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

JUST IN CASE.

Some people are obsessed with getting every single release that their favorite artist(s) releases. I know plenty of people like that. I'm not one of them. So when someone posts a Skatalites 45 that I've likely not heard, I snag it. They recorded a shitload and I'm not sure a complete discography exists. Coxsone Dodd, who released the bulk of their stuff, didn't even have a complete discography of his record labels. Bottom line, if the link died next week I might not ever hear it again. If you're into the Skatalites don't blink.

Note: Over at Groove Addict, if you're in the U.S. the link that says "Link" won't work for you. Click on the one that says "uloz". Once at Uloz, there are two download buttons. I did the free slow download and it took less than a minute. It's a rar file with two mp3s.

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

Listen:
The Skatalites - Full Dread (streaming) at YouTube
The Skatalites - Full Dread (download) at Groove Addict

THE BAND THAT REFUSED TO DIE

Okay, so I'm lost tonight. A mix led to the black hole of the day and I don't think I'm making it back here. It started with a really nice mix of stuff by the Skatalites and Jazz Jamaica at Internet Archive. It's newer stuff, by that I mean not brand new but not vintage. But that's okay. Actually better than okay, because regardless of when it was recorded it's good. I've always been fond of any horn heavy Jamaican music and there's no shortage here. The unfortunate thing is that it's a single download so it's all or nothing, and good luck trying to pinpoint what song you're listening to halfway through the mix. Regardless, even if you just bookmark it to listen to when you just need a couple hours of instrumentals, it's a good mix. There's a handful of other Skatalites tunes below as well, to satiate the cherry pickers. The "Herb Man Dub" thing, recorded at Tubby's, sounds nothing like them, so if you're in the mood for something different, that's the one.

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Listen:
The Skatalites - Skalifornia mp3 at Tumblr (?)
The Skatalites - Perhaps mp3 at Tumblr (?)
The Skatalites - Herb Man Dub mp3 at Tumblr (?) King Tubby behind the board.
The mix:
The Skatalites and Jazz Jamaica - Alpha Rasta's Blue Notes at Internet Archive Once there, look in the right column, under "Download options" click on "VBR MP3 Files"

THE SONG TITLE THAT ATE MY NIGHT

Those sneaky Skatalites. They renamed "Comin' Home Baby" as "Christine Keiler". As you would imagine, my first question was "Who the hell is Christine Keiler and why does she rate?" Through the magic of the internut I know now that she was tabloid fodder in the UK back in the sixties and parts of her story are woven into Michelangelo Antonioni's Blow Up. For you Yardbird nuts, that's the film that shows the Beck/Page era Yardbirds playing "Train Kept A Rollin'" in a club. Beck rams his guitar into a shorting out amp and then breaks the damn thing. It's going to be one of those nights, I can already tell.

Nice try there Skatalites, misspelling her last name. You won't get sued by the "Comin' Home Baby" writer, and you won't get sued by the Keeler lady. But your record will get noticed in the UK. Just what I'd expect from an LP that begins with a song called "Lee Oswald".

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Listen:
The Skatalites - Christine Keiler mp3 at Pixie Radio
Mel Torme - Comin' Home Baby mp3 at ATumblr (?)
Video:
The Yardbirds - Train Kept A Rollin' (from Blow Up) at YouTube
Visit:
Blow Up - The Christine Keeler connection at Seen and Heard At the Movies

WASS DIS TWO TONE SHIT?

There's this commercial that's been on TV lately that uses a snippet of the Specials' version of "Rudy, A Message to You". Wanting to get the cover out of my head, I went for Dandy Livingstone's original and landed on a 48 song reggae post that I know I've been to before. But that didn't stop me from spending the last couple hours going back for seconds.

