V/A Glory, Dominion, Power, Majesty (PK) 2lp 25.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now on vinyl.... From the label that helped put out the swell "Darker Than Blue" compilation comes a new, even more obscure collection of great tracks. Everything on this collection comes from the vaults of the Canadian label / recording studio Half Moon, sort of a Great White Northern version of Wackies and every bit as good. Lots of crispy, crunchy hi-hats and boomy-muffled bass surround the vocalists in a sandwich of audio love. There's a really nice rootsy reworking of Michigan & Smiley's "Nice Up The Dance" rhythm with some vocals by Johnny Osbourne. Along with Osbourne many Jamaican stars came to visit and record with the in house Super 8 Corporation band during the eighties. Included on this set are Joe Higgs, Stranger Cole, Leroy Sibbles as well as the home team's own vocalists. In addition to the vocal tracks there's some really sweet dubs on here to boot, fairly stripped down in style with a little added instrumentation here, a little more spring reverb and delay there -- very tasteful. The recording quality is very reminiscent of Lee Perry's early Black Ark era stuff, cramming as much signal onto the magnetic tape as will saturate (just caint do that darn thing with that digital crap!) Quite nice. Comes packaged in a nicely printed cardboard box. Our only regret with this release is that they shot the wad on the outer sleeve and neglected to include any liner notes, not even a cover for the actual CD case within. But we can't bitch too much, it's a great collection filled with rarities.
MPEG Stream: BLENDERS, THE "Why Did You Run Away?"
MPEG Stream: BONGO OSSIE & THE MOONLIGHTS "Black Society"
MPEG Stream: LEROY SIBBLES & OTRAVIS BAND "Sky Jacking Version"

V/A Harder Shade Of Black (Pressure Sounds) cd 15.98

MPEG Stream: AUGUSTUS PABLO "One Thousand Swords"
MPEG Stream: SANTIC ALL STARS "Hell Boat"
MPEG Stream: HORACE ANDY "Problems"
MPEG Stream: I ROY "Yamaha Ride"

V/A Harder Shade Of Black (Pressure Sounds) lp 14.98

V/A Hey Punk...Get Riddim! (Victory World) cd 15.98
There's always been some sort of bond between punk rock and reggae: The Clash, Bad Brains, Fugazi, At The Drive In...whether it be in sound or simply in spirit. So Victory (home to some of the most essential NY hardcore of the past 10 years) has put their money where there mouth is by putting out this here compilation of dancehall/reggae/dub specifically as a primer for you young punks, who have yet to discover the joys of Sizzla, Tenor Saw, Sugar Minott, Lee Scatch Perry, Black Uhuru, Yellowman, Beenie Man and the like. Definitely not for those of you who are already immersed in the Trojan sound and the 100%-500% Dynamite collections, but not a bad place to start for the newbies.

V/A Hip Hop Remix (Batty Bombaclaat) cd-r 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We only have a limited quantity of these little gems, so be forewarned. Even before we started becoming inundated with "mash ups" and the compilations featuring them -- The Best Bootlegs In The World Ever, 2 Many DJ's, not to mention DJ Rupture's excellent mixes -- we were able to pick up, quite briefly, 7" releases which featured ragga dancehall a capellas remixed over the hot hip hop rhythms of the day. The labels printing these -- RMC, Special Remix & Killa -- printed short runs, and often the best mixes were long gone before we could even write about them. Those singles are long out of print and the labels that released them have all vaporized as well, but the folk(s) at Batty Bombaclaat have preserved some of the best for a brief second time around for the rest of us stuck in the digital realm. In all, nineteen tracks on this cd-r, each one amazing in its own way. For starters, the two genres -- hip hop and dancehall -- are taylor made for a good mash up. Hip hop's formation owes much to Jamaican DJ's and sound systems that supported them. In turn early Jamaican artists owe much of their inspiration to the early soul and R&B that was imported to the island at the early ages of the sound system. In recent years with the maturation of raggamuffin dancehall, and Jamaican artists cameoing on American hip hop artists' albums, the lines between hip hop and dancehall have been further blurred. Ward 21's first full length is a classic example of hip hop influenced dancehall, and Soul Jazz's excellent compilation Nice Up The Dance further illustrated the connections between the genres. The singles compiled on this anthology are more blunt than that, but the results are no less wonderful. Some, Like Lexxus' "Bounce A Gal" (which uses Missy Elliott's "Get Ur Freak On" as its rhythm) are great in their complete contrast to the original hit. When Missy's track came out it was impossible not to hear it 5 times a day; and of course, the rhythm was recycled many times by many artists from Timbaland himself to Kid 606. The great thing about the Lexxus mix is that Lexxus's voice is so anti-thetical to Missy's. He sounds like an insane person with a bad head cold who snuck into the studio. Other tracks, like Sizzla's "Never Want To Heard A Dem", best the originals. Mixed over M.O.P.'s "Ante Up", Sizzla's vocals turn an otherwise mediocre track into a fucking blood spittingly amazing one. The rhythm is so fucking great it would have been such a disappointment to let it get relegated to the dust bin of history with M.O.P.'s uninspired vocals on it. Along with the aforementioned Jamaican vocalists, included here are many of our favorites like Elephant Man, Capleton, Bounty Killer, Beenie Man, Merciless, Raegan, Danny English and more. Plus all the best hip hop rhythms of the cusp of the millennium are represented here: "Independent Women", "Ugly", Who's That Girl", "One Minute Man", "Can't Deny It", "I'm A Thug" and more. No rhythm tracks are repeated, for what it's worth, so there's no feeling of redundancy with this comp and it makes it a nice party mix to play. As an interesting twist, the disc closes with an inverted remix featuring Sensational's "Livin' It Up" over Beenie Man's "Who Am I". We're not sure where that one came from. As a final note, the original sources from which these tracks were culled, though most likely pressed in the U.S., were done in the Jamaican style: fast and dirty. In other words, there's lots of clicks and pops -- which the producers of this disc elected to preserve -- to increase that sense of authenticity while you listen. On cd-r, with covers nicely printed on vellum and card stock. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: SIZZLA "Never Want To Heard A Dem"
MPEG Stream: CAPLETON "Bun It Down"
MPEG Stream: SENSATIONAL "Livin' It Up"

V/A Hustle! Reggae Disco (Soul Jazz) cd 21.00
The latest Soul Jazz comp gives us eight reggae covers of disco hits originally by the likes of Sugarhill Gang, Chaka Khan, Diana Ross, Michael Jackson and others. While not as essential as the string of great Soul Jazz reggae comps (like the Studio One and Dynamite collections), there are a couple nice tracks here. The Blood Sister's rendition of "Ring My Bell" is the highlight, featuring dubbed out drums and bass and sweet vocals that get the echo treatment toward the end of the track. Latisha's soulfull take on "I'm Every Woman" seems more earthy and convincing than Chaka Khan's (or, uh, Whitney Houston's) version; the darker, richer sound somehow provides a more complex angle on femininity despite the same lyrics. The main stumbling point is Xanadu and Sweet Lady's extremely faithful cover of "Rapper's Delight." It's not like it's bad -- it sounds a lot like Sugarhill Gang's version but with female vocals -- but it's not particularly "reggaefied," and no new angle is provided, it's just a cover of a hit song that probably went over pretty well on the dance floor. Other tracks do give their targeted hits a reggae makeover, which is usually something of an improvement, but nothing super amazing. Hustle! also lacks the extensive, insightful liner notes of other Soul Jazz releases. Maybe that's because "reggae covers of disco hits" is about the extent of what you need to know.
RealAudio clip: BLOOD SISTERS "Ring My Bell"
RealAudio clip: LATISHA "I'm Every Woman"

