Mikey Jarrett - Vicey Verse / Satta George - Watch The Women Them A Fight Fe Man / Skie Warrington - It A Road Block 12'' [198x 14 Karat Original Pressing]

Big time triple tuned 12'' following up Scion Success' Settle Them A Settle riddim (also on 14 Karat, and posted on the blog earlier). The first side features Jarrett (who produced release and owned the label) chatting, and Satta sing jaying, about the opposite sex (very original!). But these are just the warm ups opening for the flip side, with Skie absolutely massacring the riddim with his sweet, conscious singing. Version comes on Skie's side as well. Get your hands on both these big releases though if you can!

Scion Sashay - Settle Them A Settle

 

Mikey

Satta

Skie

Anthony Redrose - Pension 7'' [1986 Temper Rose Original Pressing]

Weird little tune by Redrose about saving up for when you get old and not squandering your rainy day fund. Only release I've ever seen on Redrose's short-lived label, though I'm sure there must be a few more obscure 7'' out there (I hope!). Instrumental sounds generically mid-80's Firehouse style and is on the Father Jungle Rock riddim.

Retirement Time

Wayne Palmer - Trash And Brok 7'' [198x Waterhouse Original Pressing]

Funny commentary about guys looking "trash" (flashy) at the dance but then being broke cuz they spent all their cash on clothes and accessories! Materialism is not a new trend, though it's definitely being taken to new heights these days. Little too rub-a-dubby a beat from Tubby, for my liking, this time though.

Buy Babylon

Dennis Brown - The Exit 12'' [198x Unity Original Pressing]

Thundering version of Screechy Across The Border by roots crooner Brown. Great tune, but to me, DB just never sounded like he felt too comfortable with the digi riddims, which probably explained his low output in the 80's-90's (compared to earlier in his career). This was also the title track from a Jammy's LP, though was only released as a single in the UK through Unity. Sorry for the beat up copy and poor pic!

Made My Way To...

Professor Nuts - Kangal A Knock 7'' [1997 Kangal Original Pressing]

Classic cut of Sleng Teng riddim by chatting teacher Nuts bigging up the Kangal label (and sound?). Love the blatant ripping off of Kangol hats brand by Burtland Dixon... you know, just misspell it with an "A" and no copyright infringement right?? Goes to show how lax things were back then! Either way, we can all agree that in the 80's, Kangol hats and Kangal records both knocked!

Felt Beret

Frankie Paul - Song Of Freedom / Gimme That Potion 7'' [1995 Exterminator Original Pressing]

I remember first hearing (and falling in love with!) the title track from the Rough Inna Town LP (on Exterminator) by Luciano and Cocoa Tea... a great blend of dancehall and digital roots. Though the LP was released around 2000, some of the songs were actually Phillip Burrell tunes that had been recorded in the mid-late 90's. While some of those songs made it to 7'' and 12'' releases, I don't think the title track did (I've never seen an og press available). I didn't think much of the riddim though, until I stumbled upon the wicked Song Of Freedom by Paul. Not only that, but I also found 2 other huge chunes on the riddim: INI Kamoze's Jah Never Fail I (on Sound Klik) and Gregory Isaacs' Same Time I Lost You (on Exterminator)! I don't have any of the records except for the FP one, which I share here with you. It's interestingly enough a double sided 7'' release (rare for dancehall), with the bubbly  Potion on the flip. You can also find these two tracks on the 1996 Frankie Paul CD named Freedom (on RAS label).

Side A

Side B

Echo Minott - Been So Long 7'' [198x Music Master Original Pressing]

Nice minor-chord adaption of Anita Baker's 1986 r&b slow jam. Cool likkle riddim by Witty too!

Smooth

Dave Robinson - Have To Go Thru 12'' [1985 Leggo Original Pressing]

Ridiculous cut of Tempo riddim by little recorded singer Robinson. From what I can garner, most of his small catalog of releases date back to the 70's... yet all of a sudden this massive anthem of his emerged in the mid 80's. Only the second release by the then new Leggo label, this tune is a much sought after 12''. Re-pressed by Digikiller a little while ago, glad to hear this release getting the recognition it deserves. Audio shines through nicely on my rip, but sorry for the crappy quality of pic!

I Will Go Thru

Love the message here, always reminding us to be undeterred by whatever obstacles life throws at us. If you listen to the lyrics, Robinson starts of by saying "I have to go thru", but by the end he's saying "I will go thru!" Not sure why this reminded me of him, but still want to pay tribute to a true San Francisco legend, Robin Williams. Rest In Paradise-

More excuses, more lagging, but more tunes coming next week I promise...

Johnny Clarke - Teach Them The Right 7'' [198x Firehouse Original Pressing]

I love conscious dancehall songs, especially when they focus on bigging up the likkle youtman. This is an absolute scorcher by Tubby and classic roots singer Clarke. Wicked one a way riddim with uplifting lyrics make this an awesome release. The tune though is surprisingly under rated amongst digi heads it seems, even though it also appeared on King Tubby's Fast Car LP and as a Waterhouse 12'' as Teach The Youths Right. 

Right From The Wrong

Sugar Minott - Wrong Move 7'' [1986 Skengdon Original Pressing]

Kenneth 'Skengdon' Black had many a big hit with all the top dogs of the golden years... Super Cat, Yami Bolo, Gregory Isaacs, Chaka Demus, etc... A big part of that was due to having the keyboard legend Jackie Mittoo at his side. This tune however was produced by Sugar himself as a favor to Black for letting him use his studio on one of his many trips to Miami to secretly cut dubplates for the Youth Promotion clashes. Probably the only dancehall tune I've ever heard use a digital harp effect, but of course Sugar pulls it off smoothly!

Take Heed Rudeboy

Andrew B - Life In The Ghetto 7'' [1989 New Name Muzik Original Presing]

Huge digi roots tune by Andrew B (or Bees) on Castro Brown's label. New Name released a lot of traditional dancehall in the early 90's, but as songs like this can attest, they were also early pioneers of the digi roots sound. Bees has recorded sporadically over the years, starting in the late 80's, briefly joining Black Uhuru in the late 90's, and still releasing music intermittently to this day. This tune, as well as Struggle And Strive (also on New Name) were repressed by Digikiller a few years ago.

It Ain't Easy