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THE ROOTS
From The Roots is the fourth studio album by one of the best-known ska and rocksteady vocal groups, The Maytals. The group was founded in 1962 by Toots Hibbert, Henry “Raleigh” Gordon, and Nathaniel “Jerry” Mathias. They helped popularise reggae music during the Sixties and were even credited in the etymology of the word “Reggae” in the Oxford English Dictionary, as a result of being the first to use the word “Reggae” in their 1968 single “Do They Reggay”. The album From The Roots was recorded by Leslie Kong and features some of The Maytals' most explosive tunes. Fun fact, the album was already recorded in 1970, but wasn't released until three years later, after signing to Island Records in 1973.
TRACK LISTING
Side A
1. Pee Pee Cluck Cluck
2. Loving Spirit
3. Dr. Lester
4. Gola Silver
5. Koo Koo
6. Revival Reggae
7. Thy Kingdom Come
Side B
1. One Eye Enos
2. A Time To Love
3. 9 O'clock
4. Know Me Good
5. Got To Feel
6. Feel So Good
7. Give Peace A Chance
10 killer tracks including some all-time true classic Tubby's mixes. As before, comes in two sided hand silkscreened jacket in either orange or green print.
'You know we had to do it, so here's the near companion dub album to our recent "Roots from the Record Smith" compilation. This LP features the B-side dub versions from the original 45's of almost all the tracks from the vocal comp, nearly all taken from master tapes. For the curious and studious, here's a breakdown of the deviations from the vocal LP. Track A3, the dub version to "Heading For the Mountain", is a previously unreleased mix, in that it does not contain the explosion sound fx heard on the original 45 - these fx were added during the master cutting for the original 45 and are not on the master tape! Likewise, the original dub to Black Oney's "Jah Jah Send The Parson", titled "Version Stormy Weather" with storm sound FX was done the same way, and that version has been added here in place of a version to I Roy's "Look A Boom." Our previous reissue of the Black Oney single contained a raw rhythm cut and not this dub version with FX. Lastly, in place of a version for the Heptones "Tripe Girl" (sadly no version of the Heptones or I Roy was ever released!), we've added the version to Black Oney's "Festival '75", as found only on the impossibly rare original blank 45 release. Our previous issue of that one was backed with the Prince Far I cut on the same rhythm. A final note, the last track on this album is the dub to Ronnie Davis' "Power of Love", titled "King Tubby's In Fine Stile", and widely recognized as one of the King's all time best mixes. If you don't know, get to know. This one alone is worth the price of admission.’
'You know we had to do it, so here's the near companion dub album to our recent "Roots from the Record Smith" compilation. This LP features the B-side dub versions from the original 45's of almost all the tracks from the vocal comp, nearly all taken from master tapes. For the curious and studious, here's a breakdown of the deviations from the vocal LP. Track A3, the dub version to "Heading For the Mountain", is a previously unreleased mix, in that it does not contain the explosion sound fx heard on the original 45 - these fx were added during the master cutting for the original 45 and are not on the master tape! Likewise, the original dub to Black Oney's "Jah Jah Send The Parson", titled "Version Stormy Weather" with storm sound FX was done the same way, and that version has been added here in place of a version to I Roy's "Look A Boom." Our previous reissue of the Black Oney single contained a raw rhythm cut and not this dub version with FX. Lastly, in place of a version for the Heptones "Tripe Girl" (sadly no version of the Heptones or I Roy was ever released!), we've added the version to Black Oney's "Festival '75", as found only on the impossibly rare original blank 45 release. Our previous issue of that one was backed with the Prince Far I cut on the same rhythm. A final note, the last track on this album is the dub to Ronnie Davis' "Power of Love", titled "King Tubby's In Fine Stile", and widely recognized as one of the King's all time best mixes. If you don't know, get to know. This one alone is worth the price of admission.’
