"WOAH WOAH WAH"? WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?

Per usual, looking for something else I ran into an oddball, April Steven's "Teach Me Tiger". This thing is a real piece of work. All of the subservient cooing and trying-too-hard effort to sound sexy. It kind of makes me uncomfortable. Creepy, too, that her brother, Nino Tempo, wrote it. This one no doubt pissed off feminists when it was released, at least what few there were in 1960. Yeesh.

For a very shaky reason "Touch Me Tiger" reminded me of Nora Dean's "Angie La-La". I think it was all the cooing. Dean's song has a lot of moaning, not quite Donna Summer territory, but close. Still a little odd. if you're hoping for a hit, why would you inflate the creepiness? Note: You reggae people who haven't heard "Angie La-La", listen to it. It was produced by Duke Reid, and there isn't a lick of ska, rocksteady or reggae in it. Actually, I don't know what genre you'd dump it in. That's the best kind of oddball.

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Listen:
April Stevens - Teach Me Tiger mp3 at Internet Archive
Nora Dean - Angie La-La mp3 at Art Decade

VIA SATELLITE, FROM ACROSS THE ALLEY

A few days ago a guy I know from across the alley was pulling out of his parking place and as he drove past, he was playing some Duke Reid produced rocksteady, I forget what song and what artist, but it was one I'd heard a million times. I just remember thinking, that might be the last time I'll ever hear a Duke Reid recording blasting out of a car. When I asked the friend about it later, because a neighbor into Duke Reid rocksteady is a neighbor worth talking shop with, he said that it was satellite radio and that he didn't know the song. Didn't have a clue who Duke Reid was. It was just one of those things. But I did hear it, and he did too, he just wasn't paying attention. Do people even invest themselves in music anymore? Is it just background noise to the 24/7 onslaught of ads and consumer gluttony? Fuck. But I did hear it.

I know the song I heard wasn't "Angie La-La" by Nora Dean, because I would have remembered that. It has to be the weirdest record that Reid ever put out. Reid was all about rocksteady. "Angie La-La" is, I don't know, just weird. Not even close to rocksteady. There's some Donna Summer-lite type gasping in it, spare but prominent percussion, birds chirping 'n' shit. Just listen to it and compare it too any song on the Duke Reid comp linked below. That compilation is great. It was my introduction to Duke Reid way back when I was about the age of the guy...across...the...alley. Oh.

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Listen:
Nora Dean - Angie La La mp3 at Art Decade 
Nora Dean - Barbwire mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Duke Reid - Golden Hits (streaming) at YouTube 12 songs

IT"S DUKE REID ODDBALL TIME

It's that time again, time for the periodic reposting of the weirdest song Duke Reid ever produced. Reid was a producer and label owner of Treasure Isle, one of the big two in ska, rocksteady and early reggae (the other being Coxsone Dodd's Studio One). He was an ex-cop who didn't allow weed in or around his studio, was not a big fan of monkey business in general, and was known to fire a round or two into the ceiling to get a point across. No weed? So how do you explain this undefinable oddball?

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Listen:
Nora Dean - Angie La-La mp3 at Art Decade
The Jamaicans - Ba Ba Boom mp3 at Smashing Magazine A more typical early Reid release

ESSENTIAL ODDBALL #17

In the interest of keeping this oddball slab of weirdness floating around the internets, it had to be posted. (Yes, again.) It's Nora Dean's "Angie La-La", otherwise known as the weirdest song Duke Reid ever had anything to do with. Reid was the owner of Treasure Isle, a label that put out tons of classic ska, rocksteady and early reggae sides, and he was Coxsone Dodd's biggest competitor. Dodd was the owner of the Studio One, the preeminent Jamaican label in the sixties and seventies. While Dodd looked the other way when the weed came out. Reid, an ex-cop, did not. Which makes this record even more of a curiosity. Listen to it and tell me there wasn't something being passed around under Reid's nose.

The reason why it's being posted again is because it doesn't pop up that often, and the link I posted roughly a year ago is kaput. So get while the gettin's good. (If the mp3 link here is disabled, go to Art Decade to get it.)

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Listen:
Nora Dean - Angie La-La mp3 at Art Decade
Nora Dean - Barbwire mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Other earlier Duke Reid, er, joints:
The Duke Reid Group - The Rude Boy mp3 at Cubik Musik
The Jamaicans - Ba Ba Boom mp3 at Popop 
For reference:
Coxsone Dodd stuff

WHO SNUCK IT IN?

