were living in a house that would become a hang out for people in the punk rock crowd. (Descriptions of the house and it's inhabitants can be found here.) Despite the huge influence of growing up living among two fellow music freak brothers (more about the listening habits of the boys' room here), it wasn't until these two roommates started dissecting the houses aggregate record collection that I fully appreciated the anything goes mode of listening. All good stuff was on the table, regardless of genre or vintage. Almost a figurative nod to Chuck Berry's "Little Queenie", "If it's a rocker, that'll get it, and if it's good, she'll admit it" with rocker taking on the meaning of any music innately cool, moving, or otherwise worthy of attention. This was one LP that really does stand as a personal milestone, because it was the constant spinning of it almost forty years ago (yikes!) that really changed how I approached listening from then on. Put it in your back pocket. One would hope it's good for another forty years.

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

Listen:
Horace Andy - Skylarking mp3 at ATumblr (?)
Horace Andy - Where Do the Children Play (streaming) at YouTube
Horace Andy - Mamie Blue (streaming) at YouTube
The full LP:
Horace Andy - Skylarking (download) at Global Grooves Click on the green download button, fill in the captcha, and you're gold baby.

RETURN OF THE STONE COLD CLASSIC

You gotta know by now that I'm not above posting something a second or third time. There's a few reasons. One is that sometimes it's just too damn hard to think of something to post. You try to think of 2835 different artists. That's how many posts are here. So there's going to be artists or songs posted repeatedly. Which brings up another reason. Sometimes I'm A) Amazed that the old links still work, or B) I've found new links. Neither would be reason enough, but if it's something I dig enough to really want to push it in front of you, all bets are off. Cutting to the chase: Horace Andy's debut LP on Studio One is a true reggae classic, period. It's made the top reggae LPs of all time lists  a zillion times for good reason. It's an iconic slab containing Andy's young voice as smooth as it ever was, the fantastic prime-era-Studio One sound and band (Leroy Sibbles and, Jackie Mittoo undoubtedly in the mix). Think of it this way, it's like the first Ramones LP of reggae. I guess.

It's a hard title to find on Studio One, meaning the original versions. He rerecorded most, if not all, of the songs in later years on other labels, but none are nearly as good as the originals. But the re-recordings are the ones that always seem to pop up, new or used. Not the original recordings. So, if you find it on Studio One, snag it. In case you never do, it's down there. Dig it.

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

Listen:
Horace Andy - Skylarking mp3 at ATumblr (?)
The full LP:
Horace Andy - Skylarking (streaming) at YouTube
Horace Andy - Skylarking (download) at Global Grooves Click on the green download button, fill in the captcha, and you're gold baby. Note: you may have to do the captcha twice.
Visit:
Other Studio One posts (scroll down)

THE BUMMER TREATMENT

There were more than a few reasons why it took me years to take Tom Jones seriously. We all know of his resurgence as a ladies man so-uncool-he's-cool sort of thing. In recent decades he's been hip to trying new things, and that's always good for older singers. The turning point for me came when watching a concert on TV, back in the pre-YouTube eighties. Women were throwing their panties on stage. He caught one, was wiping is sweat with it and when if got closer to his nose, in between lines of a song, he said "Hmmm, these smell familiar". Me and the drinking buddy I was watching with were on the floor laughing. Still, there was "Delilah". The younger, tuxedo-ed ladies man crooner. The Ed Sullivan piss break. "Delilah."  Blecch,

Though my attitude towards Jones and his output has softened in ensuing years, due to increased exposure and the unrelenting cheerleading of one Lady Spinsta, it has always been "Delilah" tainted. That Jones era. Fucking tuxedos and shit. Hate 'em. "Delilah" may very well be a great song, but I cannot be objective. Not with that bow tie in my face.

Horace Andy covered it and it's got a whole different vibe. Really, believably forlorn, his voice actually sounding like he just killed his woman, with back up vocals that every bit the bummer. The horns sound like they escaped from the Tijuana Brass. He takes the song into the shit mood it deserves.