V/A Hustle! Reggae Disco (Soul Jazz) 2lp 24.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The latest Soul Jazz comp gives us eight reggae covers of disco hits originally by the likes of Sugarhill Gang, Chaka Khan, Diana Ross, Michael Jackson and others. While not as essential as the string of great Soul Jazz reggae comps (like the Studio One and Dynamite collections), there are a couple nice tracks here. The Blood Sister's rendition of "Ring My Bell" is the highlight, featuring dubbed out drums and bass and sweet vocals that get the echo treatment toward the end of the track. Latisha's soulfull take on "I'm Every Woman" seems more earthy and convincing than Chaka Khan's (or, uh,Whitney Houston's) version; the darker, richer sound somehow provides a more complex angle on femininity despite the same lyrics. The main stumbling point is Xanadu and Sweet Lady's extremely faithful cover of "Rapper's Delight." It's not like it's bad -- it sounds a lot like Sugarhill Gang's version but with female vocals -- but it's not particularly "reggaefied," and no new angle is provided, it's just a cover of a hit song that probably went over pretty well on the dance floor. Other tracks do give their targeted hits a reggae makeover, which is usually something of an improvement, but nothing super amazing. Hustle! also lacks the extensive, insightful liner notes of other Soul Jazz releases. Maybe that's because "reggae covers of disco hits" is about the extent of what you need to know.

V/A If Deejay Was Your Trade (Blood & Fire) cd 15.98

V/A Impact! (Universal Sound / Soul Jazz) cd 21.00
Universal/Soul Jazz release of recordings from the influential second string father/son production team of Vincent and Clive Chin. Vincent was responsible for starting the labels Randy's and Impact in the late sixties and, with his son, subsequently started their own recording studio -- Randy's Recording Studio 17 -- which was so successful that other producers on the island often used it as well. This compilation gathers together 15 of the best reggae, soul and funk tracks the pair produced between 1969 and 1975. Allan particularly likes the Skin Flesh And Bones' instrumental version of the BT Express's funk classic "Do It Til You're Satisfied". Booklet includes a several page interview with Clive Chin conducted in 2002 and several archival photos.
RealAudio clip: SKIN, FLESH & BONES "Do It Til You're Satisfied"
RealAudio clip: MITTOO, JACKIE "30-60-90"
RealAudio clip: RANDY'S ALL STARS "Guns In The Ghetto"

V/A Impact! (Universal Sound / Soul Jazz) 2lp 24.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Universal/Soul Jazz release of recordings from the influential second string father/son production team of Vincent and Clive Chin. Vincent was responsible for starting the labels Randy's and Impact in the late sixties and, with his son, subsequently started their own recording studio -- Randy's Recording Studio 17 -- which was so successful that other producers on the island often used it as well. This compilation gathers together 15 of the best reggae, soul and funk tracks the pair produced between 1969 and 1975. Allan particularly likes the Skin Flesh And Bones' instrumental version of the BT Express's funk classic "Do It Til You're Satisfied". Booklet includes a several page interview with Clive Chin conducted in 2002 and several archival photos.

V/A Invasion Of The Mysteron Killer Sounds (Soul Jazz) 2cd 23.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We are suckers for dancehall. Always have been. It's one of those sounds/musics (like black metal buzz, or THE DRONE), that we just can't ever seem to get enough of. That distinctive dancehall rhythmic stutter, so hypnotic and mesmerizing, it's irresistible, and then there's the wild toasting, all woven into this strange skeletal rhythmic party music, that manages to be fun and funky but also weirdly dark and heavy, especially on the first disc here, compiled by Kevin Martin, aka The Bug, who seems to have collected the weirdest dancehall jams around, even the opening track, a classic dancehall number, from way back in 1999, is pretty strange, the beat big and heavy, the vocals chopped up, some super cinematic strings, the toasting way off in the distance, buried way down in the mix, a dub seemingly gone haywire, which when you think about it could describe dancehall in general. Or at least the kind we love. And the first disc here is overflowing with it. Thick buzzing synth over low slung skitter, super effects heavy 8 bit stutter, weirdly produced so the sound slips from blown out and brittle, to murky and muddy, the sound laced with all manner of strange sound effects and WAY dubbed out drums, there's gypsy folk fiddles fused to clipped electronics and slithery basslines, or steel drum driven sunshiney party grooves underpinned by some seriously ominous low end, big skipping synth shuffles beneath snap and clam rhythms, and some swirling drugged out effects heavy vox, and so it goes, the first disc playing out like some twisted big beat experiment, that ranks up there with our favorite dubstep comps for speaker punishing beats, and fuzzy funky grooves, this one maybe the most twisted and far out yet, finishing off with a Bug track of course, Martin offering his own take on dancehall, this one a thumping chunk of bass heavy murk, that almost sounds like super charged double dutch, with some glitch electronics and echoey vocals, the sound slipping from gristly and crunchy, to hazy and washed out.
The second disc, ostensibly slightly more 'traditional', with more obvious nods to the dub and reggae that birthed dancehall, ends up being almost as wonderfully far out as the first, compiled by Soul Jazz head honcho Stuart Baker, disc two manages to shine a light on a different side of dancehall, but one that's just as twisted. Right off the bat, the opener sounds like a squelchy warbly dancehall-ed version of some classic hip hop jam, while the follow up is like some sort of dancehall / dubstep soundtrack to a futuristic sci-fi police chase movie, all fat bass warble and wah guitars, pulsing synth and BIG beats. The rest of the second disc plays out just as strangely as the first few tracks, slipping often into sounds more classically dub or dancehall, but even then, the beats get all twisted up, the loops warped, these tracks obviously chosen as the stranger examples of what was going on in dancehall, even King Tubby contributes some cool lo-fi Casio-driven dancehall weirdness, and near the end of the disc, the sound seems to gradually be slipping back toward a more traditional dub sound, but again, the far out aspects that define the tracks on the first disc, and to a lesser extant the first half of the second disc, remain present, just employed more subtly.
We make proclamations like this all the time, but this is quickly becoming our favorite dancehall comp, definitely the strangest, and most far out. WAY recommended of course. Even if you've yet to be won over by dancehall, if there was ever a record to do it, it would probably be this one. Besides the fact, that the whole thing is presented as an over the top concept collection, the music here apparently some sort of sound shield, to protect Kingston, Jamaica, where a crazy battle is set to take place, between the Alien Sound Lord Abductors, who are trying to recapture humanoid souls, and the Digital Defenders! And you can read all about it in the included comic book! So rad!
Also available, as so many of these Soul Jazz comps are, spread out over two separate vinyl volumes.
MPEG Stream: STEELY & CLEVIE "Streetsweeper"
MPEG Stream: STEREOYP (FT. ALLEY CAT) "Modern Times"
MPEG Stream: HARMONIC 313 "Bazooka Riddim"
MPEG Stream: REDLIGHT "M.D.M.A."
MPEG Stream: THE BUG "Aktion"

