Tommy McCook & The Supersonics ‎– Greater Jamaica - Moonwalk Reggae (1970)

Tommy McCook, born in 1922, was one of the great heroes of Jamaican music.  In 1963 he formed the Skatellites, one of the great names in early ska music, before pulling together the Supersonics in 1965.  The Supersonics became the house band at Duke Reid's studio and were backing band on many reggae and rocksteady hits in the mid to late sixties.
This album is just gorgeous and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have:



Tracklist

01 Stealing Stealing
02 Lock Jaw
03 Moonlight Groover
04 Funkey Funkey Reggae
05 Quando Mi Amor
06 My Girl
07 Drink Milk
08 Only A Smile
09 Drink Milk
10 You Were To Be
11 Stealing Vol 2
12 Moon Invader
13 Moon Walk

Get it HERE (mediafire) or HERE (adrive).

The Wailing Souls - Wailing Souls (Studio One Roots Reggae)

This 1975 Studio One compilation collects a number of sides the legendary vocal group, The Wailing Souls, recorded with Sir Coxone Dodd in 1969 and 1970.  This is sweet roots goodness that might just help knock the rough edges off your day.



Tracklist:

01         Back Out With It    
02         Mr. Fire Coal Man    
03         Run My People    
04         Thou Shall Not Steal    
05         Row Fisher Man    
06         Real Rock    
07         Got To Be Cool    
08         Pack Up    
09         Can't Catch Me    
10         Hot Road

Get it HERE.

Scientist - Crucial Cuts Vol. 2 (1986)

Scientist is a true innovator in the world of dub reggae.  He was and electric wizard, a protégé of King Tubby, and a fearless vampire killer.  Pour yourself a rum, sit back and check out these crucial cuts.

Tracklist:

01         13 Bread Lane Dub         
02         11 Guava Road Dub         
03         Ethiopian High Priest         
04         The President         
05         Forgive Them Oh Jah         
06         Everlasting Version         
07         Knock Out Version         
08         King Sturgav         
09         People's Choice, The Lion        
10         Dub The Daughter

Get it HERE.

Tapper Zukie - Peace in the Ghetto

 

Tapper Zukie was one of the most popular roots artists of the mid to late '70s, both here in the UK and in Jamaica.  In 1976 he was the warm up act on Patti Smith's UK tour.

This 1978 album sees the man in fine form toasting over some familiar tracks (I'm sure many listeners will recognise the fabulous 'Ghetto Rock').

Tracklist:

01    Peace In The Arena         

02    The City Of Mount Zion         
03    Ghetto Rock
04    Tribute To Steve Biko    
05    Dangerous Woman         
06    Get On The Double         
07    Praise Jah In Gladness         
08    Peace In The City         
09    Bimbo Bimbo

Get it HERE.

Junior Delgado - More Treasure Found (1997)

This is a fabulous compilation of roots reggae tracks from Oscar Hibbert aka Junior Delgado. Most of the songs were produced by the man himself however there's also some fantastic productionsfrom roots superstars Lee Perry, Niney the Observer and Dennis Brown. This fella had a phenomenal voice, rich and gravelly like he spent many an hour on the chalice.

"Delgado is best known for the dancehall hit Trickster, which introduced him to the mainstream in the mid 1970s. Later that decade, he had Top 20 hits in Merry Go Round and Fort Augusta which were produced by Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare.

He also wrote songs for his good friend, Dennis Brown, Jacob Miller and Althea and Donna.

Saxophonist Dean Fraser, who played on Merry Go Round, remembered Delgado as a "hardcore protest singer". Added Fraser: "He never had many big hits in Jamaica but he always had a good following in England."

Delgado was born Oscar Delgado Hibbert at Luke Lane in downtown Kingston. In a 1994 interview with The Gleaner, he said his first recording was the song Reaction which came in 1970 for producer Joe Gibbs.

He continued to record for Gibbs as a solo act and with the harmony group, Time Unlimited, releasing several grassroots hits like African Sound and 23rd Psalms.

But, his first major hit came alongside the teenaged Brown with whom he struck up a solid partnership in the mid 1970s, recording a cover of The Heptones' Party Time, which was done for Brown's DEB label.

Trickster was Delgado's biggest hit song as a solo artiste for DEB, which was followed by Tition, a critique of corrupt politicians.

In the late 1970s, Delgado hooked up with Dunbar and Shakespeare, then the hottest production team in reggae with their revamped Taxi label. Merry Go Round and Fort Augusta remain two of Delgado's biggest hits.

