RETURN OF THE ALL TIME JAM

Yikes! It's the middle of summer and I still haven't posted "Uptown Top Ranking"! If you've been around here long enough you know. As happens every year, I have a contented moment made possible by nice weather, a warm ocean and chance meetings with locals on my way to and from the beach. Per usual, I gush about it. This jam nails the mood, not lyrically, just in the vibe, It's by Althea and Donna and if you've been listening to reggae a long time you might remember when it appeared in 1978. It went to #1 in the UK, didn't do shit in the states. Me and my friends ate it up.

The riddim comes from Alton Ellis's "I;m Still In Love With You". Althea and Donna's "Uptown Top Ranking" was by no means the only record to use it. Here's a couple others. And if you're already familiar with all of these, dig this exercise. Try syncing Ellis's with Althea and Donna's, opening them in separate windows and pausing one if needed. Then fuck with the volume in each window. When they do sync well you can strut around like some two bit King Tubby,

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Listen:
Althea and Donna - Uptown Top Ranking mp3 at Tumblr
Alton Ellis - I'm Still In Love With You mp3 at Stop Okay Go
Mighty Two - Calico Suit (streaming) at YouTube
Trinity - Three Piece Suit (streaming) at YouTube
Althea and Donna - Uptown Top Ranking b/w Calico Suit mp3 at Internet Archive Original 1977 Joe Gibbs Record Globe 7" Version

FROM THE UNLIKELY PAIRINGS FILE

If you're at all into reggae, you know who Lee Perry is. What you may not know is that as far back as his Black Ark studio days he was working with non-reggae musicians, the best known collaboration being with the Clash. Amongst others he worked with were the McCartneys, those McCartneys. I had heard about the collaboration and shuddered at the thought. I recently gave in and gave two cuts a listen. While not as offensive as I expected, it's still just bland cod reggae. But, man, would I have loved being a fly on the wall at Black Ark. Imagine the conversations that may have occurred. As it is, two years later Perry would end up intentionally burning down Black Ark. Were the events connected? While you ponder that, here's the two cuts and a link to posts about Lee Perry from the past.

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Listen:
Linda McCartney - Sugartime (streaming) at YouTube
Linda McCartney  - Mister Sandman (streaming) at YouTube
Lee Perry - Past posts here Note: Some of the music links may be dead.
More:
Remembering Paul and Linda McCartney’s ill-fated collaboration with Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry at Far Out

THERE IS NO ESCAPE

Here's a mixed bag of Christmas themed reggae cuts. I tried to avoid the overly corny covers that were overt cash-ins (most of them heavy with synthesizers). The few familiar songs are at least interesting to hear ("Santa Claus is Ska-ing to Town", "Santa Claus Dub"). I think some of these are originals, I'm not sure. Gotta say, I'm diggin' the Lord Stitt cut. (Stitt was one of the very first DJs, recording before the big DJ explosion ushered in by U Roy, followed by I Roy, Dennis Alcapone, Dillinger, Dr. Alimantado, et al.) Christmas themed reggae covers aren't really my bag but, hey, it's better than Bing Crosby. Along those lines, I had to add the song "Reggae Christmas" because it's funny, obviously a parody. With a generic reggae riddim it includes lines like "Reggae, is totally unrelated to Christmas", It's lame and brilliant at the same time, perfect for those like myself that have a mild aversion to reggae Christmas songs. Avert these.

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Listen:
Johnny Clarke- I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus mp3 at Internet Archive
The Ethiopians - Ding Dong Bell mp3 at Internet Archive
The Maytals - Happy Christmas mp3 at Internet Archive 
King Stitt - Christmas Tree mp3 at Internet Archive
The Aggrovators - Santa Claus Dub mp3 at Internet Archive
Lee Perry and Sandra Robinson - Merry Christmas mp3 at Internet Archive
Granville Williams Orchestra - Santa Clause Is Ska-ing to Town mp3 at Internet Archive
TimDrum - Reggae Christmas (streaming) at YouTube

THAT VOICE

A couple days ago a live clip of Toots and the Maytals from 2017 popped up on my feed. I hadn't seen live footage of Toots Hibbert in a long while so, what the hell, right? Sheeit! I was amazed at how well his voice has held up over the years. I mean it's not like he's Sinatra, his voice has always had a gospel-like roughness to it. Even with that, he was at it for roughly fifty years and he still sounded pretty much the same. This is good shit.