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Listen:
Dandy Livingstone - Rudy, A Message to You  mp3 at Dinosaur Gardens 1967
The Skatalites - Confucius mp3 at Dinosaur Gardens 1966
Honeyboy Martin – Dreader Than Dread  mp3 at Dinosaur Gardens 1967
The Trojan Story - 48 reggae cuts at Dinosaur Gardens 

A SHITLOAD OF STUDIO ONE

Because I've posted Studio One stuff here about a thousand times, I haven't bothered to look for anything else for a while, not because there isn't a lot out there but because there's so much of it that you have to give it a rest at some point. Or not. Tonight I was in the mood, and I ran into a page with over a hundred Studio One cuts. If you're familiar with the label, you already know that a second wasted here reading any crap I'm writing is a second you could be spending listening to good music. You are excused.

If you aren't familiar with Studio One, get with it, man. Just consider them one of the most important reggae labels of all time and you're off to a good start. From the late fifties, through the seventies and beyond, from R & B, through ska, rocksteady, reggae, DJ stuff, and all sub-genres in between, label owner Coxsone Dodd churned out quality shit, and when he was done with that he churned out more quality shit. Studio One was like Jamaica's Stax, Motown, Chess or Sun. And there's a lot of it. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who's heard all of it. Although by now someone must have put together a complete Studio One discography, the last time I checked, not one person knew of all of Dodd's releases, not even Dodd himself when he was still alive.

Part 2 can be seen here.

The songs at Internet Archive are almost all early, some from vinyl copies with audible surface noise. If you're expecting some sanitized remastered stuff, you're in the wrong place. That's kind of missing the point. Jamaican studios were rather funky in comparison to the fancy shit in the states, and their record pressing operations were even funkier. I'll take a loss in fidelity any day if it reminds me of the less than perfect conditions that something was recorded in.

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Listen:
Sound Dimension - Time Is Tight mp3 at Interne1 Archive
Roy Richards - Another Thing mp3 at Interne1 Archive
The Skatalites - Exodus mp3 at Internet Archive
Dennis Alcapone - Power Version mp3 at Internet Archive
Visit:
Reggae From Studio One at Internet Archive NOTE: Scroll down to where it says "Download options" below that click on "VBR MP3". 105 cuts.

A BIG FAT PHOTO AND A COVER I FORGOT ABOUT

Here's a couple things that I've got to post now and get it out of the way. Though the Skatalites had been here kind of a lot, I'd probably just loose track of these if I waited. If you dig the Skatalites, you know how rare it is to do an image search and come up with anything that isn't small, shitty quality, or includes just a few members. Rare it is that you find a posed promo photo, let alone a large one, worthy of printing out and putting on your fridge or whatever. Check this one. The image above is is an actual size detail. This thing is big. And cool man.

The other Skatalites thing is them doing a Beatles cover. Of course, it had to happen. I'm surprised that I forgot about this one, particularly since I've posted it before. Duh.

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

Listen:
The Skatalites - I Should Have Know Better mp3 at Fantastic Weapon
Visit:
The full size photo at Cartunistasolda (?)
Old Skatalites posts with more music (scroll down this page)

BOND DEPOT. JAMES BOND DEPOT.

Need a mess of covers of different songs from James Bond films? Why the hell not, right? Even the shitty versions are usually passable. Cover Me posted a shitload of them, including some insanely cool ones. For my money, the Ray Barretto and John Zorn covers of the James Bond Theme are the best of the lot. But you ought to browse through the others, it's an eclectic cross section, Deadbolt, Radiohead, Magazine, Count Basie and so on. For those of you too lazy go elsewhere, there's a couple ticklers below, including two by John Barry, the OG. If you really can't get enough, there's a ten hour thing of Henry Mancini's version repeated over and over at YouTube. Ten hours. How does someone even upload that shit? 

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Listen:
John Barry Orchestra - James Bond Theme mp3 at ATumblr (?)
John Barry Orchestra - On Her Majesty's Secret Service mp3 at Like A Blockbuster
Skatalites - James Bond Theme mp3 at You're Soaking In It
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings - Goldfinger mp3 at Boogaloo Time
Tommy McCook - Goldfinger (streaming) at YouTube
Henry Mancini - James Bond Theme (streaming) at YouTube Ten damn hours.
The collections at Cover Me:
24 covers of James Bond Themes at Cover Me Ray Barretto, Deadbolt, John Zorn, etc.
12 covers of James Bond Themes at Cover Me Byron Lee and the Dragonaires, Radiohead, Count Basie, Magazine, etc.