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

Listen:
Horace Andy - Delilah mp3 at Internet Archive
Video:
Tom Jones - Delilah at YouTube

AND IT WON'T BE THE LAST TIME

When it comes to pointing you towards something good, even if I have posted it before, there's no shame in a periodic re-posting of something I consider essential, especially when it's not easy to find. Todays refresher is in the debut LP of Horace Andy on Studio One. Released in 1969, when Andy was eighteen and just a voice, before he came with associations, collaborators or otherwise. Just a kid with a voice. And it's on Studio One, perfectly situated. The label had it's own sound, by most accounts, the best in town. Regardless of what degree of significance you put on the early recordings of a reggae legend, or just a damn good record on a damn good label at the right time, any combination of Horace Andy and Studio One is something you need to hear.

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

Listen:
Horace Andy - Skylarking mp3 at ATumblr (?)
The full LP:
Horace Andy - Skylarking (streaming) at YouTube
Horace Andy - Skylarking (download) at Global Grooves Click on the green download button, fill in the captcha, and you're gold baby. Note: you may have to do the captcha twice.
Visit:
Other Studio One posts (scroll down)

RETURN OF THE STONE COLD CLASSIC

I'm not even going to mess around with this one. If you dig vintage reggae and don't have Horace Andy's Skylarking LP, don't sleep on this. It's his first LP, released in 1969 when he was eighteen, his voice super smooth, before age did its work (minor as it was). It is post rocksteady, pre-roots, golden era, and all of that, recorded at Studio One, at a time when label owner Coxsone Dodd had everything dialed in. The studio and label of the same name were unstoppable, dominant enough that Dodd made up other labels so radio DJs wouldn't have to shy away fearing claims of favoritism. In short, Studio One was the most important record label in the history of the genre; the archetype, both in sound and riddims (rhythms). To put it in non-reggae perspective, the studio and label belong in the ranks of other legendary labels like Stax, Motown, Sun or Chess. And like those studios, a big part of it was the house band, in this case the Sound Dimension, whose riddims are still being used in reggae today. 

The LP has been posted here before, but the link went dead and it was a few years ago, so you probably missed it anyway. A heads up here, if you go looking to buy it, beware. There are Horace Andy compilations with the same title. Make sure it's the Studio One version, otherwise you'll be hearing a re-recorded version of the song, and other songs not on this LP. The album may be out of print, at least on CD. I haven't been able to find it anyways, and I've looked. (I have the vinyl, so no idea there.) The download linked below is fast, maybe a minute or two. Sleep on it at your peril.

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

Listen:
Horace Andy - Skylarking mp3 at ATumblr (?)
The full LP:
Horace Andy - Skylarking (streaming) at YouTube
Horace Andy - Skylarking (download) at Global Grooves Click on the green download button, fill in the captcha, and you're gold baby.
Visit:
Other Studio One posts (scroll down)

RIDDIM DEPOT. YEAH, WE GOT THAT.

Garret Mimms's "A Quiet Place" was just a slow tempo soul song when it was released in 1964, making it to #78 in the charts. Hardly a smash hit. But when it crossed the water over to Jamaica, boy, did it ever get legs. The Paragons recorded it at Duke Reid's in 1968, and the riddim (rhythm) that it was laid over has been mined for the past four decades. Usually referred to as the "Man Next Door" riddim, it's been used by U Roy, Doctor Alimatado, and I Roy, to toast over, and the song itself, with the riddim (as opposed to Simms's original version), has been covered by everybody from Horace Andy and Dennis Brown to the Slits. My personal favorite (which you should rightly not give a shit about) is Dr. Alimantado's version, "Poison Flour", because he incorporates Horace Andy's vocal tracks as well as the riddim, and, of course, his own spouting off . He must have like the song, because he used it twice, as did U Roy, John Holt (solo and with the Paragons), and Horace Andy (solo, with the Paragons, and with Massive Attack). And you just know the session musicians that came up with the riddim probably got the paid for the session, but squat for coming up with the very part of it that has proved so enduring. I've no clue if you can be paid royalties for just playing a song differently, but that opens up the biggest can of worms in reggae, who did what? It's like a damn free for all over there.