V/A Invasion Of The Mysteron Killer Sounds Vol 1 (Soul Jazz) 2lp 26.00
Vinyl part one, here's the review we wrote of the complete 2cd edition:
We are suckers for dancehall. Always have been. It's one of those sounds/musics (like black metal buzz, or THE DRONE), that we just can't ever seem to get enough of. That distinctive dancehall rhythmic stutter, so hypnotic and mesmerizing, it's irresistible, and then there's the wild toasting, all woven into this strange skeletal rhythmic party music, that manages to be fun and funky but also weirdly dark and heavy, especially on the first disc here, compiled by Kevin Martin, aka The Bug, who seems to have collected the weirdest dancehall jams around, even the opening track, a classic dancehall number, from way back in 1999, is pretty strange, the beat big and heavy, the vocals chopped up, some super cinematic strings, the toasting way off in the distance, buried way down in the mix, a dub seemingly gone haywire, which when you think about it could describe dancehall in general. Or at least the kind we love. And the first disc here is overflowing with it. Thick buzzing synth over low slung skitter, super effects heavy 8bit stutter, weirdly produced so the sound slips from blown out and brittle, to murky and muddy, the sound laced with all manner of strange sound effects and WAY dubbed out drums, there's gypsy folk fiddles fused to clipped electronics and slithery basslines, or steel drum driven sunshiney party grooves underpinned by some seriously ominous low end, big skipping synth shuffles beneath snap and clam rhythms, and some swirling drugged out effects heavy vox, and so it goes, the first disc playing out like some twisted big beat experiment, that ranks up there with our favorite dubstep comps for speaker punishing beats, and fuzzy funky grooves, this one maybe the most twisted and far out yet, finishing off with a Bug track of course, Martin offering his own take on dancehall, this one a thumping chunk of bass heavy murk, that almost sounds like super charegd double dutch, with some glitch electronics and echoey vocals, the sound slipping from gristly and crunchy, to hazy and washed out.
The second disc, ostensibly slightly more 'traditional', with more obvious nods to the dub and reggae that birthed dancehall, ends up being almost as wonderfully far out as the first, compiled by Soul Jazz head honcho Stuart Baker, disc two manages to shine a light on a different side of dancehall, but one that's just as twisted. Right off the bat, the opener sounds like a squelchy warbly dancehall-ed version of some classic hip hop jam, while the follow up is like some sort of dancehall / dubstep soundtrack to a futuristic sci fi police chase movie, all fat bass warble and wah guitars, pulsing synth and BIG beats. The rest of the second disc plays out just as strangely as the first few tracks, slipping often into sounds more classically dub or dancehall, but even then, the beats get all twisted up, the loops warped, these tracks obviously chosen as the stranger examples of what was going on in dancehall, even King Tubby contributes some cool lo-fi casio-driven dancehall weirdness, and near the end of the disc, the sound seems to gradually be slipping back toward a more traditional dub sound, but again, the far out aspects that define the tracks on the first disc, and to a lesser extant the first half of the second disc, remain present, just employed more subtlely.
We make proclamations like this all the time, but this is quickly becoming our favorite dancehall comp, definitely the strangest, and most far out. WAY recommended of course. Even if you've yet to be won over by dancehall, if there was ever a record to do it, it would probably be this one. Besides the fact, that the whole thing is presented as an over the top concept collection, the music here apparently some sort of sound shield, to protect Kingston, Jamaica, where a crazy battle is set to take place, between the Alien Sound Lord Abductors, who are trying to recapture humanoid souls, and the Digital Defenders! And you can read all about it in the included comic book! So rad!
MPEG Stream: STEELY & CLEVIE "Streetsweeper"
MPEG Stream: STEREOYP (FT. ALLEY CAT) "Modern Times"
MPEG Stream: HARMONIC 313 "Bazooka Riddim"
MPEG Stream: REDLIGHT "M.D.M.A."
MPEG Stream: THE BUG "Aktion"

V/A Invasion Of The Mysteron Killer Sounds Vol 2 (Soul Jazz) 2lp 26.00
Vinyl part two, here's the review we wrote of the complete 2cd edition:
We are suckers for dancehall. Always have been. It's one of those sounds/musics (like black metal buzz, or THE DRONE), that we just can't ever seem to get enough of. That distinctive dancehall rhythmic stutter, so hypnotic and mesmerizing, it's irresistible, and then there's the wild toasting, all woven into this strange skeletal rhythmic party music, that manages to be fun and funky but also weirdly dark and heavy, especially on the first disc here, compiled by Kevin Martin, aka The Bug, who seems to have collected the weirdest dancehall jams around, even the opening track, a classic dancehall number, from way back in 1999, is pretty strange, the beat big and heavy, the vocals chopped up, some super cinematic strings, the toasting way off in the distance, buried way down in the mix, a dub seemingly gone haywire, which when you think about it could describe dancehall in general. Or at least the kind we love. And the first disc here is overflowing with it. Thick buzzing synth over low slung skitter, super effects heavy 8bit stutter, weirdly produced so the sound slips from blown out and brittle, to murky and muddy, the sound laced with all manner of strange sound effects and WAY dubbed out drums, there's gypsy folk fiddles fused to clipped electronics and slithery basslines, or steel drum driven sunshiney party grooves underpinned by some seriously ominous low end, big skipping synth shuffles beneath snap and clam rhythms, and some swirling drugged out effects heavy vox, and so it goes, the first disc playing out like some twisted big beat experiment, that ranks up there with our favorite dubstep comps for speaker punishing beats, and fuzzy funky grooves, this one maybe the most twisted and far out yet, finishing off with a Bug track of course, Martin offering his own take on dancehall, this one a thumping chunk of bass heavy murk, that almost sounds like super charegd double dutch, with some glitch electronics and echoey vocals, the sound slipping from gristly and crunchy, to hazy and washed out.
The second disc, ostensibly slightly more 'traditional', with more obvious nods to the dub and reggae that birthed dancehall, ends up being almost as wonderfully far out as the first, compiled by Soul Jazz head honcho Stuart Baker, disc two manages to shine a light on a different side of dancehall, but one that's just as twisted. Right off the bat, the opener sounds like a squelchy warbly dancehall-ed version of some classic hip hop jam, while the follow up is like some sort of dancehall / dubstep soundtrack to a futuristic sci fi police chase movie, all fat bass warble and wah guitars, pulsing synth and BIG beats. The rest of the second disc plays out just as strangely as the first few tracks, slipping often into sounds more classically dub or dancehall, but even then, the beats get all twisted up, the loops warped, these tracks obviously chosen as the stranger examples of what was going on in dancehall, even King Tubby contributes some cool lo-fi casio-driven dancehall weirdness, and near the end of the disc, the sound seems to gradually be slipping back toward a more traditional dub sound, but again, the far out aspects that define the tracks on the first disc, and to a lesser extant the first half of the second disc, remain present, just employed more subtlely.
We make proclamations like this all the time, but this is quickly becoming our favorite dancehall comp, definitely the strangest, and most far out. WAY recommended of course. Even if you've yet to be won over by dancehall, if there was ever a record to do it, it would probably be this one. Besides the fact, that the whole thing is presented as an over the top concept collection, the music here apparently some sort of sound shield, to protect Kingston, Jamaica, where a crazy battle is set to take place, between the Alien Sound Lord Abductors, who are trying to recapture humanoid souls, and the Digital Defenders! And you can read all about it in the included comic book! So rad!