Here's a handful of early things (mid-sixties to early seventies) and a studio clip from the 1972 film The Harder They Come. My favorite part of that clip is the moment at 2:13 that Jimmy Cliff (in the yellow hat) has a lightbulb go off, thinking "Hey, I could do that." One last thing: As I often do when I see a video that's good, I check to see what other stuff is posted on the user's channel. The user that posted the live clip turned out to be Quincy Jones ("Qwest"). As I suspected, that dude has taste. There's a ton of good stuff. Dig it.

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Listen:
The Maytals - Do the Reggay mp3 at Internet Archive Very early, if not first, use of the word "reggay" [sic] in song.
The Maytals - Monkey Man mp3 at Internet Archive
The Maytals - Pressure Drop mp3 at Internet Archive
Toots and The Maytals - 54-46 That's My Number mp3 at Internet Archive
Toots and  The Maytals - Funky Kingston mp3 at Internet Archive
Video:
Toots and the Maytals - Sweet and Dandy at YouTube From the film The Harder They Come 1972

JAMMING JAZZBO DOWN YOUR EAR HOLE

I was looking for something else and ran across this, Prince Jazzbo's "Crab Walking". I'd been wanting to post it again because it's a favorite but assumed the link I had was dead (wrong!). Jazzbo DJs over the riddim from Horace Andy's "Skylarking" (also a favorite) and it's on Studio One (yet another favorite) and it's a DJ 12" with the version tacked on to the end (also a favorite format). Basically the only way the song could max out all of my favorite elements of reggae would be if U Roy was doing the toasting (sadly, U Roy never teamed up with Coxone Dodd.)

What I was actually looking for when I stumbled on "Crab Walking" was Gregory Isaacs's "Night Nurse". I heard it at the beach today after just coming out of the water and was stoked to hear it in the wild. I normally hate hearing other people's music at the beach, but today was an exception. Particularly after passing a group that was blasting nu-country. So here's those two cuts and a couple others that hit the spot while I was looking for the Isaacs's thing.

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Listen:
Prince Jazzbo - Crab Walking mp3 at Snuhthing Anything
Gregory Isaacs - Night Nurse mp3 at Feems
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

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.

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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

ALICE RUSSELL WINS THIS ROUND

I'm not a big fan of reggae covers of rock 'n' roll songs. It just seems too obvious. They're trying to cross over to the dorm crowd. I'm too old and cynical to fall for it. That said, they are a curiosity and some of you might slip them into a mix and see if any of you hop head friends notice.

Here we have a Led Zep cover by Alpha Blondy that, in my opinion, relies too much on the guitar. Way too much. A spacey dub version might have been good. Then there's Little Roy, doing Nirvana's "Polly". Now this Roy was definitely trying to cross over. He put out an album of all Nirvana covers. Yeah. Next up is an effective version of Nirvana's "Lithium" by La Grime Ft. Jimetta Rose. Never heard of 'em, but they showed Alpha Blondy how it should be done. The one standout of these is Nostalgia 77 and Alice Russell's version of the White Stripes "Seven Nation Army". I fucking love that one, a big part of it is Alice Russell's voice. Holiest of shit, she can belt. And the horns are cool too.

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Listen:
Alpha Blondy - Whole Lotta Love mp3 at Internet Archive
Little Roy - Polly mp3 at Internet Archive
La Grime Ft. Jimetta Rose - Litium mp3 at Internet Archive
Nostalgia 77 w/Alice Russell - Seven Nation Army (Grant Phabao Remix) mp3 at Internet Archive

THIS ALBUM COVER RULES

Several months ago I was told that my favorite record store here in San Diego had closed. It was my favorite because it was well rounded. I really don't give a shit if a record store gets the latest release first, if they have all sorts of Record Store Day bonanzas or is a hipster hub. What I value in a record store is their overall selection and how well they know the music they're selling. The store nearest my house is big on new releases but either don't know music or are really shitty at curating. Their reggae section absolutely blows and they have nothing good in jazz other than the Miles Davis or Coltrane records that you already have. It kills me because they used to have a much better selection. (One of the buyers went to another record store.) So, yeah, I was bummed about the good record store closing. Even though they were a hassle to get to, I always left with multiple selections.

