PER U ROY, WAR IS VERY UGLY.

Hugh Roy? Man, ol' U Roy sure paid the price for having an oddball name. If the mislabeled records crediting him as Hugh Roy weren't enough, the original pressings of his Version Galore LP were credited to I Roy, a completely different DJ who probably had his own brand recognition problems.

Here we are, regardless of of the mislabeling. This one is for the reggae fiends that have gone past Marley, past Island Records, past all of the spit shined international publicity pushed artists. The fiends that dig the stuff that stayed in Jamaica. U Roy toasting over the Heptones, recorded at Joe Gibbs. It doesn't get more Jamaican than that. There might be only four of you going "hell yeah!". I don't care if it's three of you, tonight it's all about you. Well, two songs anyway.

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

Listen:
U Roy and the Heptones - Make Love Not War mp3 at Bob Marley Discography
U Roy and the Heptones - Make Love Not War Version mp3 at Bob Marley Discography

JOE GIBBS ELECTRICAL REPAIR

Classic reggae story: Joe Gibbs, an electrical repair guy, decides to sell records in the shop as a side thing. He notices the growing success of sound systems, buys himself a two track reel to reel, and starts recording bands in the shop. He starts a label and stops fixing TVs. He releases hit after hit. This was very similar to fellow electrical egg head Coxsone Dodd's early days. And Duke Reid's start was just a variation. He was a former cop turned liquor store owner, who sold records on the side, started a label...and so on. Why hasn't there been a feature film made about this era?

Here's a few Joe Gibbs productions. Everybody raves about Culture's "Two Sevens Clash," but the synth strings at the beginning have always bugged me. They're totally unnecessary, cheesy and, worst of all, they date the song. There, I said it. The rest of his stuff, at least the relatively small percentage of his vast discography that I've heard, is solid. He gave us Marcia Aitkens' cover of Alton Ellis' "I'm Still In Love With You," the backing tracks of which were used in Trinity's "Three Piece Suit," and Althea and Donna's "Uptown Top Ranking," all three stone cold classics. (What synth strings?)

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

Listen:
Marcia Aitken w/Trinity - I'm Still In Love With You mp3 at Planet Mondo (7 minute mix!)
Trinity - Three Piece Suit mp3 at 4shared.com
Althea & Donna- Uptown Top Ranking mp3 at Nate Frog
Naggo Morris & Trinity - Su Su Pon Rasta/Stop Su Su Pon the Dread mp3 at For the Sake of the Song
Dennis Brown - Money In My Pocket mp3 at 4shared.com
Marcia Aitken And Trinity - My Man/Blouse And Skirt mp3 at 4shared.com
Culture - Two Sevens Clash mp3 at Leave You Wanting Less
Three more Joe Gibbs productions at For the Sake of the Song
Visit:
Joe Gibbs at Wikipedia