TRACK LISTING
Sparkes & The Upsetters - Unity Dub
Agrovators - World By Mself Part 2
Solid Explosion Band - Mountain Dub
Lloydie Slim & The Agrovators - Jah Jah Dub
Lloydie Slim & King Tubby - Clearly State Dub
Lloydie Slim & The Agrovators - Dub Wise (Mr. Lee)
Lloydie Slim All Stars - Why Did You Version
Lloydie Slim & The Agrovators - Version Stormy Weather
Lloydie Slim & The Agrovators - Festival 75' Versipn
King Tubyy - King Tubby's In Fine Stile
Michael Campbell started out as an engineer with the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation and made reggae history presenting his Dread At The Controls radio program, after which he embarked on a successful career as an innovative performing artist, producer and bona fide dubmaster. As such, he was among the first to utilize the incredibly talented, young the Roots Radics to lay the foundations of his tracks. Much less relying on endlessly recycled riddims from the Studio One and Treasure Isle catalogues than many of his peers, Mikey mostly delivered crisp, original tunes. They were 'deconstructed' at King Tubby's studio - the birthplace of dub - in this case by virtuoso Scientist with Mikey himself. Dread at the Controls indeed! This catalogue includes the majestic "Two Track Dub" (a version of the Roots & Culture riddim) and "Demo Dub" (versioning Radio One, featured on the B-side of The Clash' Hitsville UK).
TRACK LISTING
Side A
1. Demo Dub
2. Raving Style
3. Dub Addict
4. Stereo Dub
5. Brain Wave
6. Queen Dub
Side B
1. Front Room Dub
2. Two Track Dub
3. Control Tower Dub
4. Reflexion Dub
5. Dreadlocks Dud
The Roots of Chicha, compiled by Barbès Records, was originally released in 2007 and became the first recording to popularize psychedelic cumbia around the world.
From the late 60's through the 80's, Peruvians invented a new popular musical hybrid inspired by music from the Americas. In 1968, Enrique Delgado released his first record on Odeon with his new group, Los Destellos, single-handedly creating Peruvian cumbia. He codified the genre early on by using the electric guitar as the primary melodic instrument, and mixing cumbia rhythms with folkloric huaynos, criollo voicings, Cuban guarachas and guajiras, rock, boogaloo, surf, psychedelia, oriental music, classical music, and bits and pieces from Brazil, France, Chile... All Peruvian cumbia bands for the next thirty years would end up drawing from the exact same sources (Grupo Celeste, Los Mirlos, Juaneco Y Su Combo, Manzanita Y Su Conjunto...).
This new wave of Peruvian cumbia came to be known as chicha. Chicha is originally the name of an alcoholic drink, made of fermented maize, which the Incas were especially fond of. In the past thirty years, however, the word has taken on a pejorative connotation. Peruvian cumbia started being called chicha in the late 70s, around the same time that the music came to be viewed as the expression of the slums – the pueblos jovenes. Little by little, the word became an adjective, and people now talk of chicha culture, chicha press, chicha architecture, even of a chicha president, and none if it – you guessed right – is meant as a compliment. Chicha suggests corruption, shady deals, and cholos – a derogatory term for a person of Andean heritage that, of late, is being reclaimed and worn as a badge of honor by the very cholos it was supposed to demean in the first place.
From the late 60's through the 80's, Peruvians invented a new popular musical hybrid inspired by music from the Americas. In 1968, Enrique Delgado released his first record on Odeon with his new group, Los Destellos, single-handedly creating Peruvian cumbia. He codified the genre early on by using the electric guitar as the primary melodic instrument, and mixing cumbia rhythms with folkloric huaynos, criollo voicings, Cuban guarachas and guajiras, rock, boogaloo, surf, psychedelia, oriental music, classical music, and bits and pieces from Brazil, France, Chile... All Peruvian cumbia bands for the next thirty years would end up drawing from the exact same sources (Grupo Celeste, Los Mirlos, Juaneco Y Su Combo, Manzanita Y Su Conjunto...).
This new wave of Peruvian cumbia came to be known as chicha. Chicha is originally the name of an alcoholic drink, made of fermented maize, which the Incas were especially fond of. In the past thirty years, however, the word has taken on a pejorative connotation. Peruvian cumbia started being called chicha in the late 70s, around the same time that the music came to be viewed as the expression of the slums – the pueblos jovenes. Little by little, the word became an adjective, and people now talk of chicha culture, chicha press, chicha architecture, even of a chicha president, and none if it – you guessed right – is meant as a compliment. Chicha suggests corruption, shady deals, and cholos – a derogatory term for a person of Andean heritage that, of late, is being reclaimed and worn as a badge of honor by the very cholos it was supposed to demean in the first place.