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

Songs:
Garnet Simms - A Quite Place (streaming at YouTube
The Paragons - A Quiet Place mp3 at Essentially Eclectic
Horace Andy - Man Next Door (streaming) at YouTube With dub version.
Dr. Alimantado - Poison Flour mp3 at Le Blog de la Grande Chose
I Roy- Noisy Place (streaming) at YouTube
U Roy - Peace and Love In the Ghetto (streaming) at YouTube
Dennis Brown - Man Next Door mp3 at Essential Eclectic
The Slits - Man Next Door (live) mp3 at Essentially Eclectic

PAYBACK'S A MIX

It's party time: another brainstorming session at HQ

I know, I know, there's been more mixes posted as of late, but there's a reason for posting this sucker. The mix below, posted at Versions Galore, is based on selections by your humble hack host here. To make a long story short, it's payback of sorts, because I've linked to his stuff regularly after coming across his all-covers blog a year or so ago. His blog just passed the four year mark and he asked me, along with a handful of other people, to put together an hour of covers each. I couldn't say no, and to be honest, I was kind of jazzed to be asked. The bonus, that might temper things for you who don't necessarily like full length mixes, is that some of the songs are pretty hard to find. So, here's the song list, the mix, and links to his other mixes. Party on.

NOTE: THE HOSTING BLOG HAS REMOVED THIS MIX (9/26/2012)

Lee Perry – Jungle Lion (Al Green’s Love & Happiness) While not a straight forward cover, this is about as close as the Upsetter gets.

Lulu – Feelin’ Alright (Traffic) Surprisingly funky, she definitely had her eye on Dusty in Memphis.

Ricky Nelson – Summertime (George Gershwin for Porgy and Bess) Interesting in that it predates the Yardbirds by several years. Chicken or egg?

Tommy McCook – Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey) No shortage of early reggae/ska covers of Bond themes. McCook was a sax player for the Skatalites, and the go-to guy for Duke Reid anong others.

Jenny Dee & the Deelinquents – Shake Some Action (Flamin’ Groovies) Nice try to duplicate the Motown sound. What’s it missing? The Funk Brothers. What the hell, an “A” for effort.

The Pioneers – Papa Was A Rolling Stone (Temptations) As long as we’re on a Motown tangent, what if Norman Whitfield was Jamaican?

The Supremes - Come Together (The Beatles) Proof that Isaac Hayes wasn’t the only one who stretched out on covers.

Horace Andy – Where Do the Children Play (Cat Stevens) Classic Studio One. From Horace Andy’s first, a stone cold classic of the golden age.

Eli “Paperboy” Reed & the True Loves – Ace of Spades (Motorhead) If someone would have told me about this one, I wouldn’t have believed it. Believe it. Instant cred for the kid.

Ricardo Ray – Sookie Sookie (Don Covay) A song that’s been covered 14 million times. This one won out over Steppenwolf’s surprisingly good rock meets soul take.

Solomon Burke – Maggie’s Farm (Bob Dylan) Seriously, he could sing “Mary Had A Little Lamb” and you’d think he wrote it.

Marcia Griffiths – Band of Gold (Freda Payne) Before singing back up for Marley as one of the I-Threes. Sweet.

Celia Cruz - Yo Vivire (I Will Survive) (Gloria Gaynor) You can’t hear this one without seeing Celia Cruz’s big ass smile. Azúcar!

Sharon Jones & the DapKings - Just Dropped In to See What Condition Your Condition Was In (Kenny Rogers & the First Edition) An unlikely cover for anyone, but it works. Jerry Lee Lewis once said that he, Al Jolson, Hank Williams and Jimmy Rodgers were the only true song stylists. Someone needs to clue him into the Daptone mob.