Last night I thought I'd see if I could find out why they closed. Within minutes I found out that they hadn't closed, they moved. Even better, they moved to a spot that's between me and the grocery store that I go to, so I don't even have to go out of my way or plan a half day excursion. Fu-huck yeah. I went there today and was in heaven. One litmus test for me is to check for lesser known artists. Today I checked for Fela. They had eight different Fela LPs on vinyl. That was a good sign. I move to the reggae. They had a shitload of good reggae, probably the best selection I've seen locally outside of a specialty reggae record store (RIP). I had to limit my time because I had plans but I still left with three solid keepers, all reggae. One was a compilation of Sound Dimension, the house band at Studio One (the cream of the crop in reggae studio players), for seven bucks. Another was a reggae DJ collection (U Roy, Prince Jazzbo, Big Youth, I Roy, and a few that I never heard of (!). That one was eight bucks. The killer deal was one I couldn't pass up. Dr. Alimantado's Best Dressed Chicken In Town, one of my favorite reggae albums of all time. For whatever reason, the album has gone out of print and then reissued a couple of times. When that happens I don't take chances, I have to have a back up copy (see also the Monks' Black Monk Time  and Gene Vincent's first two LPs). I already have it on vinyl and CD, so this was a CD I already had, but it was only six bucks. I couldn't pass it up, if only to push it in a friends face. Here are a few from the LP, these recorded in the mid-seventies at King Tubby's. Those of you that know reggae will recognize a few of the riddims. Man, I can't wait to go back to that record store. This could be dangerous.

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Listen:
Dr. Alimantado - Poison Flour mp3 at Internet Archive
Dr. Alimantado - Just the Other Day mp3 at Internet Archive
Dr. Alimantado - I Killed the Barber mp3 at Internet Archive
Dr. Alimantado - Plead I Cause mp3 at Internet Archive
Dr. Alimantado - I Shall Fear No Evil mp3 at Internet Archive

KINGSTON COOL. LOOK IT UP.

If you're at all interested in the original ska from early sixties Jamaica (as opposed to later ska revivals), you know that there was a handful of go-to horn players, called into action through ska to rocksteady and a few continuing through reggae. Some of the bigger names were Don Drummond (trombone), Roland Alphonso (sax), Lester Sterling (sax), Johnny "Dizzy" Moore (trumpet), and Tommy McCook (sax), all founding members of the Skatalites, and all but Drummond alumni of the Alpha Boys School (a launching pad for many early reggae musicians). Some of them had records under their own name "and the Skatalites", others were featured players with co-billing on singers' records. Tommy McCook seemed everywhere back then. Checking this handful of tunes you'll hear what the Specials, Madness and Bad Manners, and later a thousand others, used, recycled and sometimes caricatured. Despite the sound quality (a little muddy, typical for the period in Jamaica), I prefer these to the later ultra kinetic bands.

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Listen:
Tommy McCook & The Supersonics - Ska Jam mp3 at Internet Archive
Tommy McCook & The Skatalites - Rocket Ship mp3 at Internet Archive
Tommy McCook & Lester Sterling - Inez mp3 at Internet Archive
The Silvertones, Tommy McCook & The Supersonics - My True Confession mp3 at Internet Archive
Tommy McCook & The Supersonics - Out of Space mp3 at Internet Archive
Tommy McCook & The Supersonics - Starry Night mp3 at Music ADD
Tommy McCook - Tenor On Call mp3 at J Bird

HANGOVER THEATER

Non-Jamaican reggae has been in my waiting room for a long time. Although my preference has always been Jamaican reggae, I can't really dismiss reggae from elsewhere if I haven't given it a chance. Here's what happens. Horace Andy, for example, has recorded in Jamaica, Canada and the UK, for different producers, in different studios, with different bands. Faced with three releases (one from each country) that you've never heard, which are you going to pick? Exactly.

In an a attempt to see the UK side of things I decided to check out Babylon, a movie with UK sound systems as its backdrop. It debuted at Cannes in 1981 but remained unreleased in the U.S. for decades, in the interim becoming one of those heard about it - forgot about it things. So I've never seen it.  A restored version is on YouTube so that's the haps today. Before I settled in I thought I'd find some other stuff to go with it. I remembered a documentary about the U.S. reggae label Wackie's, so there you go, still staying on the non-Jamaican theme.

That's when the wheels came off. Looking for tunes to include, I made a pit stop. I listened to a Dillinger cut. Dillinger is distinctly Jamaican. There goes theme night. After the first two lines I had to break ranks. It is now officially a reggae mish-mash night. Because I found the first two lines nutty, I had to include the song. Dillinger's "Ball of Fire" starts with "My name is Ball of Fire and I've got crab in my underpants and it keep me dancing." When you listen to it you might hear "crap in my underpants" but, really, either one sounds unpleasant. You shit your drawers or you have lice. In the first lines of the song. Awesome. It stays on topic so yeah, wash down there. So here's that and a few other totally unrelated cuts. Movie time.