MUSIC FOR LATE SUMMER WEEKNIGHTS

Oh hell yeah. Nothing better for a day like today. It was mid-seventies, clear, water temp 73 degrees, and I ran into the perfect soundtrack, Don Drummond stuff at Groove Addict. Like I said, oh hell yeah. With apologies to people mired in shitty weather.

Drummond was a founding member of the Skatalites. One of the musicians responsible for the carrying jazz and R&B into ska.  Check the first two below, and then go to Groove Addict for a few more. Drummond is backed by the Skatalites on these, and some of you will appreciate what that means: the A squad, Jackie Mittoo, Rolando Alphonso and Tommy McCook. Yee-haw!

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Listen:

Don Drummond - Alipang mp3 at Groove Addict

Don Drummond - Cool Smoke mp3 at Groove Addict

More Don Drummond at Groove Addict Scroll down

More Don Drummond here

Skatalites here

ON THE LIST

Ooohh yeah, "Caravan", one of my favorite instrumentals of all time. When I first heard my brother's surf band play it back in the eighties, I had no clue who wrote it, or that its vintage predated surf music by decades. It was catchy and it fit their sound, and like "Miserlou", there was something about it's structure that landed it in that category of songs that are so good, it's damn near impossible to fuck them up. Years later I'd find out that it was first performed by Duke Ellington, and assumed that it was written by him. I found out later that it was written by Juan Tixol. Who? Shit, here we go again. I'll get to him in a few decades. Regardless, there you have it. I had my first favorite Duke Ellington song, and another name was added to the list. This is why it never ends. If you're a fiend, you know the feeling. The, "I'd been putting music of this alleged great off for so long, looks like there's no turning back now" feeling. You know as well as I, that list will never be completed. Shake it off. Bug out to these.

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Listen:
Duke Ellington - Caravan (1962) mp3 at Space Age Pop
Duke Ellington - Caravan (1947) mp3 at Space Age Pop
Thelonius Monk - Caravan (1955) mp3 at Space Age Pop

Takeshi Teruchi - Caravan (1965) mp3 at Beware of the Blog

Santo and Johnny - Caravan mp3 at Basement Rug

George Jenkins - Caravan mp3 at Diddy Wah Go there to get it.

The Strangers - Caravan (1970) mp3 at The Basement Rug

The Skatalites - Ska-Ra-Van (Caravan) mp3 at Tanyao (?)

LIKE THIS, KA-CHINK, KA-CHINK,...

Well dip me in it, I've been fucking around this place for how long, and never had a post featuring the Skatalites? How does that happen? They were like ground zero. Right there when mento and rhythm and blues got chummy, absolutely the shit in the pre-rock steady, pre-reggae days of Jamaican music. The original line-up included the horn section of Roland Alphonso, Don Drummond and Tommy McCook, the holy trinity of Jamaican brass. And Jackie Mittoo on keys, who would become one of the most influential keyboard players in the history of reggae. They initially recorded with Coxsone Dodd (not a bad place to start), followed by Duke Reid, Leslie Kong, Randy Chin and Prince Buster, among others. I don't care if some of you think this is elementary. Listen to it, cop to it, or just get out of here. I don't care. I'm a wild man.

