Joe Gibbs & Friends - The Reggae Train 1968 - 1971 (Trojan)

Along with Lee Perry, Bunny Lee, and Clancy Eccles, Joe Gibbs represented the second generation of star Jamaican producers. Originators in the ska era, like producers Duke Reid and Clement Dodd, trained these pioneers of the later rock-steady sound and even released many important sides in that genre as well.

Trojan Records' excellent "Producer Series" spotlights these behind the scenes heavyweights and Joe Gibbs' "The Reggae Train" stands out in particular with its wide variety of classic rock-steady and reggae sides from 1968-71. While onetime Gibb partner Lee Perry's idiosyncratic contributions like "The Upsetter" send things into the stratosphere, Ken Parker's straight soul number "It's Alright" and Tommy McCook's beautiful saxophone and trombone instrumental "Soulful Mood" help keep the proceedings down to earth. This range of musical moods was typical of the output from Gibbs and his contemporaries as ska, rock-steady, solo and trio vocal number, and early reggae were all included; the Slickers and Young Souls here contribute some nice harmony tracks while Peter Tosh's "Arise Blackman" clocks in as one of the first Rastafari anthems. 

Gibbs' house band, the Hippy Boys, which included Jamaican studio aces McCook, organist Gladstone Anderson, and trombonist Vince Gordon, keep the producer's trademark dense slab of sound consistent amongst "The Reggae Train"'s varied program with up-in-the-mix bass and drums, sinewy guitar lines, and bobbing organ chords. The Hippy Boys' dynamic and tight interplay is heard to particular advantage on Ken Parker's "Only Yesterday" and the instrumental track "Hijacked." 

Along with producer Harry J and others, Gibbs fleshed out the thin production values of ska by spreading out the beat and as a result took Jamaican music from the golden era of rock-steady into the early reggae period. Like almost all Trojan's '60s Jamaican reissues, this Joe Gibbs overview is a high-quality release and one that reveals a distinct voice of early Jamaican music.


Tracklist:

01 – Lee Perry – The Upsetter
02 – The Versatiles – Trust the book
03 – Lee Perry – Kimble
04 – Sir Gibbs – People grudgeful
05 – The Reggae Boys – Me no born yah
06 – The Young Souls – Man a wail
07 – The Immortals – Bongo Jah
08 – The Slickers – Man beware
09 – Tommy McCook Band – Soulful mood
10 – Joe Gibbs All Stars – Hijacked
11 – Ken Parker – It’s all right
12 – The Soul Mates – Jump it up
13 – The Reggae Boys – The wicked must survive
14 – The Slickers – Mother matty
15 – The Versatiles – Push it in
16 – The Reggaeboys – The reggae train
17 – Ken Parker – Only yesterday
18 – Peter Tosh – Arise blackman

Joe Gibbs & Friends - The Reggae Train 1968 - 1971 (Trojan)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

VA - Dance Crasher - Ska To Rock Steady (Trojan)

Probably only of interest to the most diehard reggae fans, "Dance Crasher" traces the Jamaican music scene from fast-paced ska to slower rock steady. These two forms were later to develop into what is now known as reggae. It's a fascinating chronicle with tracks from reggae superstars like the Skatalites, the Maytals, the Ethiopians, and Lee Perry and the Soulettes.

All of the songs were cut between 1962 and 1966, and many such as "Hallelujah," "Doctor Dick" and "Big Bamboo" were produced by the legendary C.S. Dodd, one of Jamaica's early studio pioneers.

Some of the recording quality leaves much to be desired, but it's still a good listen. The most interesting piece is "Shame and Scandal," a hilarious story of Jamaican family life ("your daddy's not your daddy, but your daddy don't know"),  recorded by what was then called Peter Tosh and the Wailers.   

Tracklist:

1. Big Bamboo - Lord Creator

2. Latin Goes Saka - The Skatalites

3. Hallelujah - The Maytals

4. Garden Of Love - Don Drummond

5. Rough And Tough - Stranger Cole

6. Beardman Ska - The Skatalites

7. Shame & Scandal - Peter Tosh & The Wailers

8. Street Corner - The Skatalites

9. Bonanza Ska - Carlos Malcomlm And The Afro Caribs

10. Dance Crasher - Alton Ellis & The Flames

11. Let George Do It - Don Drummond

12. Rudie Bam Bam - The Clarendonians

13. Ska Jam - Tommy McCook & The Supersonics

14. Doctor Dick - Lee Perry & The Soulettes

15. Ball O'Fire - The Skatalites

16. Owe Me No Pay Me - The Ethiopians

17. Independece Ska - Baba Brooks & Band

18. Don't Be A Rude Body - The Rulers

VA - Dance Crasher - Ska To Rock Steady (Trojan)
(256 kbps, front cover included)        

VA - Trojan Explosion - 20 Highly Explosive Reggae Hits (1987)

2018 marks 50 years of Trojan Records, so we start today posting some classic Trojan albums to celebrate!