Delgado lived in England for much of the last 20 years, touring Europe and working as a producer. Among the acts he produced for his Incredible Music label were singers Michael Rose, Frankie Paul and Yami Bolo."

­ Howard Campbell

The zip file is hosted on a different file hosting site so please let me know if there are any problems with downloading and stuff.

Tracklist:

01 Warrior No Tarry Ya
02 Thinking
03 Storm Is Coming
04 Chant Chant Chant
05 Run Run
06 Every Natty
07 All I Have Is Love
08 Tichion
09 Mr. Preacher Man
10 House Upon A Rock
11 Freedom Train
12 Life Ain't So Easy
13 Huff An Puff
14 Hypocrites
15 23rd Psalms

Get it HERE.

Yard Style Christmas - Various Artists (1981)

We're full of the Christmas spirit here at the Snap, Crackle and Pop HQ. The sloe gin is flowing and I've just thrown another log on the fire. I thought I should share the love so here is some festive roots reggae for y'all.

Tracklist:

01 The Tamlins & Trinity - Silent Night
02 Barrington Levy & Trinity - I Saw Mommy Kiss A Dreadlocks
03 Home T-4 & Trinity - Dub It For Christmas
04 Carlene Davis & Trinity - Santa Claus Do You Ever Come To The Ghetto
05 Barrington Levy & Trinity - Flash Your Dread
06 Jah Irie Chorus & Dean Fraser - Sensimilla

Get it HERE.

Tony Tuff (1980)

I picked up this lovely slab of roots reggae a few days ago in a local charity shop and thought that this warm April evening would be as good a time as any to share it with you. The Gladiators back Tony Tuff on all these supertight tunes, and production is shared by Yabby You, King Sounds, Mafiatone and Tony Tuff.
Come hear the monolithic, dubby whump of Sweet Maureen, you might like it:


Tracklist:

01 Don't Follow Bad Company
02 Jah Almighty
03 Rumors Of War
04 Lovers Rocking & Skanking
05 We Want No War
06 I'm So Glad
07 Gimme Wha' Me Want
08 Sweet Maureen
09 Now I Know

Get it HERE.

Tiger - Mi Name Tiger (1986)

Lovely bit of ragga and dancehall from 1986. You know you want it. Pom Pom!
(insert sound of airhorn here).

The man got style, and here he is tearing up the Reggae Sunsplash festival in 1987:


Tracklist:

01 No Wanga Gut
02 Mi Lover Mi Lover
03 Puppy Love
04 Na Lef Ya So
05 Don't Be Greedy
06 Tiger Talking
07 The Works
08 Follow Mi Model
09 Move Up
10 Me Name Tiger

Get it HERE.

Scotty - Unbelievable Sounds (Trojan 1988)

Sweet reggae and rocksteady sounds from the very early '70s. This'll help ease you through the winter nights.

Tracklist:

01 Draw Your Brakes
02 Children Children
03 Penny For Your Song
04 Jam Rock Style
05 I Worry
06 Musical Chariot
07 Sing Along
08 Rosemarie
09 Sesame Street
10 Lonely Man
11 Riddle I This
12 Monkey Drop
13 I Count The Skank
14 Clean Race
15 Skank In Bed
16 Unbelievable Sounds

Get it HERE.

Total Recall Vol 2 - Various Artists

I've been immensely enjoying the beautiful, clear blue skies and sunshine over the past couple of weeks and this here album has been a perfect accompaniment to the balmy heat. It's a very enjoyable compilation of Jamaican Dancehall hits from the late '70s up to the mid '80s, and every track's a winner. All the songs were produced by the late, great Henry 'Junjo' Lawes and if you're interested, you can find out more about him HERE.

Tracklist:

A1 Michigan & Smiley - Diseases
A2 Josey Wales - Woola Woope
A3 Sinbad - Fisherman Style
A4 Lee Van Cliff - Boom Salute
A5 Tayon - Stylee
A6 Josey Wales - Leggo Me Hand Gateman
A7 Eek-A-Mouse - Wah Do Them
B1 Michigan & Smiley - What Type Of World
B2 Nicodemus - Boneman Connection
B3 Josey Wales - Bobo Dread
B4 Charlie Chaplin - Bubbling Telephone
B5 Tayon - Barry G
B6 Michigan & Smiley - Come When Jah Call You
B7 Sister Nancy - Dance Pan The Corner

Get it HERE.