TRACK LISTING
A1. Los Mirlos - Sonido Amazonico
A2. Juaneco Y Su Combo - Linda Nena
A3. Los Hijos Del Sol - Cariñito
A4. Los Destellos - Patricia
A5. Los Diablos Rojos - Sacalo Sacalo
A6. Los Ribereños - Silbando
B1. Compay Quinto - El Diablo
B2. Los Destellos - Elsa
B3. Ranil Y Su Conjunto Tropical - Mala Mujer
B4. Manzanita Y Su Conjunto - Agua
B5. Los Destellos - Para Elisa
B6. Juaneco Y Su Combo - Ya Se Ha Muerto Mi Abuelo 4:09
C1. Los Ilusionistas - Colegiala
C2. Los Diablos Rojos - El Guapo
C3. Manzanita Y Su Conjunto - El Hueleguiso
C4. Juaneco Y Su Combo - Vacilando Con Ayahuasca
C5. Los Hijos Del Sol - Linda Muñequita
D1. Grupo Celeste - Como Un Ave
D2. Los Destellos - Constelación
D3. Los Wembler's De Iquitos - La Danza Del Petrolero
D4. Chacalón Y La Nueva Crema - A Trabajar
D5. Los Shapis - El Aguajal
D6. Los Mirlos - La Danza De Los Mirlos
King Tubby and Producer Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee are intertwined in the birth of dub music. Tubby’s vast knowledge of electronics and Bunny’s vast catalogue of rhythms would lay the foundations of what today is taken as a standard - remix and version cuts to an existing vocal tune. Dynamic Sounds upgraded to 16 track recording in 1972 and Tubby purchased, again with the help of a deal brokered by Bunny Lee, the old four track equipment and the MCI console from their Studio B. The four tracks now gave him far wider scope to work with and he began to create a new musical form where the bass and drum parts were brought up while the faders allowed Tubby to ease the vocal and rhythm in and out of the mix. It was only a matter of time before Tubby’s dubplate experiments began to make it on to vinyl and the first ever long playing King Tubby releases would feature a collection of his mixes to a selection of Striker's rhythms. So please sit back and enjoy this historic set of sounds.
TRACK LISTING
Natty Dub
Dub Magnificent
A First Class Dub
A Stepping Dub
Rude Boy Dub
A Closer Dub
Roots Of Dub
Dub You Can Feel
Loving Dub
The Immortal Dub
Dreadlocks Dub
Rocking Dub
A totally essential dub LP from the master, King Tubby. Tubby and producer Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee are intertwined in the birth of dub music, going on to release the first albums of this new musical genre. Tubby’s vast knowledge of electronics and Bunny’s vast catalogue of rhythms would lay the foundations of what today is taken as a standard; remixes and version cuts to an existing vocal tune.
Seminal dub album produced by Winston Edwards. In 1974 Edwards left Jamaica to reside in the UK and through his strong connections with such reggae luminaries as Joe Gibbs, Lee Perry and King Tubby began to travel back and forth between London and Kingston (JA) to bring back recordings to issue on his Fay Music label here in the UK. In 1974 he released this seminal dub set, which is now considered a classic early Tubby’s dub album. A musical, tuneful and seriously heavy dubwise set with Vin Gordon’s unique trombone lines well to the fore. Essential dub.
TRACK LISTING
1. Blood Of Africa
2. African Roots
3. Rain Roots
4. Wood Roots
5. Luke Lane Rock
6. People From The Grass Roots
7. Crime Wave
8. No Justice For The Poor
9. 300 Years At The Grass Roots
10. King And The Upsetter At Spanish Town
From humble origins in New Orleans to its journey upriver to Chicago, this Rough Guide charts the 1920s “golden age” of jazz with classic tracks by legends such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington & Jelly Roll Morton as well as many other pioneering artists.
Seminal recordings by trailblazing jazz artists who paved the way for what has become a global phenomenon. Includes the instrumental brilliance of soloists including Eddie Lang, Bix Beiderbecke and Earl Hines. Following on from the success of other American roots titles in the Rough Guide range, ‘The Rough Guide to the Roots of Jazz’ is the perfect overview of the emerging styles and key performers of early jazz on one album.
Lovingly remastered using pioneering restoration techniques.
Seminal recordings by trailblazing jazz artists who paved the way for what has become a global phenomenon. Includes the instrumental brilliance of soloists including Eddie Lang, Bix Beiderbecke and Earl Hines. Following on from the success of other American roots titles in the Rough Guide range, ‘The Rough Guide to the Roots of Jazz’ is the perfect overview of the emerging styles and key performers of early jazz on one album.
Lovingly remastered using pioneering restoration techniques.