V/A It's Rockin' Time: Duke Reid's Rock Steady 1967-1968 (Trojan) lp 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Of the many many rocksteady albums that I (Windy) own, this is my absolute favorite. Every song is an absolute gem, and will lead you to wanting to acquire whole albums by groups such as Phyllis Dillon, Tommy McCook, Justin Hinds, etc. Super highly recommended.

V/A Jack Ruby Presents: The Black Foundation (Heart Beat) cd 14.98
Though he was most known for being the producer behind Justin Hinds & The Dominos and Burning Spear, Jack Ruby was quite a prolific roots reggae producer throughout the seventies and eighties. This compilation features a sampling of some of his best, including: Burning Spear, Big Youth, The Black Disciples, The Heptones, Justin Hinds & The Domninos, and more -- plus a large amount of unrealeased tracks.

V/A Jamaica Funk: Original Jamaican Funk & Soul 45's (Soul Jazz) cd 21.00
Unless you are one lucky cool cat there is a pretty good chance you don't have any of the great Jamaican 45's from 1972-1978 on this amazing comp. All here on cd for the very first time. As the title suggests, this comp focuses on the awesome infusions of soul and funk into the Jamaican sound. This movement was of course heavily influenced by the trend in the US at the time, a glorious funk and soul explosion, but make no mistake, these tracks still retain the classic reggae/dub feel that Jamaica was beginning to export to the rest of the world on great labels like Capo, Jaywax and our long lost Jamaican twin Aquarius (who also had a rad looking record store in Jamaica at the time).
Covers of folks like Earth Wind & Fire, Betty Wright and The JB's as well as original soul cookers from folks like The Heptones, Lee Pery and Cedric Brooks. As always the impeccable packaging by Soul Jazz makes this comp a total treat, with photos of the original 7" covers and super informative liner notes. Really nice!
MPEG Stream: JAH LLOYD "Lama"
MPEG Stream: AUGUSTUS PABLO "Lightning Chap Version"
MPEG Stream: THE CHOSEN FEW "I Love The Way You Love Me"

V/A Jamaica Funk: Original Jamaican Funk & Soul 45's (Soul Jazz) 2lp 24.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Unless you are one lucky cool cat there is a pretty good chance you don't have any of the great Jamaican 45's from 1972-1978 on this amazing comp. All here on cd for the very first time. As the title suggests, this comp focuses on the awesome infusions of soul and funk into the Jamaican sound. This movement was of course heavily influenced by the trend in the US at the time, a glorious funk and soul explosion, but make no mistake, these tracks still retain the classic reggae/dub feel that Jamaica was beginning to export to the rest of the world on great labels like Capo, Jaywax and our long lost Jamaican twin Aquarius (who also had a rad looking record store in Jamaica at the time).
Covers of folks like Earth Wind & Fire, Betty Wright and The JB's as well as original soul cookers from folks like The Heptones, Lee Pery and Cedric Brooks. As always the impeccable packaging by Soul Jazz makes this comp a total treat, with photos of the original 7" covers and super informative liner notes. Really nice!
MPEG Stream: JAH LLOYD "The Lama"
MPEG Stream: AUGUSTUS PABLO "Lightning Chap Version"
MPEG Stream: THE CHOSEN FEW "I Love The Way You Love Me"

V/A Jamaica To Toronto: Soul Funk & Reggae 1967-1974 (Light In The Attic) cd 15.98
Wow! When we think of great soul funk and reggae we have to say that Canada isn't usually the first place that comes to mind -- but we also weren't so aware of the huge migration of Jamaican musicians to Toronto that took place in the late '60s/early '70s. Which explains a lot. How lucky Toronto was to have these infectious sounds to call their own during this special era. This ranks as one of the best soul/funk/reggae collections we've had in a long while. And it really is equal parts reggae, funk and soul with that original reggae sound that many of these artists adopted after leaning way more towards a more soul sound for many years. Recent comps we've been loving like Studio One Women showed how much of the vintage reggae sounds were so influenced by doo-wop and the heyday of American soul music. Jamaica to Toronto is filled with that same kind of raw catchy soul we just can't get enough of. If you've fallen for the Eccentric Soul series that we've also been digging, then this is for you. Killer songs and elaborate 36-page booklet included. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: JO-JO AND THE FUGITIVES "Fugitive Song"
MPEG Stream: JACKIE MITTO "Grand Funk"
MPEG Stream: RAM "Love Is The Answer"

V/A Jamaica To Toronto: Soul Funk & Reggae 1967-1974 (Light In The Attic) lp 24.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Also on vinyl! Wow! When we think of great soul funk and reggae we have to say that Canada isn't usually the first place that comes to mind -- but we also weren't so aware of the huge migration of Jamaican musicians to Toronto that took place in the late '60s/early '70s. Which explains a lot. How lucky Toronto was to have these infectious sounds to call their own during this special era. This ranks as one of the best soul/funk/reggae collections we've had in a long while. And it really is equal parts reggae, funk and soul with that original reggae sound that many of these artists adopted after leaning way more towards a more soul sound for many years. Recent comps we've been loving like Studio One Women showed how much of the vintage reggae sounds were so influenced by doo-wop and the heyday of American soul music. Jamaica to Toronto is filled with that same kind of raw catchy soul we just can't get enough of. If you've fallen for the Eccentric Soul series that we've also been digging, then this is for you. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: JO-JO AND THE FUGITIVES "Fugitive Song"
MPEG Stream: JACKIE MITTO "Grand Funk"
MPEG Stream: RAM "Love Is The Answer"

V/A Jamaican Hits Box Set (Trojan) 3cd 15.98
From the liner notes: "Recording a hit record is of course a major acheivement for any artiste, but while breaching the national music charts in your own country is one thing, repeating that success in others is quite another. Indeed, some of the most important recordings in Jamaica's musical history still remain relatively unknown anywhere outside its golden shores, and it is 50 such sides that make up this collection. All the recordings included on this set appeared on the annual top 25 chart for one of Jamaica's premiere radio stations, JBC, from 1960, up until its final year, 1973 - a fascinating period in the island's musical history. From Jamaican Blues, through the Ska and Rocksteady years, and finally, up until the more contemporary sounds of Reggae, this collection not only presents a wonderful opportunity to trace the development of Jamaican music during this golden age, but also to hear some of the most popular sounds of their day." Presented on three, chronologically arranged discs, this is a "best of" Jamaican music to top them all. Very highly recommended.