On July 28th 1967, the British-based Jamaican music company, Island Records launched a label to showcase the output of one of the most popular and successful producers of the ska and rock steady eras – Arthur ‘Duke’ Reid.

The imprint, called ‘Trojan’ after the title Mr. Reid had acquired during his early days in the music business, surprisingly failed to fulfil its potential and folded after a matter of months. And this may well have been the end of the Trojan story had it not been for the creation of a new Jamaican music company, launched in the summer of ’68, which was in need of a suitably dynamic name.

The result of a merger between by Island Records and one of its main competitors, B&C, Trojan Records promptly launched an ambitious programme of issuing singles on a variety of labels that highlighted music from every producer of note, ranging from British-based music makers such as Robert ‘Dandy’ Thompson, to such esteemed Jamaican operators as Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Edward ‘Bunny’ Lee and, of course, Duke Reid himself.

Trojan’s rapid growth during its first year was due in no small part to the development of a working class youth movement that embraced Jamaican music as part and parcel of its culture: skinheads.

The purchasing power of this fast developing demographic resulted in an explosion in sales and in the summer of ‘69 the company enjoyed its first mainstream hit with ‘Red Red Wine’ by a little known British-based singer Tony Tribe. Its success was soon eclipsed when the Upsetters, the Pioneers, Jimmy Cliff and Harry J’s All Stars all made their way onto the higher reaches of the mainstream listings.

The Trojan bandwagon rolled on remorselessly into the new decade, with the likes of Desmond Dekker, the Maytals and Bob & Marcia all flying high on the British Pop charts.

In the spring of 1971, Dave & Ansel Collins’ ‘Double Barrel’ provided Trojan its first UK number one, while further chart entries followed with hit singles by Bruce Ruffin, Greyhound and the Pioneers.

Aside from their overtly commercial output, the company also highlighted music by artists largely unknown outside Jamaica, many of which would later become major international recording stars – among these were Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs and a Kingston-based vocal trio called Bob Marley & the Wailers.

Trojan remained hugely successful over the next year or so, with further major hits from Dandy Livingstone, John Holt, Ken Boothe and the larger than life ex-bouncer, Judge Dread, but in 1975, after experiencing financial difficulties, the label acquired a new owner in Marcel Rodd.

Rodd’s inexperience with Jamaican music proved costly and despite signing new deals with a number of up-and-coming producers, Trojan struggled, but as the seventies came to a close, the ‘Ska Revival’ brought a dramatic upturn in its fortunes.

The success of bands such as the Specials and Madness sparked renewed interest in vintage ska and reggae classics and for a time Trojan thrived once more,  with compilations, such as ’20 Reggae Classsics’ and Bob Marley‘s ‘In The Beginning’, compiled by label manager, Patrick Meads, selling particularly strongly.

Unfortunately the good times were not to last and in 1985, with the ska boom long since over, Colin Newman – an accountant by profession and avid collector by nature – purchased the label. Under Newman’s direction, Trojan’s primary focus was upon its formidable back catalogue, with various specialists employed to ensure it maintained its position as the world’s leading vintage reggae record company.

Some 15 years later, Sanctuary Records became Trojan’s fourth owners, paying over £10 million for the privilege. Over the next few years the label went from strength to strength, its already vast catalogue augmented by those of RAS and Creole, resulting in an astoundingly diverse range of releases, highlighting everything from ska to dancehall.

The Trojan Records story took its next dramatic turn in June 2007, when the Universal Music Group purchased Sanctuary in its entirety, so bringing the Jamaican music imprint back under the same roof as Island, the label that had been instrumental in its creation some 39 years before.

Universal maintained the catalogue for the next 7 years, issuing numerous acclaimed collections and reviving the much-missed Trojan Appreciation Society, before reluctantly selling the imprint to BMG, a subsidiary of one of Europe’s biggest media companies, Bertelsmann.

"Trojan Explosion" includes a bevy of ska and reggae favorites, including "Wonderful World, Beautiful People" by Jimmy Cliff, "54-46 Was My Number" by the Maytals and "You Can Get It If You Really Want It" by Desmond Dekker. Every track is a classic, this whole album is an instant party. If people aren't moving two minutes after you put this on, your obviously in a morgue.     