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Listen:
Dillinger - Ball of Fire mp3 at Internet Archive
Derrick Morgan - Rudie Don't Fear mp3 at Internet Archive
Horace Andy - Respiration mp3 at Internet Archive
Gregory Isaacs - Rock On mp3 at Internet Archive
Watch:
Bullwackie In New York 1981: Wackie's Rhythm Force at YouTube

I KNOW. DUDE WON'T LEAVE.

Driving this morning listening to the soul and r&b station I happened to hear Sean Paul's "I'm Still In Love With You". I practically swerved off the road. I'd never heard it before and it's not every day that you hear a cover of a 1967 Alton Ellis song on FM radio. Though it's not really straight up reggae, it was close enough to start the day well. Coincidentally it is the riddim of that song that was used for Althea and Donna's "Uptown Top Ranking" posted a just few days ago. So, it's another reggae night, this time with songs that were later covered by non-reggae artists.

Ellis's song is down there, along with "Tide Is High by the Paragons (covered by Blondie), "Pass the Kouchie" by the Mighty Diamonds (covered as "Pass the Dutchie" by Musical Youth), "Cherry Oh Baby" by Eric Donaldson (covered by the Stones), "Rudy, a Message to You" by Dandy Livingstone (covered by the Specials) and "Police and Thieves" by Junior Murvin (covered by the Clash).

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Listen:
Alton Ellis    I'm Still in Love mp3 at Internet Archive Original 1967 Studio One 7" Single Version
The Paragons    The Tide Is High mp3 at Internet Archive
The Mighty Diamonds - Pass the Kouchie mp3 at Internet Archive Original 1981 Music Works Records 12" Single Version
Eric Donaldson    Cherry Oh Baby mp3 at Internet Archive (Original 1971 Jaguar 7" Single Version)
Dandy Livingstone - Rudy, a Message to You mp3 at Internet Archive
Junior Murvin; The Upsetters - Police & Thieves b/w Grumblin' Dub mp3 at Internet Archive Original 1976 Island Records 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.

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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

DRUMMOND! MONDAY! IT'S DRUMMONDAY!

Dig it or don't: Here's a few from ska OG Don Drummond. Lucky for you, I'm not in the mood for blab. Those of you not familiar with Drummond, it's your night to make up your mind with zero input from me. I carry the card, licensed to be lazy.

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Listen:
Don Drummond - Far East mp3 at Groove Addict
Don Drummond - Alipang mp3 at Groove Addict
Don Drummond - Dewdrops mp3 at Groove Addict

"DUDE." SAID U ROY, "CHALICE."

Well, you gotta give him credit. When Serge Gainsbourg decided to make a reggae LP, he went to Jamaica. So, with the exception of his vocals, the music is pretty straight forward reggae. It had better be, the rhythm section is Sly and Robbie, the backing vocals are the I-Threes, Mikey Chung on guitar, Ansel Collins on organ, "Sticky" Thompson on percussion, and Robbie Lyn on guitar. All seasoned reggae studio musicians. (If you don't recognize any of the names, for gods sake get with the program.). Anyway, this shit is interesting, not vital but interesting.

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Listen:
Serge Gainsbourg - Daisy Temple mp3 at Internet Archive
Serge Gainsbourg - Vieille canaille (You Rascal You) mp3 at Internet Archive
Serge Gainsbourg - Relax Baby Be Cool mp3 at Internet Archive
Serge Gainsbourg - Marilou Reggae Dub mp3 at Internet Archive

IT'S BABA BOOM TIME SOMEWHERE

That record above was my first taste of Duke Reid. I had clue who Duke Reid was at the time. It was in the reggae section and it was cheap, about four bucks, and that was for a new original pressing (this was years ago). I figured it was worth the gamble. After getting home and looking at the back cover more closely I saw that it was a compilation and that none of the artists were named Duke Reid. What the fuck?

A few years later (still pre-internet) I found out that Reid owned the recording studio and label, Treasure Island. In ensuing years I became aware of the significance of Reid. Basically, in the beginning, the big two were Reid's Treasure Isle and Coxsonne Dodd's Studio One studio and label. They were both really active in the ska years, then when ska evolved into rocksteady, Reid had the edge. Ultimately Dodd would come out on top in the reggae years. A bunch of reasons for that, among them is that Reid was an ex-cop and allowed no weed on the premises. Dodd already had the killer studio band, songwriters, talent scouts and roster (almost all of it passing through the hands Leroy Sibbles, who wore all of those hats at different times). Not to mention his records sounded better. By looking the other way when the weed came out, he also had a less uptight environment, enabling more creativity. Blah, blah, blah. Someone should make a movie.