V/A Jonny Greenwood Is The Controller (Trojan) cd 14.98
Jonny Greenwood has always been our favorite Radiohead member. Sure maybe Thom Yorke is a genius, but Greenwood is the unsung hero, his guitars and sound manipulations transforming Radiohead from run of the mill alternative rock band to one of the more innovative and captivating bands of the last decade. His solo score to the film Bodysong a few years ago showed the wide range of his music making abilities as well and was one of the first hints at his love of reggae with its subtle moments of glitched out dub electronics. Somehow, someway Trojan Records got in touch and decided to let him crack their vaults and put together a collection of his favorite tracks from their deep well of reggae gems. We gotta say he did some mighty fine selecting as this ranks as one of the nicer vintage reggae/dub collections we've had in the store in quite a while. With everyone from Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Delroy Wilson, Marcia Griffiths, The Heptones, Scotty, Scientist, and more...
This does a great job at scratching the surface of how much amazing music came out of Jamaica during the fertile era of the 70's. While it might just be clever marketing to put his name on this as all he did was pick out the songs, if it turns on some Radiohead devotees to the richness of reggae's finest then we have no problem with that at all.
MPEG Stream: MARCIA AITKEN "I'm Still In Love"
MPEG Stream: SCOTTY "Clean Race"
MPEG Stream: SCIENTIST & JAMMY & THE ROOTS RADICS "Flash Gordon Meets Luke Skywalker"

V/A King Tubby Meets The Reggae Masters (Jet Star) cd 16.98
Though the first word to come to ones head when mentioning the name King Tubby is "dub", you won't find a single track of it here. "King Tubby Meets the Reggae Masters" is a collection of tracks unearthed from his archives after King Tubby passed away in 1989. Half of the tracks on the album were produced by King Tubby and the rest were produced by such luminaries as Striker Lee and Blackbeard who, after laying down the tracks at studios such as Randy's, Channel One and elsewhere, would mix them at King Tubby's -- hence their being reposited in his archives. Rare tracks by Bob Marley & the Wailers (pre-Island Records), Black Uhuru, Barrington Levy, Dennis Brown, Horace Andy, Linval Thompson, Freddie McKay and more.
RealAudio clip: THOMPSON, LINVAL "Feed the Children"
RealAudio clip: MARLEY, BOB & THE WAILERS "Mr Chatter Box"

V/A Kung Fu! Reggae Vs The Martial Arts (Trojan) cd 14.98
The single biggest seller, hands down, of all of the Jamaican music we stock is, without a doubt Lee Perry's Kung Fu Meets The Dragon on Justice League. We're certain that what initially draws people to it is its classic cartoon cover art with a three headed man/dragon, a kung fu posing Upsetter and Chinese iconography to drive the point home. But what keeps this album from ever returning used to the store is the fact that it's just plain great. It's classic, demented, Black Ark era Lee Perry, filled with sonic burps, imponderable engeneering choices and just plain great rhythms and dynamite playing throughout. So does it sound like we're trying to sell you a different album here? Well, I'd (Byram) say that Kung Fu Meets The Dragon is a classic album that needs to be in anyone's collection if they're going to have any dub at all. What we have here is another Trojan theme disc and, one could say, a completely different dish of curried goat all together. So if you get both, your going to have some overlap, once again. There's only just so much classic material out there. Having said that, this is a decent disc in its own right. A great party album, sure. Subtracting the eight Upsetter tracks here that are included on Kung Fu Meets The Dragon and you've still got 15 tracks including a cover of Kung Fu Fighting by Lloyd Parks, several from Prince Jammy (not to be out done by the Upsetter he recorded his own Kamikaze Dub album back in 1979), Big Youth, Junior Byles, Barrington Levy, Linval Thompson, Keith Hudson, Augustus Pablo, Tommy McCook and Dave & Ansel Collins. Be prepared however for a great deal of tracks that pay homage to the martial arts in song title alone. Some will have you scratching your head trying to figure out what the connection is. That aside, it's a great deal of fun. We just wish we could say the cover art was as nice as Kung Fu Meets The Dragon.
MPEG Stream: LLOYD PARKS "Kung Fu Fighting"
MPEG Stream: THE UPSETTERS "Enter the Dragon"
MPEG Stream: BARRINGTON LEVY "Shaolin Temple"

V/A Latin Goes Ska (Jetset) cd 15.98
We're not sure why this record is titled as such, since it's straight up 1963-64 era early ska from genius producer Duke Reid (who often held his artists at gunpoint in the studio until they cut the tracks to his satisfaction). Most of the comp features the BRILLIANT, sunny day sax stylings of Tommy McCook and the Skatalites. Think easy tempo ska infused with American r&b/soul... Yes it is that good! Highly recommended. From Jet Set, the French reggae reissue label whose releases we plan to carry a lot more of.

V/A Life Goes In Circles: Sounds From the Talent Corporation 1974-1979 (Pressure Sounds) cd 16.98

V/A Life Goes In Circles: Sounds From the Talent Corporation 1974-1979 (Pressure Sounds) 2lp 22.00

V/A Loch Ness Monster featuring Top Reggae Artists (Trojan) cd 14.98

V/A Mary Anne Hobbs - Warrior Dubs (Planet Mu) cd 14.98
What the hell more can we say about grime?! Other than we love it. We're obsessed with it. Grime and dubstep are everything we wish hip hop still was (and some still is, the new Clipse absolutely destroys!). Fresh and funky, wild and weird. Fucked up beats and even more fucked up flows. Stuttering hiccupping what the fuck rhythms. It's maddeningly mind bending. And we just can't get enough. And the thing is, we're forced to subsist on a new grime/dubstep release every few weeks or every couple of months, when we could easily be eating up ten times that. This is the only music that stands any chance of getting our non-dancing asses out of our chairs and out onto the dancefloor. And even if dancing is even lower on your list of priorities that it is on ours, this shit is the perfect kicking back music, drifting off, mellowing out, late night dubbed out chill music, it also sounds absolutely amazing blasting in your car. Like we said, we just can't get enough. So here we have a collection of some of the best dubstep (and grime) jams of the last little while compiled by legendary DJ Mary Anne Hobbs. About half of these tracks were recorded or at least remixed specifically for this comp, the rest being all time grime/dubstep classics.
The disc starts off with a track from recent AQ Record of the Weeker Milanese, a furious muted blast of grime-y groove and some killer dancehall style toasting over the top. The grime element is sort of pushed aside in favor of the more blissed out dubstep sound for the rest of the disc, featuring a track from another AQ record of the week Burial, as well as a track from Kode9 & Space Ape whose full length we raved about not too long ago. And of course a track from Kevin Martin's Bug... This whole record is just so dark and deliriously groovy. Beats are all over the place, alternating between shuffling and pounding, slithering and stuttering, huge basslines fuzz and buzz, thick swaths of low end synth threaten your woofers, vocals are minimal, sometimes wild tongue twisting flows, other times growled dancehall toasting, bits of jungle surface here and there, thick swirls of ominous ambience EVERYWHERE. So goddamn good. We've been listening to this non stop!! And every time we play this in the store somebody comes up to find out what it is, and usually ends up buying it. So what else do you need to know. Buy this now!
MPEG Stream: BENGA "Music Box"
MPEG Stream: ANDY STOTT "Black"
MPEG Stream: PLASTICIAN "Cha Vocal"
MPEG Stream: THE BUG "Jah War"