Guns of Navarone - Various Artists (Trojan Records 1969)

Picked this one up last week in the bargain bin of a second hand record shop in Brighton. The record is in pretty awful condition and the recording has a few skips and jumps, I imagine its seen its share of parties for this a great compilation of fantastic ska and reggae tunes. Some, like the title track or 'Bonanza Ska', will be familiar to many, but others are wonderfully obscure. Baba Brooks' jazzy sound was a revelation to me upon first listen, and I'm also loving the Skatalites' 'Ball O' Fire'.

Tracklist:

01 Skatalites - Guns Of Navarone
02 Baba Brooks - Bank To Bank Part 1
03 Ike & Crystalites - Illya Kurayakin
04 Tommy McCook - Saboo
05 Carlos Malcolm - Bonanza Ska
06 Baba Brooks - Vitamin A
07 Lyn Tate & Jets - Something Stupid
08 Flames, The - Broadway Jungle
09 Tennors, The - Copy Me Donkey
10 Roland Alphonso - El Pussy Cat
11 Eric Morris - Penny Reel
12 Soul Brothers, The - Sound Pressure
13 Lyn Tate & Jets - Napoleon Solo
14 Skatalites, The - Ball O' Fire
15 Baba Brooks - Guns Fever
16 Baba Brooks - Bank To Bank Part 2

Get it HERE if you don't mind a bit of crackle and pop.

Scratch the Upsetter - Revolution Dub (Anachron 1990)

"This is dub revolution: music to rock the nation"

Originally released in 1975, Revolution Dub is Lee Perry's landmark dub album. The record is the result of years of experimentation in his Black Ark Studio, exploring the phonic possibilities of the mixing desk and twisting the music of The Upsetters into impossible shapes. The group's easy rhythms are stripped bare and splashed with fragments of vocal or dialogue from a broken television set that burbles away in a forgotten corner. The whole thing is a bit reminiscent of the feeling you get when you sit in a dark room on a very sunny day.

Tracklist:

01 Revolution Dub
02 Woman's Dub
03 Kojak
04 Doctor on the Go
05 Bush Weed
06 Dreadlock Talking
07 Own Man
08 Dub the Rhythm
09 Rain Drops

Get it HERE.

Eek-a-Mouse - The Very Best of (1987)

Great set of fabulous '80s roots sounds from Jamaican singjay star, Eek-a-Mouse. Pour yerself a rum, sit back and enjoy the sunshine.

Tracklist:

1. Anarexol
2. Star, Daily News & Gleaner
3. Noah's Ark
4. Terrorists In The City
5. Peeni Walli
6. Wild Like A Tiger
1. Wa-Do-Dem
2. Do You Remember
3. Sensee Party
4. Stadium Hot
5. Assassinator
6. Christmas-A-Come

Get it HERE.

King Tubby, The Observer Allstars & The Aggrovators - King Tubby's Special 1973 - 1976

This collection of classic Tubby cuts was my introduction to heavy dub and hearing it now brings back strong memories of sitting in a friend's smokey bedroom in the golden days of my eighteenth summer. None of us had anything to do and life was all the better for it and we spent many funny afternoons basking in the sun and trancing out to King Tubby's lazy skank. What you get on this double album is a masterful collection of echo chamber reworks of classic mid-'70s roots, the melodies of many being familiar to even those who (like me) pay no special attention to reggae. The dub version of Horace Andy's 'Skylarking' is especially beautiful.

Record 1

1. Rebel Dance

2. Casanova Dub

3. Silver Bullet

4. Rasta Locks

5. Dubbing With The Observer

6. Sir Niney's Rock

7. Jam Down

8. Parade Dub

9. Youth Man

10. Turntable Dub

11. Corn Man

12. Mr D Brown Skank 13. Rema Dub Get it HERE.

Record 2

14. King Tubby's Special - U-Roy

15. Another Version

16. Straight To Brad's Head From New York

17. Dancing Version

18. Straight To Trojan Head

19. Straight To The Boy Niney Head

20. Gorgon Speaks Version

21. I Trim The Barber

22. More Warning

23. Rougher Version

24. Straight To Babylon Boy's Head

25. Straight To The Capitalist Head

26. Cool Down Version

27. Better Version

28. Serious Version

29. Crisp Version

30. King Tubby's Special (2) - U-Roy Get it HERE.