In case you missed it the first time around, here it is again, Nora Dean's "Angie La La", an improbably spacey cut from the studio of Duke Reid, ex-cop turned reggae producer. This isn't reggae at all, I'm not sure what you'd call it, but it's often posted as a YouTube streaming thing, rarely as an mp3, which is why I'm posting it again. Mixtape Riot has it.

The unusual thing about the record, other then the sound, is that Reid was a hard ass. As mentioned, he was an ex-cop. When something went haywire during a recording session, he was known to fire his side arm into the ceiling. Plus he had a no dope rule, in his studio that recorded almost exclusively reggae. He actually sounds like kind of a dick. So how did this trippy thing get made there?

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Listen:
Nora Dean - Angie La La mp3 at Mixtape Riot 
Nora Dean - More at this post

AGAIN, DUKE REID GOT WEIRD

I can be lazy. You may have noticed a few recycled posts here and there. I try to avoid it, but every once in a while there's a good reason involved. That's the case with Nora Dean's "Angie La La," a record that seldom pops up in downloadable format. So when I ran across it in a post at Art Decade, I had to post it for anyone who missed about a year ago, because it's strange, beautiful, and exotic; a potent combination. A little recycled gushing from the last time:

With the exception of Coxsone Dodd, there's probably no better known producer/label owner/studio owner in the ska, rock steady and early reggae eras than Duke Reid. He recorded just about all of the heavy hitters of the day for his Treasure Isle label, many of whom also recorded for Dodd's Studio One. The majority of the records he released were pretty straight forward in their approach, or so I thought. While this might not carry significance for anyone other than fellow reggae fiends, I must report that last night I came across a record that is hands down the strangest record I've ever heard on Treasure Isle label. There's very little reggae in it, but there's very little of anything in it; that is, anything that you can pin down. Sound confusing? It is hard to describe how unusual it is, but far easier to describe what other music has the same vibe, not that it even that makes things any clearer. Try mixing up Mulatu Astatke, the Budos Band, and Jerry Dammer's Spatial AKA Orchestra, with the bird and animal noises of Martin Denny, and the vocals of Billie Holiday. One thing is certain, this is one trippy record.

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The featured song:
Nora Dean - Angie La La mp3 at Art Decade
Other stuff:
Nora Dean - Barbwire mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Nora Dean - Night Food Reggae mp3 via 4Shared*
The Duke Reid Group - The Rude Boy mp3 at Cubik Musik
Visit:
Nora Dean fan site
Treasure Isle partial discography
Duke Reid at Wikipedia

DUKE REID GETS WEIRD

With the exception of Coxsone Dodd, there's probably no better known producer/label owner/studio owner in the ska, rock steady and early reggae eras than Duke Reid. He recorded just about all of the heavy hitters of the day for his Treasure Isle label, many of whom also recorded for Dodd's Studio One. The majority of the records he released were pretty straight forward in their approach, or so I thought. While this might not carry significance for anyone other than fellow reggae fiends, I must report that last night I came across a record that is hands down the strangest record I've ever heard on Treasure Isle label. There's very little reggae in it, but there's very little of anything in it; that is, anything that you can pin down. Sound confusing? It is hard to describe how unusual it is, but far easier to describe what other music has the same vibe, not that it even that makes things any clearer. Try mixing up Mulatu Astatke, the Budos Band, and Jerry Dammer's Spatial AKA Orchestra, with the bird and animal noises of Martin Denny, and the vocals of Billie Holiday. One thing is certain, this is one trippy record.

Duke Reid's sophisticated early sound system.

The song I'm salivating over is "Angie La La," sung by Nora Dean, a rather obscure reggae vocalist with a slight discography. Her other stuff is...well, just believe me. It's better not to have any familiarity with her music before hearing this one. But after that, do dig the other cuts. They're all great on their own.

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The featured song:
Nora Dean - Angie La La (streaming) at YouTube
Other Nora Dean
Nora Dean - Barbwire mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Nora Dean - Greedy Boy mp3 via 4Shared*
Nora Dean - Night Food Reggae mp3 via 4Shared*
Nora Dean - Kiss Me Honey mp3 via 4Shared*
Nora Dean w/Augustus Pablo - Scorpion In His Underpants mp3 via 4Shared*
*At 4Shared click on blue "Download Now" button.
LP Download:
Rocksteady Soul: The Original Cool Sound of Duke Reid's Treasure Isle - LP compilation, download at Why Dontcha
Visit:
Nora Dean - Extensive fan site
Treasure Isle partial discography
Duke Reid at Wikipedia
Earlier posts:
Just Like Uncle Freddy - Earlier post with Duke Reid material
Other reggae posts