TRACK LISTING
King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band - Dippermouth Blues
Eddie Lang - Eddie’s Twister
Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers - Doctor Jazz
Earl Hines - I Ain’t Got Nobody And Nobody Cares For Me
Freddie Keppard’s Jazz Cardinals - Salty Dog
Frankie Trumbauer And His Orchestra - Way Down Yonder In New Orleans Duke Ellington And His Orchestra - Black And Tan Fantasy
Louis Armstrong Orchestra - Muggles
Original Dixieland Jazz Band - Tiger Rag
James P. Johnson - Carolina Shout
Bix Beiderbecke And His Gang - Ol’ Man River
New Orleans Rhythm Kings - Bugle Call Blues
Fats Waller - Muscle Shoals Blues
Fletcher Henderson And His Orchestra - The Stampede
Featuring the greatest names in early blues music including Blind Lemon Jefferson, Bessie Smith, Charley Patton and Ma Rainey. The perfect overview of the many different styles and key performers of early blues on one album. An incredibly diverse selection of tracks including bottleneck guitar, barrelhouse piano, classic songster tunes and vaudeville blues. An album which traces the development of blues music during its early recorded history of the 1920s. An unique insight into the first great wave of blues artists who remain an inspiration to this day.
The first documented description of what we now recognise as the blues occurred in 1903 when the composer and musician W.C. Handy was waiting for a train at Tutwiler, Mississippi. He heard a man playing a guitar by pressing a knife against the strings and singing a song with the line, “Goin’ where the Southern cross the Dog”. Handy went on to become a great collector and populariser of the blues and was hugely influential in bringing this local folk music from the Mississippi Delta to public attention. Along with Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey spearheaded the 1920s “classic era” of recorded blues. Handy’s ‘St. Louis Blues’ were recorded in the mid-1920s heyday of the classic blues era, shortly before the female dominance of the genre was eclipsed by the rougher sound of the country blues. Likewise, many white musicians were heavily influenced by the blues including the ‘Father of Country Music’, Jimmie Rodgers whose yodel-infused blues became a prominent element of his music.
There can be little doubt that the blues grew up in the Mississippi Delta as an elaboration on work chants, slave songs, and the lyrical and haunting field hollers. Unquestionably the most influential of all the blues forms, the Delta blues laid the foundations for what was to become rock and roll, with all roads leading to its father figure Charley Patton who served as a major influence on other legendary bluesmen who followed including Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. Along with the guitar, the piano came into its own in the barrelhouses, as roving musicians hammered out high-spirited tunes for the drinkers and dancers.
The first documented description of what we now recognise as the blues occurred in 1903 when the composer and musician W.C. Handy was waiting for a train at Tutwiler, Mississippi. He heard a man playing a guitar by pressing a knife against the strings and singing a song with the line, “Goin’ where the Southern cross the Dog”. Handy went on to become a great collector and populariser of the blues and was hugely influential in bringing this local folk music from the Mississippi Delta to public attention. Along with Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey spearheaded the 1920s “classic era” of recorded blues. Handy’s ‘St. Louis Blues’ were recorded in the mid-1920s heyday of the classic blues era, shortly before the female dominance of the genre was eclipsed by the rougher sound of the country blues. Likewise, many white musicians were heavily influenced by the blues including the ‘Father of Country Music’, Jimmie Rodgers whose yodel-infused blues became a prominent element of his music.
There can be little doubt that the blues grew up in the Mississippi Delta as an elaboration on work chants, slave songs, and the lyrical and haunting field hollers. Unquestionably the most influential of all the blues forms, the Delta blues laid the foundations for what was to become rock and roll, with all roads leading to its father figure Charley Patton who served as a major influence on other legendary bluesmen who followed including Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. Along with the guitar, the piano came into its own in the barrelhouses, as roving musicians hammered out high-spirited tunes for the drinkers and dancers.