V/A Mary Anne Hobbs - Warrior Dubs (Planet Mu) 3lp 17.98
What the hell more can we say about grime?! Other than we love it. We're obsessed with it. Grime and dubstep are everything we wish hip hop still was (and some still is, the new Clipse absolutely destroys!). Fresh and funky, wild and weird. Fucked up beats and even more fucked up flows. Stuttering hiccupping what the fuck rhythms. It's maddeningly mind bending. And we just can't get enough. And the thing is, we're forced to subsist on a new grime/dubstep release every few weeks or every couple of months, when we could easily be eating up ten times that. This is the only music that stands any chance of getting our non-dancing asses out of our chairs and out onto the dancefloor. And even if dancing is even lower on your list of priorities that it is on ours, this shit is the perfect kicking back music, drifting off, mellowing out, late night dubbed out chill music, it also sounds absolutely amazing blasting in your car. Like we said, we just can't get enough. So here we have a collection of some of the best dubstep (and grime) jams of the last little while compiled by legendary DJ Mary Anne Hobbs. About half of these tracks were recorded or at least remixed specifically for this comp, the rest being all time grime/dubstep classics.
The disc starts off with a track from recent AQ Record of the Weeker Milanese, a furious muted blast of grime-y groove and some killer dancehall style toasting over the top. The grime element is sort of pushed aside in favor of the more blissed out dubstep sound for the rest of the disc, featuring a track from another AQ record of the week Burial, as well as a track from Kode9 & Space Ape whose full length we raved about not too long ago. And of course a track from Kevin Martin's Bug... This whole record is just so dark and deliriously groovy. Beats are all over the place, alternating between shuffling and pounding, slithering and stuttering, huge basslines fuzz and buzz, thick swaths of low end synth threaten your woofers, vocals are minimal, sometimes wild tongue twisting flows, other times growled dancehall toasting, bits of jungle surface here and there, thick swirls of ominous ambience EVERYWHERE. So goddamn good. We've been listening to this non stop!! And every time we play this in the store somebody comes up to find out what it is, and usually ends up buying it. So what else do you need to know. Buy this now!
MPEG Stream: BENGA "Music Box"
MPEG Stream: ANDY STOTT "Black"
MPEG Stream: PLASTICIAN "Cha Vocal"
MPEG Stream: THE BUG "Jah War"

V/A Massive B 2G1 Answer Meets Dun Dem (Massive B) cd 16.98
New collection from New York dancehall label Massive B featuring cuts by artists toasting over Massive B's new improved upon -- punchier bass -- "2G1 Answer" and "Dun Dem" rhythms. 17 cuts (8 using the Answer rhythm and 9 using Dun Dem) featuring such notables as Jr. Kelly ("Ghetto Region"), Elephant Man ("The Anthem"), Burro Banton ("Settle Yours"), Half Pint ("She's Fever"), Lexxus ("Nine Dem"), Bounty Killer ("Fire With Fire"), and much more. This is a collection geared more for die hard dancehall fans DJ's, as most people go nuts hearing the same rhythm repeated over and over. A better choice might be to pick up one of the Massive B's 7"s that were culled together for this compilation.
RealAudio clip: ELEPHANT MAN "The Anthem (Answer rhythm)"
RealAudio clip: LEXXUS "Nine Dem (Dun Dem rhythm)"

V/A Massive B 2G1 Answer Meets Dun Dem (Massive B) lp 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
New collection from New York dancehall label Massive B featuring cuts by artists toasting over Massive B's new improved upon -- punchier bass -- "2G1 Answer" and "Dun Dem" rhythms. 17 cuts (8 using the Answer rhythm and 9 using Dun Dem) featuring such notables as Jr. Kelly ("Ghetto Region"), Elephant Man ("The Anthem"), Burro Banton ("Settle Yours"), Half Pint ("She's Fever"), Lexxus ("Nine Dem"), Bounty Killer ("Fire With Fire"), and much more. This is a collection geared more for die hard dancehall fans DJ's, as most people go nuts hearing the same rhythm repeated over and over. A better choice might be to pick up one of the Massive B's 7"s that were culled together for this compilation.

V/A Nice Up The Dance (Heart Beat) cd 16.98
Imagine one of those reggae collections where the version track follows the vocal, except that instead of there being a rude break where the song stops and then starts again as a dub, the vocals merely drop out for several minutes, returning only at the close of the song. It's the perfect reconciliation of the vocal and version: just slap the two together. Though not exactly what's going on here, it's quite close. The practice, known as the "Discomix", became popular in the early seventies. Studio 1 was one of the big innovators of the "Discomix", which was a reworking of a song in order to keep a hit playing on the dance floor longer to increase exposure, keep people dancing, as well as a way to allow the dj a chance to toast over the song. The shortest track on here is just under seven minutes (the longest clocking in at eleven minutes). This collection is an excellent compilation of Discomixes, containing two previously unreleased mixes and many tracks appearing for the first time on cd and featuring Alton Ellis, Horace Andy, The Viceroys with Tommy McCook, Delroy Wilson and more. Highly recommended!
RealAudio clip: MCKAY, FREDDIE "Love Is A Treasure"
RealAudio clip: ANDY, HORACE "Mr. Bassie"

V/A Nice Up The Dance (Heart Beat) lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Imagine one of those reggae collections where the version track follows the vocal, except that instead of there being a rude break where the song stops and then starts again as a dub, the vocals merely drop out for several minutes, returning only at the close of the song. It's the perfect reconcilliation of the vocal and version: just slap the two together. Though not exactly what's going on here, it's quite close. The practice, known as the "Discomix", became popular in the early seventies. Studio 1 was one of the big innovators of the "Discomix", which was a reworking of a song in order to keep a hit playing on the dance floor longer to increase exposure, keep people dancing, as well as a way to allow the dj a chance to toast over the song. The shortest track on here is just under seven minutes (the longest clocking in at eleven minutes). This collection is an excellent compilation of Discomixes, containing two previously unreleased mixes and many tracks appearing for the first time on cd and featuring Alton Ellis, Horace Andy, The Viceroys with Tommy McCook, Delroy Wilson and more. Highly recommended!