Anyway, there's something about Reid's stuff, particularly the rocksteady era, that makes it perfect for after-beach farting around. Which is why it took three hours to write three paragraphs.

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Listen:
Baba Brooks Orchestra - Watermelon Man mp3 at Internet Archive
The Paragons - On the Beach mp3 at Internet Archive
Alton Ellis and the Flames - Dance Crasher mp3 at Internet Archive
The Techniques - You Don't Care mp3 at Internet Archive
The Jamaicans - Baba Boom mp3 at Internet Archive
The  Melodians - Last Train to Expo '67 mp3 at Internet Archive

BECAUSE IT'S WHAT'S SPINNING

These hit the spot. An hour or so ago I was in the crystal clear (due to a lack of surf) 70° Pacific Ocean with the air temperature about 80°. So now I am, I proclaim, unashamedly chilling. Shout it from the damn mountaintop. I'm listening to Cedric Brooks and would rather chill than type. To be real honest, this shit gets old. I think the only way I can stay engaged is to just post whatever shit pops into my head and add an unrelated song or two. Which is essentially what I'm doing now.

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Listen:
Cedric IM Brooks and The Sound Dimension - Mun-Dun-Gu mp3 at Cocoringo's Circadian Sounds

Cedric Brooks - Blackness of Darkness mp3 at Roots and Culture

Cedric Brooks - Ethiopia mp3 at Esentially Eccentric Studio One

SOUNDS FROM MY DREAM CAR

These couldn't be more perfect for the mood I'm in. As you may have gathered from past posts, I'm lucky enough to live near the beach. It's been a few days since the sun was out, today it was. That coupled with the water temperature warming early this year and the daily early evening swim already had me in a good mood. A few reggae covers certainly couldn't hurt. These really hit the spot and, beach or barbecue, would be great as recognizable mysto-covers stuck in the middle of a mix.

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Listen:
Sly and Robbie - Inner City Blues mp3 at Internet Archive
John Holt - Sister Big Stuff mp3 at Internet Archive
Chezidek and Skarra Mucci - Sunny mp3 at Internet Archive
Faye and Mystic - California Soul mp3 at Internet Archive
The Pioneers - Papa Was a Rolling Stone mp3 at Internet Archive
Horace Andy - Ain't No Sunshine mp3 at Internet Archive
Jimmy Riley - Sexual Healing mp3 at Internet Archive
Visit:
Swing-A-Ling Mobile Record Shack at YouTube

FORGOT ABOUT THIS ONE

Here we go, Rockers, a film that has among it's cast Leroy Smart, Big Youth, Jacob Miller, Burning Spear, Gregory Isaacs and the star, Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace. It's one of the few reggae films that has a plot. Like The Harder They Come released roughly six years earlier, it is technically fictional but you forget that. What is so absorbing about it is the environment, the street scenes and, obviously, music related scenes. It's a vintage (1978) look at the roots era of reggae at ground zero, that part is not fiction.

I was going to post some music, but you know what? There's a shitload on here, though some links are dead, there are a lot that aren't.

PRINCE, KING, WHATEVER.

I've got a love/hate thing going on with King Jammy. He was a kind of assistant to King Tubby and then went out on his own, like Tubby, as an engineer and producer. Good credentials there. Back then he was Prince Jammy. How he was promoted to King, I've no clue. It didn't get passed from Tubby because he died in 1989 and from what I've been able to find, Jammy went from Prince to King sometime between 2011 and 2015. Who knows. His stuff as Prince Jammy was good, as well as his early years as King. He wasn't Tubby, no one was, but he was in top tier.

But, and it's a big but to me, he was the first to do the digital reggae. This was mid-eighties. I'm not against synthesizers or even digital effects if used sparingly, but crafting riddims without the use of instruments at all takes the soul out of it. Hence, dancehall. Fuck that. If the road's blocked, go the another direction. When digital reggae and dancehall came out, I returned to the side streets and went deeper into DJ, roots and rocksteady.

 

 

Here's a documentary on Jammy and a couple cuts from when he was Prince Jammy. There's also a link to a recording of his sound system at a yard dance from 1987. The sound quality on that is dubious, but it's at least a taste of the thing. Skip around, it's over two hours.

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Listen:
Prince Jammy - Second Generation mp3 at Internet Archive
Prince Jammy - Prince Jammy On the Scene mp3 at Internet Archive
The sound system set:
King (?) Jammy's Super Power Sound System mp3 at Streamola Archive From a yard dance, Walkerman Lawn 1987

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.

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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