2008 - Various Artists - Reggae Anthology The Channel One Story Chapter Two

2008 - Various Artists - Reggae Anthology
The Channel One Story Chapter Two @320

In these times of music industry tribulation, back catalogue reissues and compilations seem to be the order of the day. This assortment comes from VP’s retro imprint 17 North Parade - their second to celebrate the Hookim brothers’ Channel One in its 70s pomp - and offers a nice spread of tunes, focussing on the cool vibes plus heavy heavy drum ‘n’ bass equation that made the label’s name.

Dotted in amongst these hallmark productions, however, are some curios that showcase the Hookims penchant for deeper roots. There’s The Wailing Souls ‘Jah Give Us Life’, (one of the few sides of the era that, due to a lack of variation in its admittedly stirring melody, sounds better on 7” version than full length discomix) and the mournful ‘Hog and Goat’, perhaps Don Carlos greatest moment, telling the tale of an army raid over a simple sad piano and horns call and response.

Things truly hot up during part two with ‘In Time To Come’ and the Drifter rhythmed ‘Three Wise Me’n by Earth and Stone, John Holt’s ‘Don’t Fight Your Brother’ and ‘Have You Ever Been In Love’, and Black Uhuru’s robust take on ‘Sun Is Shining’, proving Channel One wasn’t just about feel-good harmonies, snare shots and major keys. The sole shame is that only Jamaican artists are featured; Creole’s seminal ‘Beware Of Your Enemies’ really ought to have been included on the basis of the plethora of versions it inspired alone. Some dancehall songs are clustered at the end of each disc, including Barrington Levy’s forward marching ‘Soldier’ and Yellowman riding the Shank I Sheck rhythm for the languid ludicrous ‘Mad Over Me’.

There isn’t much on here that hasn’t been available in one format or another through the years, but these are largely excellent cuts that show there’s more to the studio than the Mighty Diamonds ‘Right Time’, possibly the most overplayed record of the period. Furthermore, if enough people are to get into reggae to make it commercially viable in the current climate, collections like this are essential. Hopefully then we’ll see the number of contemporary roots releases by big labels rise. (United Reggae)

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Natacha Atlas – Diaspora 1995 320😎

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Courtney Barnett

Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit

[Japanese Edition bonus]

(2015)

 

320

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Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile

Lotta Sea Lice

(2017)

 

320

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Scientist - Scientist Dubs Culture Into A Parallel Universe 2000 320 😎

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2004 - Various Artists - Reggae Anthology The Channel One Story

2004 - Various Artists - Reggae Anthology
The Channel One Story @320*

*track 2 is @128

Although not as well known as Studio One, Treasure Isle or Black Ark, Joseph and Ernest Hookim's Channel One Studio has played an equally strong role in the history of Jamaican reggae, first as a last blast of roots material at the close of the 1970s, and then as a cornerstone of the emerging dancehall scene in the mid-'80s. These two periods correspond neatly to the house bands in residence at Channel One, with the Revolutionaries providing the rhythms behind the first phase, and Roots Radics powering the second. This two-disc history of the studio shows that whatever the differences were between early and later Channel One releases, a crisp, clear sound was the constant, and the hits here from the Mighty Diamonds ("I Need a Roof," "Right Time"), Barrington Levy ("Dances Are Changes"), Delroy Wilson ("Sharing the Night Together"), the Jays (a cover of "Queen Majesty" by the Impressions), John Holt ("Up Park Camp") and Sugar Minott ("Babylon") all feature that same sharp, fresh feel and tone, making this a wonderful introduction to a vital Jamaican institution. (AllMusic)

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King Tubby, Bunny 'Striker' Lee Vs Channel One , Jah Stitch – Dub Soundclash (For One Night Only) 2016 320 😎

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The Lime Spiders – Volatile 1988 320😎

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St. Thomas

A Mouse in a Crowded House

(2016)

 

320

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Courtney Barnett

The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas

(2014)

 

320

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Various – Stax ’68: A Memphis Story 2018 320

Discogs 

 * AN ESSENTIAL COLLECTION COMMEMORATING A PIVOTAL YEAR FOR STAX RECORDS AND AMERICAN HISTORY; 1968
• A 5-disc set features all the singles (A- and B-sides) released on all Stax labels throughout '68
• Features over 120 iconic songs from artists that defined an era including: Otis Redding, The Staple Singers, William Bell, Booker T. and the M.G'.s, Carla Thomas, Johnnie Taylor, Albert King, Isaac Hayes, Linda Lindell, Rufas Thomas and many more *

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Mariachi El Bronx - Live Cuts (Live at Teragram Ballroom & the Independent, Dec 2015) 2016 320😎

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Mariachi El Bronx – Música Muerta Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 2020 320 😎

* The two volume's in this compilation contains previously unreleased B-Sides, Demos, Covers and Live tracks. I will upload them in two links. *

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St. Thomas

Children of the New Brigade

(2005)

 