V/A Nice Up The Dance: Two Worlds Clash (Soul Jazz) cd 21.00
Last list one of our 'Records-of-the-Week' was the awesome "Wild Dub" compilation of punk-era dubs. This week, we've got another culture clash -- though, like "Wild Dub", it's less a clash than a perfect match -- with this mix of reggae meets hip hop mixes.
Not to be confused with Heartbeat's venerable compilation of disco-mixes which bears the same title, Soul Jazz's "Nice Up The Dance" is no less of a great collection. While the earlier genres of Jamaican music have drawn inspiration from the States in varying degrees since the 1950's, it's only recently that tables have turned and artists from the U.S. have begun importing ideas from Jamaica -- so much so that rap and dancehall are practically joined at the hip. Dancehall artists are not only cameo-ing on albums by prominent rap artists, but even getting some major label attention of their own. Along comes Soul Jazz to bridge the not-so-wide gap between hip hop and dancehall. On the one hand you have Jamaican artists here like Sean Paul, who has apparently been enjoying some MTV and major label attention right now. His 1996 track "Infiltrate", which has some sick sub-harmonic bass for those of you with subwoofers (the "Playground" riddim), is included here. And on the other you have American artists like J-Live with his track "Satisfied" which pays homage to Jamaican music by using Augustus Pablo's "East of the River Nile" as its foundation, and NY producer Kenny Dope with his trunk rattling dancehall/hip hop crossover classics "Boomin' In Ya Jeep" (featuring Screechy Dan) and "Gunshot" (featuring Shaggy). The best thing about this collection is that it's not some academic attempt to point out the missing links between hip hop and dancehall, but -- like Soul Jazz already has demonstrated time and again -- to collect some of the best tracks into a mix that will stay in your system this summer. This is going to be the album to blast at your next bar-b-q, or in your car on the way to the beach/park/club through the coming hot months (for those of you who are blessed with warm summers). Along with the aforementioned tracks is Cutty Ranks' kick ass come back tune "Who Say Me Done", a fucking wicked Tuva-drone toast from Pompidoo aptly titled "Synthesizer Voice", Steelie and Cleevie's electro-bass remix of Dawn Penn's "No, No, No" (admit it purists, this mix grows on you), another mix of the ever so popular "Ring The Alarm" by Tenor Saw and more. But the absolute bestest, most kick-assessed track on the album is Ward 21's gut pounding, steamroller of a bassline "Petrol" (from 2002 -- no it's not on the Mentally Disturbed album) which features tag team vocals from both the growling baritone and the 200-words-per-minute auctioneer cum toaster. And for those of you that can't live without it, there are some nice liner notes tracing the paths of Jamaican and American music here for you. Highly recommended!!!
MPEG Stream: KENNY DOPE "Boomin' In Ya Jeep"
MPEG Stream: WARD 21 "Petrol"

V/A Nice Up The Dance: Two Worlds Clash (Soul Jazz) 2lp 24.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Last list one of our 'Records-of-the-Week' was the awesome "Wild Dub" compilation of punk-era dubs. This week, we've got another culture clash -- though, like "Wild Dub", it's less a clash than a perfect match -- with this mix of reggae meets hip hop mixes.
Not to be confused with Heartbeat's venerable compilation of disco-mixes which bears the same title, Soul Jazz's "Nice Up The Dance" is no less of a great collection. While the earlier genres of Jamaican music have drawn inspiration from the States in varying degrees since the 1950's, it's only recently that tables have turned and artists from the U.S. have begun importing ideas from Jamaica -- so much so that rap and dancehall are practically joined at the hip. Dancehall artists are not only cameo-ing on albums by prominent rap artists, but even getting some major label attention of their own. Along comes Soul Jazz to bridge the not-so-wide gap between hip hop and dancehall. On the one hand you have Jamaican artists here like Sean Paul, who has apparently been enjoying some MTV and major label attention right now. His 1996 track "Infiltrate", which has some sick sub-harmonic bass for those of you with subwoofers (the "Playground" riddim), is included here. And on the other you have American artists like J-Live with his track "Satisfied" which pays homage to Jamaican music by using Augustus Pablo's "East of the River Nile" as its foundation, and NY producer Kenny Dope with his trunk rattling dancehall/hip hop crossover classics "Boomin' In Ya Jeep" (featuring Screechy Dan) and "Gunshot" (featuring Shaggy). The best thing about this collection is that it's not some academic attempt to point out the missing links between hip hop and dancehall, but -- like Soul Jazz already has demonstrated time and again -- to collect some of the best tracks into a mix that will stay in your system this summer. This is going to be the album to blast at your next bar-b-q, or in your car on the way to the beach/park/club through the coming hot months (for those of you who are blessed with warm summers). Along with the aforementioned tracks is Cutty Ranks' kick ass come back tune "Who Say Me Done", a fucking wicked Tuva-drone toast from Pompidoo aptly titled "Synthesizer Voice", Steelie and Cleevie's electro-bass remix of Dawn Penn's "No, No, No" (admit it purists, this mix grows on you), another mix of the ever so popular "Ring The Alarm" by Tenor Saw and more. But the absolute bestest, most kick-assessed track on the album is Ward 21's gut pounding, steamroller of a bassline "Petrol" (from 2002 -- no it's not on the Mentally Disturbed album) which features tag team vocals from both the growling baritone and the 200-words-per-minute auctioneer cum toaster. And for those of you that can't live without it, there are some nice liner notes tracing the paths of Jamaican and American music here for you. Highly recommended!!!

V/A Now Thing: 15 Dancehall Instrumentals (MoWax) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Finally got this sucker in the trusty aluminum format for all y'all so here's the description we gave the vinyl back in list 124 along with some real audio samples:
Seems like it's been ages since we've got anything in on MoWax. I guess I haven't been paying much attention to them of late, their second volume of sleepy bedroom trip hop Headz bombed so bad, I thought that was the end of them. So it's a bit odd to be seeing their name attached to a collection of version tracks representing the most popular dancehall ragga rhythms to come out of Jamaica in recent years. 15 tracks of hard ragga beats, a wee but o' hybrid drum n' bass, stripped of vocals for your deejaying pleasure. Features "Grass Cyaat" (Richard Browne), "Bada Bada" (Ward 21), "WWW.Com" (Annex Productions) and much more. Take your favorite a capella track and slap it on top and voila! instant dancehall classic! A must for any aspiring deejay. But the best thing by far is the ultra-randy cover art. It's not so much the front cover, which features a rated-x-school-house-rock image of a booty shaking chorus line, but the back cover which has a super close up drawing of a hot pants hottie replete with camel toe, droplets, and vapor trails. I kid you not, quite stimula... er, disturbing.
RealAudio clip: SLY & LENKY "Now Thing"
RealAudio clip: BROWNE, RICHARD "Grass Cyaat"
RealAudio clip: WARD 21 "Bada Bada"

V/A Now Thing: 15 Dancehall Instrumentals (MoWax) 2lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Seems like it's been ages since we've got anything in on MoWax. I guess I haven't been paying much attention to them of late, their second volume of sleepy bedroom trip hop Headz bombed so bad, I thought that was the end of them. So it's a bit odd to be seeing their name attached to a collection of version tracks representing the most popular dancehall ragga rhythms to come out of Jamaica in recent years. 15 tracks of hard ragga beats, a wee but o' hybrid drum n' bass, stripped of vocals for your deejaying pleasure. Features "Grass Cyaat" (Richard Browne), "Bada Bada" (Ward 21), "WWW.Com" (Annex Productions) and much more. Take your favorite a capella track and slap it on top and voila! instant dancehall classic! A must for any aspiring deejay. But the best thing by far is the ultra-randy cover art. It's not so much the front cover, which features a rated-x-school-house-rock image of a booty shaking chorus line, but the back cover which has a super close up drawing of a hot pants hottie replete with camel toe, droplets, and vapor trails. I kid you not, quite stimula... er, disturbing.