Richie Knight & the Mid-Knights – Homework (Otis Rush) Famously covered by the J.Geils Band, this sucker just sounds so creepy.

Jack O’ Fire – Branded (Link Wray) The first time I heard this I had to pull over to find out who it was. From the amazing stable of Sympathy For The Record Industry.

Black Randy & the Metro Squad – Give It Up Or Turn It Loose (James Brown) One thing that usually gets ignored when talking about the early L.A. punk scene is how varied and musically educated the bands were. Often seen as something of a court jester, Black Randy’s baddass back up band turned more than a few Krazy Kolored spike heads onto JB via this happening jam.

Kashmere Stage Band – Take Five (Dave Brubeck) High School kids. Yes. And they beat out the Skatalites version.

The Viscounts – Harlem Nocturne (Earl Bostic) I had to end with this one. Back in the day, a older friend told me that bands at his high school dances would always play this as their last song, enabling couples to get chummy without any worries about getting kicked out of the dance. So it was that I, along with other DJ friends at a popular watering hole, took it upon ourselves to end our last sets of the night with it. Prelude to grab ass.

NOTE: THE HOSTING BLOG HAS REMOVED THIS MIX (9/26/2012)

STONE COLD CLASSIC

It's hard to keep from gushing about Horace Andy's Skylarking LP. It's one of my favorite LPs, in any genre, reggae or otherwise. Not only because it's Horace Andy, but also because it's his first LP, it's on Studio One, and it's from what many consider (myself included) the golden age of reggae. Released in 1969, it contains primarily singles released earlier in the year. Horace Andy's distinctly sweet voice, which remains much the same today, is one of the voices most perfectly complemented by the bubbling organic sound of Studio One. (If you compare the two versions of Skylarking below, you'll see what I mean.) So, I've got some good news, and bad news. The bad news is that it's almost impossible to find Skylarking, on LP or CD (I've ordered it from two online dealers that had it listed, and got the same response: out of stock and out of print.) Now, put on your damn happy face. The good news is that I found a download on the blog You and Me on a Jamboree (link below). Get it while you can.

Here's a rundown on the other stuff I managed to gather. The first three below are covers of, in order, Paul Simon, Bill Withers and Al Wilson. (The cover of Wither's "Ain't No Sunshine," I know is Studio One.) The next three are mid-career Andy; great, in a more roots way. The next two are from what reggae fiends might refer to as his current WTF period. "Airbag," a Radiohead cover, was recorded with the Easy Star All-Stars, a band responsible for three reggae cover albums (including Dark Side of the Moon, Sgt. Pepper's, and Radiohead's OK Computer), all featuring different reggae luminaries. The next one from his surprisingly extensive run of collaborations with Massive Attack. Then there's two audio only YouTube links, to two versions of the song "Skylarking," followed by the main event, the LP. Again, get it. (Download ludites: it's in zip form, but worth the effort of a few extra steps.) After that, there's 10 other LPs at another site, also in zip format. On to the videos. The first video link down there is to a series of 17 clips at DailyMotion, documenting a Sly & Robbie session at Harry J's, featuring Horace Andy. (Chorus of "what if?"s can start now.) The last one is a more recent clip, of him performing "Skylarking," if only to illustrate that his pipes are still remarkably intact.

