Blessed Holidays And End Of Another Year To All!

My crazy schedule is taking a mini break for the holidays, so will be posting some new stuff up in next week or two. I'm also hoping to reup all the dead links from the blog's archives. Any comments or suggestions are welcome to, I appreciate the feedback. May even entertain the idea of taking some requests...

Best wishes-

Stan Ryck - Easy My Yout / Stan Ryck and General Levy - Easy My Yout "Just Cool" Remix 7'' [1991 Inphyniti Original(?) Pressing]

Killer early-90's, hip hop inspired anthem big upping the conscious yout! The A Side has Ryck solo, and the flip features a remix featuring Levy chatting (not as good as solo). The 12'' release of this also has a slightly different mix of the Ryck tune. Lastly, I've also seen this 7'' with a red label, instead of a white one like my copy... I assume they are both original pressings, but could be wrong. Ryck had a few other releases in the mid-90's on labels like Digital B, but that's about it. I heard somewhere that he had a reputation in the recording industry for being hard to work with... but then again caan trust labba rumors. Either way, this is a deadly tune and a nice little addition to anyone's collection!

Just Stan

Just Cool

Horace Andy - Curfew 7'' [198x Ujama Original Pressing]

From a historical standpoint, I was very intrigued by this 7'' when I first picked it up. As most know, Jazzbo was a deejay in the roots golden years, later starting Ujama in the 1977 to begin producing. There are some sparse roots releases on the label, and by the early 80's Jazzbo began incorporating a dancehall feel into his growing number of releases. As an old chatter, and forefather of the dancehall sound, Jazzbo was already a step ahead of the game when the digital takeover began. This release here is a perfect example of that. Probably cut around 1983, it still has a pre-digi instrumental, yet has digital elements and a dancehall mood. On top of this, the tune side features one of the older 70's style labels, while the version side has the newer 80's label design. It's like this record can't decide who it is... Yo, what you claim holmes?!

Curfew

(Version not uploaded unless requested)

Sanchez - Love Is A Funny Feeling 7'' [1991 Exterminator Original Pressing]

Silky smooth singing by Sanchez over a nice digi update of Promised Land riddim (Dennis Brown). Exterminator had a big part in the early-mid 90's roots revival sound, though Fattis Burrell kept a distinct dancehall feel to it. Many classic roots riddims were digitally updated, like this tune for example, or Augustus Pablo's Java (see Sanchez - Never Keeping Secrets). Many big name modern singers also first blew up through Exterminator, such as Luciano, Sizzla, and Jah Cure.

Yup yup

Richie Davis - Sensi Boom / You Ha Fe Cool 12'' [198x Unity Original Pressing]

Nice likkle mellow double sided UK release out of the Unity stable. "Nicotine" Davis with an anti-coke, pro-ishans message over Ba Ba Boom riddim on the A side. The flip is mislabeled as Talk About We (that's why it says Side One), but is actually the song You Ha Fe Cool. You can check the same riddim on Kenny Knots - Ring My Number, and Mikey Murka - Back Your Automatic. Unity had a very original style that really sets them apart from other dancehall of that time, both ah yard and abroad. The man behind it all was Robert "Ribs" Fearon, who both ran the sound and produced the studio recordings himself. As unique as they are, this explains why a lot of the Unity riddims have such similar basslines and effects (not a bad thing!). Versions are also included on both of the rips.

Sensi

Cool

Robert French - Rebel Girl 7'' [198x Black Solidarity Original Pressing]

Unfortunately my copy of this is a bit worn... regardless you can appreciate this track, especially if you've never heard it! Killer instrumental by Ossie Thomas on this underrated tune. Believe it has been repressed, regardless this one needs more exposure. This is a one-away riddim, as far as I know... haven't heard any other releases on it. Big up Ffrenchy... make that girl your wifey!

And I Need Her So...

Andrew Dan - Temporary Lover 7'' [1988 Classic Sounds Original Pressing]

Another obscure artist... another boom shot! Know nothing about Dan other than that he also released the incredibly sought after Classic Rise Again (7'' also on Classic Sounds) that goes for hundreds of dollars. This is the lesser known (and more affordable), but still fresh, little brother of that song. As far as I can tell, these may be the only releases he ever had. Killer singjay a-la-Michael Jackson on this one... little crackling on recording but it easily shines through. 

I Know That I Might Be Losing You...