V/A Ragga Jungle Anthems Volume 1 (Greensleeves) cd 14.98
Yeah, you're right, these aren't new collections. In fact they're over six years old at this point. But imagine our surprise, johnny-come-latelys we are with these comps, when we picked them up for the store and discovered that we were already familiar with one of the tracks from a record of the week pick of a year ago. What I'm speaking of is DJ Rupture's inclusion of the Greensleeves (via Ridley Don) jungle remix of Barrington Levy's "Here I Come" on volume two. While Rupture did in fact add his own treatment to the mix, pitching it down drastically half way through, we were a little miffed that the mix -- which we thought was one of the best parts of the Gold Teeth Thief -- wasn't his own. Like the Trojan Jungle collections the two Ragga Jungle Anthem volumes are merely previously released tracks that have been remixed with breakbeat jungle rhythms, but where as the Trojan collections worked with classic reggae and ska material, the Ragga Jungle Anthem collections are all contemporary dancehall, which lends itself to such remixing. And sure the beats aren't new or groundbreaking, or even that original, but hell, it sounds SOOOOO GOOD. That classic jungle rhythm the got us in so into jungle in the first place. No tech step or hard step or dark core or whatever, just big dumb fun floor shaking wall rattling JUNGLE rhythms under some classic dancehall. You can't go wrong.
RealAudio clip: BOUNTY KILLER "Dead This Time"
RealAudio clip: NINJAMAN, BOUNTY KILLER, BEENIE MAN & NINJA FORD "Bad Boy Lick A New Shot"

V/A Ragga Jungle Anthems Volume 2 (Greensleeves) cd 14.98
Yeah, you're right, these aren't new collections. In fact they're over six years old at this point. But imagine our surprise, johnny-come-latelys we are with these comps, when we picked them up for the store and discovered that we were already familiar with one of the tracks from a record of the week pick of a year ago. What I'm speaking of is DJ Rupture's inclusion of the Greensleeves (via Ridley Don) jungle remix of Barrington Levy's "Here I Come" on volume two. While Rupture did in fact add his own treatment to the mix, pitching it down drastically half way through, we were a little miffed that the mix -- which we thought was one of the best parts of the Gold Teeth Thief -- wasn't his own. Like the Trojan Jungle collections the two Ragga Jungle Anthem volumes are merely previously released tracks that have been remixed with breakbeat jungle rhythms, but where as the Trojan collections worked with classic reggae and ska material, the Ragga Jungle Anthem collections are all contemporary dancehall, which lends itself to such remixing. And sure the beats aren't new or groundbreaking, or even that original, but hell, it sounds SOOOOO GOOD. That classic jungle rhythm the got us in so into jungle in the first place. No tech step or hard step or dark core or whatever. just big dumb fun floor shaking wall rattling JUNGLE rhythms under some classic dancehall. You can't go wrong.
RealAudio clip: BARRINGTON LEVY "Here I Come"
RealAudio clip: MEGA BANTON "Soundboy Killing"

V/A Randy's 17 North Parade (Pressure Sounds) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A great collection of soulful '70s reggae tunes centered on producer Clive Chin of the legendary Kingston studio (and retail record mart) Randy's. Highlights include Alton Ellis' "Too Late", Senya's "Roots Man", the Randy's All Stars version of the Mission Impossible theme, and "Be Thankful" by Donovan Carlos, plus other great tracks by Gregory Issacs, The African Brothers, Black Uhuru, Lloyd Parks, The Heptones, and others. Released in 1997 but new to us...man, there's so many fantastic reggae collections out there, we're never going to catch up...still, one can try!
RealAudio clip: ALTON ELLIS "Too Late"
RealAudio clip: THE GLADIATORS "The Race"
RealAudio clip: SENYA "Roots Man"
RealAudio clip: DONOVAN CARLOS "Be Thankful"

V/A Randy's 17 North Parade (Pressure Sounds) lp 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A great collection of soulful '70s reggae tunes centered on producer Clive Chin of the legendary Kingston studio (and retail record mart) Randy's. Highlights include Alton Ellis' "Too Late", Senya's "Roots Man", the Randy's All Stars version of the Mission Impossible theme, and "Be Thankful" by Donovan Carlos, plus other great tracks by Gregory Issacs, The African Brothers, Black Uhuru, Lloyd Parks, The Heptones, and others. Released in 1997 but new to us...man, there's so many fantastic reggae collections out there, we're never going to catch up...still, one can try!

V/A Randy's Vintage Dub Selection (Jamaican Recordings) cd 16.98

V/A Red Bumb Ball (Pressure Sounds) cd 17.98

V/A Reggae Goodies, Vol. 1 & 2 (Wackies) cd 21.00
We heard that both volumes of the original LPs of Reggae Goodies sold for $350 each on eBay just recently, if that tells you anything about the collector fanatacism that Wackies merch inspires in folks these days. If you're not a fetishist for the original object, you can get all those tracks -- 20 of them -- for a fraction of the $700 eBay price tag. All the greats are here: The Love Joys, Joe Morgan, Wayne Jarrett, Stranger Cole, The Chosen Brothers and much more.
MPEG Stream: LOVE JOYS "I Belong To You"
MPEG Stream: WANACHI "African Rose"

V/A Riddimentary : Diplo Selects Greensleeves (Greensleeves) cd 12.98

V/A Rocksteady Fever (Kingston Sounds) cd 21.00

V/A Rocksteady Fever (Kingston Sounds) lp 21.00

V/A Roots of Dancehall (Auralux) cd 21.00
As implied by the title, this collection is an exploration into the humble origins of what is now a household name around the world. Originally existing only for local consumption in Jamaica's back streets at a time when all the rest of the world new about the island was Bob Marley, the current crop of dancehall stars -- Sean Paul, Elephant man, et al. -- are either cameoing on major US hip hop albums or being signed to major labels here. It just took 20 something odd years. The tracks here are all come from the work of Linval Thompson, Junjo Lawes and the Roots Radics band at their Channel One studio in Jamaica. Thompson and Lawes are largely credited with being the founding fathers of dancehall in Jamaica and these tracks, most recorded in the late seventies, are some of rarities and reworkings of classic tunes. Included here are Horace Andy, Barry Brown, Linval Thompson, Earl 16, Freddy McKay, Don Carlos and more. Comes with a nice color booklet with liner notes by David Katz (author of the Lee Perry biography People Funny Boy) and archival photos.
MPEG Stream: HORACE ANDY "Jah Provides"
MPEG Stream: BARRY BROWN "Peace & Love"

V/A Rough Trade Shops Counter Culture [2002] (Rough Trade / Mute) 2cd 23.00
The term "counter-culture" seems to be Rough Trade's catch-all tag for this extremely eclectic compilation. This two disc set features a total of 41 tracks from around the world - many familiar artists (Bright Eyes, the Breeders, ESG, Bis, Johnny Dowd, Melt Banana, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Cabaret Voltaire, Mountain Goats, Tom Waits, Prefuse 73, Tracy And The Plastics, Glass Candy And The Shattered Theatre, James Yorkston, Dempsey, The Bug Vs The Rootsman, Joy Zipper, Langley Schools Music Project) as well as many you may not yet be familiar with (Rubicks, The Be Good Tanyas, Trash Money, Akufen, Baxter Dury, The Bug Vs The Rootsman, My Robot Friend, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Crossover, The Books and Pink Grease). A genuine musical cornucopia!
RealAudio clip: RUBICKS "Midas"
RealAudio clip: TRASH MONEY "You Lied Satan"
RealAudio clip: THE BE GOOD TANYAS "Broken Telephone"

V/A Rub-A`-Dub Soldiers (Makasound) cd 16.98