From the back cover: "An album that combines some of the very best tracks from the 'Explosion' series together with choice cuts from deep in the Trojan vaults - 20 highly explosive Reggae hits...Stand well back when playing, it´s pure dynamite."                 

Tracklist:

 1. You Can Get It If You Really Want - Desmond Dekker And The Aces

  2. Reggae In Your Jeggae - Dandy Livingstone

  3. Johnny Too Bad - The Slickers

  4. Liquidator - Harry J. All Stars

  5. Wonder World, Beautiful People - Jimmy Cliff

  6. Them A Laugh And A Kiki - The Soulmates

  7. 54-46 Was My Number - The Maytals

  8. Cherry Oh Baby - Eric Donaldson

  9. Let Your Yeah Be Yeah - The Pioneers

  10. Dollar Of Soul - The Ethiopians

  11. Young Gifted And Black - Bob And Marcia

  12. Sweet Sensation - The Melodians

  13. Elizabethan Reggae - Boris Gardiner

  14. Mama Look - The Pioneers

  15. Double Barrel - Dave And Ansel Collins

  16. Small Axe - Bob Marley And The Wailers

  17. Pomps And Pride - The Maytals

  18. Return Of Django - The Upsetters

  19. 007 (Shanty Town) - Desmond Dekker And The Aces

  20. Phoenix City - Roland Alphonso

VA - Trojan Explosion - 20 Highly Explosive Reggae Hits (1987)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Joe´s All Stars - Brixton Cat (Trojan, 1969)

Joe Mansano was the man behind the Trojan owned ‘Joe’s Record Store’ which could be found at 93 Granville Arcade in Brixton between 1967 & 1976.
The shop was a roaring success, but not content with just selling records, Joe wanted to start producing them too. His first productions were released on the Blue Cat label; ‘Life On Reggae Planet‘ in 1968 & ‘The Bullet’ by Rico Rodriguez in 1969.

Trojan were so impressed by Joe’s success they rewarded him his own label (called Joe) in May 1969. It was then that he collaborated with Jamaican Ska & Reggae vocalist Dice The Boss on arguably his greatest track ‘Brixton Cat, Big & Fat‘.

A love song of sorts, ‘Brixton Cat, Big & Fat’ is an authentic cut of vintage reggae which Joe later clarified as a cheeky reference to a certain lady in his life at the time. The track was so popular Trojan asked Joe to release a "Brixton Cat" album which he did later that year under the name Joe’s All Stars.

The cover for the LP featured Joe’s sister-in-law at the time standing on the corner of Electric Avenue.

Tracklist:

A1 –Since I Met You Baby
A2 –Reggae On The Smoke
A3 –The Judge
A4 –But Officer
A5 –The Bullet
A6 –The Proud One
A7 –Friendly Persuasion
B1 –Sugar Serenade
B2 –Hey Jude
B3 –Brixton Cat
B4 –Snake Poison
B5 –Funky Reggae
B6 –Reco's Torpedo
B7 –Honky

Joe´s All Stars - Brixton Cat (Trojan, 1969)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Gone Fishin!

Have a good time, greetings!

Velvet Underground - A Young Person´s Guide To

"A Young Person´s Guide To Velvet Underground" is a collection of various rare cuts, pre-Velvet-Underground tracks, studio demos and Max's live tracks. It comes with an 8-pages photo book and covers the early years of VU.

The included song "Waves" was the working title for "Ocean".

Tracks:
1. Inside Of Your Heart (2:26)
2. White Light/White Heat (2:48)
3. Rock'n Roll (5:21)
4. Waves (5:23)
5. I've Got A Tiger In My Tank (2:12)
6. You're Driving Me Insane (2:22)
7. Index (4:29)
8. VU Noise (1:49)
9. Sweet Jane (4:51)
10. I'm Set Free (5:12)
11. You Better Walk It, As You Talk It (1:59)
12. Lonesome Cowboy Bill (3:48)
13. Sneaky Pete (2:10)
14. I'm Waiting For My Man (4:34)

Sources:
1, 3, 4 : rough mix acetate demos / 2 : mono mix, 1967 / 5, 6, 13 : pre-VU tracks / 7 : Andy Warhol's Index book flexi / 8 : The East Village Other LP / 9 : Max's Kansas City, August 23, 1970 / 10, 12, 14 : Max's Kansas City, July 26, 1970 / 11 : Max's Kansas City, rehearsals, Summer 1970.

Velvet Underground - A Young Person´s Guide To
(320 kbps, cover art included)