320

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St. Thomas

There's Only One of Me

(2006)

 

320

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Santana & Bill Laswell - Divine Light (2001) Flac 😎

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Mariachi El Bronx – Mariachi El Bronx III 2014 320😆

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Mariachi El Bronx – Mariachi El Bronx II 2011 320😆

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1966-72 - Dub Specialist - Studio One Dub (2004)

1966-72 - Dub Specialist - Studio One Dub (2004) @320

1. Bionic Dub (Red Blood)
2. Take A Ride Version (Take A Ride)
3. Sky Rhythm (Skylarking)
4. Taurus Dub 2 (Mr Jolly Man)
5. Hooligan (Change Your Style)
6. Dub Rock (Swell Headed)
7. Rastaman Version (Rasta Man Camp)
8. Jah Jah Version (Jah Jah Go Before Us)
9. Creator Version (You Don't Love Me)
10. Running Dub (Run Run)
11. Hi Fashion Dub (One Step Beyond)
12. Pretty Version (Pretty Looks Isn't All)
13. Race Track Version (Ride Me Donkey)
14. Spawning (Ballistic Affair)
15. In Cold Blood Version (In Cold Blood);
16. Chase Them Version (Mr Bassie)
17. Feel The Dub (Feel Good - (Hold Them))

The incomparable Studio One series of dub albums is about as good as it gets in reggae music. Unfortunately, to date, only two of the original series have been reissued on CD (ROOTS DUB & JUKS INCORPORATION), while Heartbeat released their DUB SPECIALIST :17 DUB SHOTS FROM STUDIO ONE compilation (based mainly on SAMPLE DUB & ZODIAC SOUNDS) in 1995. But now Soul Jazz brings us a completely new collection of Studio One dub-plates, taken mainly from the B-sides of 7" releases (rather than culled from the existing dub albums), and an excellent selection it is, too. With vocal fragments by John Holt & the Paragons, Freddie McGregor, the Gladiators, Delroy Wilson and Cornel Campbell, amongst others, this superlative release comes complete with 16-page booklet including interviews with engineer Sylvan Morris and producer Coxsone Dodd.

Any album that opens with Bionic Dub (an ethereal mix of Vin Gordon's 'Red Blood' - the original cut to be found on STUDIO ONE SCORCHER) is alright by me.. (Downbeat Special)

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1972 - Stevie Wonder - Talking Book

1972 - Stevie Wonder - Talking Book @320

After releasing two "head" records during 1970 and 1971, Stevie Wonder expanded his compositional palette with 1972's Talking Book to include societal ills as well as tender love songs, and so recorded the first smash album of his career. What had been hinted at on the intriguing project Music of My Mind was here focused into a laser beam of tight songwriting, warm electronic arrangements, and ebullient performances -- altogether the most realistic vision of a musical personality ever put to wax, beginning with a disarmingly simple love song, "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" (but of course, it's only the composition that's simple). Wonder's not always singing a tender ballad here -- in fact, he flits from contentment to mistrust to promise to heartbreak within the course of the first four tracks -- but he never fails to render each song in the most vivid colors. 

In stark contrast to his early songs, which were clever but often relied on the Motown template of romantic metaphor, with Talking Book it became clear Wonder was beginning to speak his mind and use his personal history for material (just as Marvin Gaye had with the social protest of 1971's What's Going On). The lyrics became less convoluted, while the emotional power gained in intensity. "You and I" and the glorious closer "I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)" subtly illustrate that the conception of love can be stronger than the reality, while "Tuesday Heartbreak" speaks simply but powerfully: "I wanna be with you when the nighttime comes/I wanna be with you till the daytime comes." Ironically, the biggest hit from Talking Book wasn't a love song at all; the funk landmark "Superstition" urges empowerment instead of hopelessness, set to a grooving beat that made it one of the biggest hits of his career. It's followed by "Big Brother," the first of his directly critical songs, excoriating politicians who posture to the underclass in order to gain the only thing they really need: votes. 

With Talking Book, Wonder also found a proper balance between making an album entirely by himself and benefiting from the talents of others. His wife Syreeta contributed two great lyrics, and Ray Parker, Jr. came by to record a guitar solo that brings together the lengthy jam "Maybe Your Baby." Two more guitar heroes, Jeff Beck and Buzzy Feton, appeared on "Lookin' for Another Pure Love," Beck's solo especially giving voice to the excruciating process of moving on from a broken relationship. Like no other Stevie Wonder LP before it, Talking Book is all of a piece, the first unified statement of his career. It's certainly an exercise in indulgence but, imitating life, it veers breathtakingly from love to heartbreak and back with barely a pause. (AllMusic)

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Mariachi El Bronx – Mariachi El Bronx I 2009 320😆

* Mariachi El Bronx are an American mariachi band started as a side project with members of the punk/hardcore band The Bronx in 2006. They released the forth self titled album earlier this year, but I am going to share Mariachi El Bronx 1, 2 & 3, we start with number 1 from 2009. *

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