One of the most beloved of reggae vocalists,
Dennis Brown was more popular than Marley in his native land and rated
‘the Crown Prince’ overseas for his excellence. Lover’s Paradise is an
intriguing compilation of the early 1990s, gathering work for Bunny Lee
and colleagues. Along with a retitled ‘Have You Ever,’ and ‘Wild Fire’
in the guise of the title track, there is a mix of agreeable love
ballads, including Dennis’ takes on Carlton and the Shoes’ immortal
‘Love Me Forever,’ and originals such as ‘Woman I Tell You No Lie’ and
the devotional ‘Wolga Nagga Fire,’ plus there’s a hot cut of ‘Sleng
Teng’ too. D Brown fans take note!
The first and foremost exponent of the ‘singjay’ style, Eek A Mouse, has
carried all before him over the past thirty years busily blurring the
distinctions between roots, dancehall and crossover reggae. Eek-ology
collects up a number of rare and in-demand non-album sides including the
early self produced ‘Ripton Hylton’ recordings along with the Joe Gibbs
sessions where he first unveiled his brand new Eek-A-Mouse style.
Mouse’s long and successful partnership with producer Junjo Lawes is
represented by the non-album ‘For Hire And Removal’ and tracks like
‘Rude Boys A Foreign’ recorded for Gussie Clarke and ‘Taller Than King
Kong’ for King Jammy still ram the dance today!
The Jamaican dub pioneer Lee “Scratch” Perry had the ability to
attract some of the best musicians around to indulge in their fantasies.
He knew how to draw the best out of those who wandered by their
studios. The 1989 compilation album Open The Gate is a
collection of the 12” versions Lee Perry did in the late Black Ark
period. For the recordings, he gathered some of the best singers of the
island, including Anthony “Sangie” Davis, The Heptones, Leroy Sibbles,
The Diamonds, The Congos, Junior Murvin and of course Perry's studio
band The Upsetters amongst others.
The 3LP Open The Gate is available as a limited edition of
2500 individually numbered copies on orange coloured vinyl and includes 3
printed innersleeves.
The Bob Andy catalogue is one of the most celebrated in the history of
Jamaican music. His touchstone LP from Studio One is a best-selling
singles compilation simply entitled Song Book, a cornerstone of the
Studio One catalogue. Nine of 12 tracks recorded for this project
appeared on Song Book. Bob Andy's works have been covered dozens of
times."Tarrus Riley "Desperate Lover"; Bitty McLean "Let Them Say";
Beres Hammond "I've Got To Go Back Home," Olaf Blackwood "You Don't
Know".
Includes 6 page booklet.
The Lost Albums In Jamaican Bass Player, Bandleader, Songwriter, Singer And Producer Boris Gardiner'sDiscography - First Official Issue Of These Impossibly Rare Albums.Contains
Extensive Booklet, With Jeff Mao Detailing Gardiner's Career And The
70s Jamaican Music Industry. Unpublished Photos And Ephemera.1970s
Jamaica suffered an unprecedented stretch of political turmoil and
violence, and as the country’s economy and morale collapsed, reggae and
its offshoots exploded worldwide. Boris Gardiner enjoyed great success
leading bands, issuing albums that mixed reggae, ska, soul and funk, and
collaborating with the likes of Lee (Scratch) Perry and Herman Chin-Loy
in their legendary studios and playing on hundreds of records. So many
that he lost count. Sometime around the issue of his Boris Gardiner
Happening Is What’s Happening album - a Loft classic, with David Mancuso
favoring Gardiner’s take of Booker T. and the MG’s “Melting Pot” at his
legendary gathering - and his soundtrack to Every N----r Is A Star,
famously sampled by Kendrick Lamar and used as the introduction to the
film Moonlight, two albums - Ultra Super Dub Vols. 1 and 2 - credited to
The Boris Gardiner Happening - two albums so obscure that for the
longest time Boris wasn’t even aware that they existed. Following
classics such as King Tubby’s Dub From the Roots and Augustus Pablo’s
King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown, Miami-based Alty East’s Ultra Records
took instrumentals Gardiner created for a run of 45s, and created and
issued these compilations of dubbed out originals and JA renditions of
songs by Otis Redding, Clarence Carter, Betty Wright, Jimmy “Bo” Horne
and Ultra label-mate Frankie Zhivago Young. Released in tiny runs in
handmade, silkscreened, paste-on covers, they have become some of the
most sought after Jamaican albums. Now, issued under Boris’ guidance,
and with a detailed booklet by Jeff Mao, which delves into the deep
scene which birthed these remarkable records, we can finally consider
the last, unheard portion of this landmark musician’s career.