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Listen:
The Skatalites - Guns of Navarone mp3 at Plain or Pan
The Skatalites - Exodus mp3 at Iniva (?)
The Skatalites - James Bond Theme mp3 at a Bond fan site
The Skatalites - I Should Have Know Better mp3 at Fantastic Weapon
The Skatalites - Rockfort Rock mp3 at Job.Yipikai (?)
The Skatalites - Ska-Ra-Van (Caravan) mp3 at Tanyao (?)
The Skatalites - Fidel Castro mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Video:
The Skatalites - Dynamite (?) at YouTube 1980s incarnation
Visit:
The Skatalites - Official site
The Skatalites at Wikipedia

LET'S DO IT THIS WAY

If you ever wanted to hear the evolution of rhythm and blues into ska in just a few songs, a good place to start is with records that feature saxophonist Roland Alphonso. Originally a jazz man, he started playing sessions in the pre-ska days of Jamaican music. His first recordings were produced by Coxsone Dodd (Studio One), in 1956. Those recordings were lost on their way to New York to get mastered. The injustice, eh? Imagine that, your first recordings... poof, gone. He was later one of the founding members of the Skatalites, the archetypical ska band, and when they petered out, the Soul Vendors. The Soul Vendors are like godhead around here. One of the preeminent reggae backing bands of all time, like the Booker T and the MGs of Studio One.

Listen to these songs and you'll get an idea of how those first few years of ska evolved. It's like turning over an engine for the first time. Really? I don't know, sounded good.

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

Listen:
Roland Alphonso and the Blues Blasters - Proof Rum mp3 at Hear Say
Roland Alphonso and the Studio One Orchestra - Cleopatra Rock mp3 at Club Clortez
Roland Alphonso - Lee Harvey Oswald mp3 at Soul Garage
The Ska-Ta-Lites - Leave Me Alone mp3 at Soul Garage
Visit:
Roland Alphonso - Bio at All Music
  

A WORTHY DIVERSION

It's kind of routine. I'll hoof it a few blocks to the local record store to pick up something, ostensibly as impetus, a soundtrack to cleaning my apartment. Yeeah, no. I always end up putting it on and then just continue my flaking off. Nevertheless, my purported purpose for buying music on these outings usually results in non-rock 'n' roll choices, almost always something old. Over the course of the past few years, like most other record stores, the local guys have been bringing in a higher percentage of vinyl reissues, most of them the pricey 180 gram this or that. But recently they've been bringing in more reggae titles, including Studio One stuff. And that's the stuff I go for. Not just because I happen to love the label, buy because the pressings are every bit as crude as they were in the original release, crappy printing, primitive layouts, pops in the vinly and all. But, if you have any original reggae LPs, you know that's part of the appeal.

The last trip was a doozy, highlighted by The Best of Don Drummond (with a beautiful tear on the back cover). Drummond was a trombonist, best known for his work with the Skatalites. Besides playing with them, he also wrote a big chunk of their songs, and was their primary arranger. He attended the Alpha Boys School, a school for underprivileged kids that specialized in music education and churned out a number of reggae notables, including four founding members of the Skatalites. He later tutored at the school. Sadly, Drummond's career was cut short due to mental illness. In 1965, he was convicted of murder after killing his girlfriend, and was later ruled criminally insane. But before his real gnarly troubles began, even while he was being treated for mental illness, he laid a template for ska and reggae, and put out some iconic sides. He died in a mental institution in 1965, "under suspicious circumstances" as they say.

Check the tunes below, but definitely check out the other links as well. One is to Tribute to Don Drummond, a special that aired on Jamaican radio in 1969, with Prince Buster, Coxsone Dodd, Tommy McCook, and other acquaintances. The other one you should check out, besides the incredibly thourough bio at the Jamaican Gleaner, is Alpha Boys School Radio, 24/7 online streaming of early reggae. That might get me to clean.

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

Listen:
Don Drummond - Aliphang mp3 at Hearsay 1964
Don Drummond - Cornerstone mp3 at Domino Slow download but worth it 
Don Drummond and the Skatalites - Knockout Punch mp3 at Reggae Top Site
Don Drummond - Man In the Street mp3 at Dinosaur Gardens 1965
Don Drummond - Nanny's Corner at Aquarium Drunkard Go there to get it.
Streaming:
Don Drummond Tribute - Radio Jamaica 1969
Alpha Boys School Radio
Visit:
A Thin Line Between Genius and Insanity at Jamaican Gleaner