Horace Andy with the Mellotone HiFi 1986

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

Listen:
Horace Andy - Mother & Child Reunion mp3 at Everybody Taste
Horace Andy - Ain't No Sunshine mp3 at Fat Berri's
Horace Andy - Show and Tell mp3 at Funky 16 Corners
Horace Andy & King Tubby - Free Africa mp3 via 4Shared* at Fortal Reggae
Horace Andy & Prince Jammy - Reggae Rockers Dub mp3 via 4Shared*
Horace Andy - Mr. Wicked Man mp3 at Raslogan
Horace Andy w/Easy Star All-Stars- Airbag mp3 at Music Is My Radar
Horace Andy w/Massive Attack - Girl I Love You mp3 at Rraurl
*At 4Shared click on blue "Download Now" button.
Contrast & Compare:
Horace Andy - Skylarking, original Studio One version (audio only video) at YouTube
Horace Andy - Skylarking, later version (audio only video) at YouTube
Skylarking LP Download:
Horace Andy - Skylarking (zip via Megaupload) at You and Me On a Jamboree (Studio One 1969 debut: HIGHLY recommended)
Alternate download links can be found following the link on the above blog. Annoying pop ups abound.
Skylarking LP song samples can be heard at ReggaeRecord.com
Horace Andy - 10 later LPs (via Mediafire) at Horace Andy (download blog)
Video:
Sly & Robbie w/Horace Andy - 17 part documentary of a recording session at Harry J's
Horace Andy - Skylarking (live) at YouTube
Visit:
Horace Andy at Wikipedia
Horace Andy at MySpace
Related:
Other reggae related posts here

BOSS SOUNDS FROM THE TRASTOS HI-FI

One advantage of being a certain age is that, when it comes to reggae, your objectivity isn't necessarily skewed by hippies, hacky-sack, Bob Marley, trustifarians or other such reggae cliches. My friends and I were lucky enough to be turned on to reggae as an ersatz chaser to a punk rock cocktail. When all other mellow music was getting tossed aside, reggae was not. Simply put, it was the best rebel music with a soulful beat available. It was an awesome awakening: the hunt for reggae on the shelf, any store shelf (Ratner's Electric in downtown San Diego?!?), the booming sound system of the reggae disco at North Park Lion's Club (you could feel the bass in your chest), the kind recommendations from reggae freak elders, and learning the proper way to spell New York ("a knife, a fork, a bottle, and a cork, that's the way you spell New York..."). And all of that discovering of this other acceptable genre comes flooding back when I hear anything from Horace Andy's first album, "Skylarking".

At the time, a lot of earlier reggae was getting licensed in the U.S. and issued at bargain prices. Marley had yet to break and it seemed like the reggae that was being released as if spattering paint, just hoping some of it would stick. The reissues were typically released with bland packaging with total disregard of the exotic covers of the originally issued LPs. It boggles the mind to think about what could have happened if these LPs were released with the original packaging (as seen here). What if the significance of these reissues was more widely recognized, and what would have happened if reggae music as a whole had broken before the rampant one dimensional Marley mania?

Before any miscreants start whining about how great Bob Marley was, let me pose this question: what would rock n' roll be like if the only artist most people were familiar with was the Rolling Stones? You get the picture, so make room on your plate. There is so much more essential reggae.

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Horace Andy - Skylarking mp3 at KinoSport

All the ingredients are here: an essential 1969 Studio One classic
Horace Andy - Skylarking, the entire LP download at Global Groove
Sound Dimension - Real Rock mp3 at The Suburbs are Killing Us
The house band at Studio One with the rhythm that backs 250+ early reggae classics
Sound Dimension - Real Rock Version mp3 at The Suburbs Are Killing Us
The Heptones -Hypocrite mp3 at Ear It Now
The Maytals - Pressure Drop mp3 and 6 other Maytal cuts at I Predict A Riot
Sister Nancy - Bam Bam mp3 and 11 early reggae & rock steady cuts at I Predict a Riot
Bam Bam, from 1982, had to have been on MIA's turntable at some point
Alton Ellis - I'm Still in Love With You mp3 at Grand Panda
If the rhythm sounds familiar, you must have checked Althia and Donna's Uptown Top Ranking
Big Youth - Screaming Target mp3 at Djnodj
The Slickers - Johnny Too Bad mp3 at Motel de Moka
King Tubby - Take Five mp3 at 8106
How this is a King Tubby cut when there's no dub is beyond me, but a cover of Dave Brubeck with a groove keeps me from asking too many questions...

Augustus Pablo and King Tubby - King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown mp3 and 3 others at Dollar Bin Jams

Another all time classic: melodica + dub = chill bliss