TRACK LISTING
Kansas Joe & Memphis Minnie - When The Levee Breaks
Scrapper Blackwell - Kokomo Blues
Ma Rainey - Stack O’Lee Blues
Blind Blake - West Coast Blues
Henry Thomas - Fishing Blues
Memphis Jug Band - Stealin’, Stealin’
Victoria Spivey - T.B. Blues
Blind Lemon Jefferson - See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
Cow Cow Davenport - Cow Cow Blues
Blind Willie Johnson - Mother’s Children Have A Hard Time
Dick Justice - Brown Skin Blues
Bo Weevil Jackson - Devil And My Brown Blues
Mississippi John Hurt - Got The Blues, Can’t Be Satisfied
Hambone Willie Newbern - Roll And Tumble Blues
Clarence “Pinetop” Smith - Pinetop’s Boogie Woogie
Texas Alexander - Section Gang Blues
Blind Willie McTell - Statesboro Blues
Speckled Red - The Dirty Dozen
Charley Patton - Screamin’ And Hollerin’ The Blues
Jimmie Rodgers - Blue Yodel No. 1 (T For Texas)
Bessie Smith - St. Louis Blues
Papa Charlie Jackson - All I Want Is A Spoonful
Weaver And Beasley - Bottleneck Blues
Tampa Red & Georgia Tom - It’s Tight Like That - No. 2
Tommy Johnson - Canned Heat Blues
‘Undun’ is the 10th studio album from legendary hip-hop band The Roots originally released on 2nd December, 2011. The Grammy® nominated album (best rap album) incorporates neo soul and indie music elements. It is an existential concept album about the short, tragic life of fictional character Redford Stevens, set in urban poverty, and is told through a reverse-chronological narrative. Undun received widespread acclaim from critics, who praised its existential subject matter, production quality, and the band’s musicianship. It was included on several critics’ year-end lists of best albums. Previously released as a 2LP set, this version has now been converted to 1LP.
TRACK LISTING
1. Dun 1:17
2. Sleep 2:16
3. Make My 4:27
4. One Time 3:56
5. Kool On 3:49
6. The OtherSide 4:03
7. Stomp 2:23
8. Lighthouse 3:44
9. I Remember 3:15
10. Tip The Scale 4:18
11. Redford Suite
- Redford (For Yia-Yia & Pappou) 1:52
- Possibility (2nd Movement) 0:55
- Will To Power (3rd Movement) 1:04
- Finality (4th Movement) 1:31
"The Midlands Roots Explosion Volume One", saw the culmination of many years work spent tracking down artists and tapes to shine a light on one of England's greatest, yet most overlooked musical scenes; the home grown take on reggae that briefly flourished from the mid-seventies and had almost disappeared little more than a decade later. Mixing themes of struggle, resistance, justice, equality, identity and Rastafari played and sung from the heart with both conviction and skill, our first volume received a rapturous reception from critics and purchasers alike. Now Reggae Archive return with more of the same, but if anything they've surpassed Volume One with an even stronger selection.
Volume Two starts off in exactly the same way as its predecessor with Handsworth's biggest musical exports, the legendary Steel Pulse and "Bun Dem produced by Dennis Bovell. Natural Mystique are next with their 1982 single "Generals". Then there are A and B sides from some of the most popular artists included last time, with Iganda's "Mark Of Slavery", Carnastoan's "Sweet Melody" and yet another "Generals", this one from Musical Youth. "Africans" from Bass Dance featuring a second appearance from former Steel Pulse guitarist / vocalist Basil Gabbidon, is the first of four previously unreleased tracks. The other three that we've managed to track down on long forgotten tapes, are Leicester's Groundation with "Rebel", "Cannot Take It Away"; another lost gem from Handsworth's Mystic Foundation and "Equalisation" another lost slice of early eighties roots from Wolverhampton's Capital Letters. The late Linton Haughton is another new name with his scarce Shield label 12" cut "Hustling Man".
Also making their first appearances, are Afrikan Star with "Run And Hide" originally issued in 1980 on Black Vinyl Records and from the Crucial Music stable, Sledge Hammer with "Ruled By The Stone" released as a 7" single on the Crucial Music Inc. label. The remaining three tracks are provided by label favourites and key players in the Birmingham scene, Black Symbol, Sceptre and Eclipse and showcase songs from the individual albums we've previously released by each band.
Volume Two starts off in exactly the same way as its predecessor with Handsworth's biggest musical exports, the legendary Steel Pulse and "Bun Dem produced by Dennis Bovell. Natural Mystique are next with their 1982 single "Generals". Then there are A and B sides from some of the most popular artists included last time, with Iganda's "Mark Of Slavery", Carnastoan's "Sweet Melody" and yet another "Generals", this one from Musical Youth. "Africans" from Bass Dance featuring a second appearance from former Steel Pulse guitarist / vocalist Basil Gabbidon, is the first of four previously unreleased tracks. The other three that we've managed to track down on long forgotten tapes, are Leicester's Groundation with "Rebel", "Cannot Take It Away"; another lost gem from Handsworth's Mystic Foundation and "Equalisation" another lost slice of early eighties roots from Wolverhampton's Capital Letters. The late Linton Haughton is another new name with his scarce Shield label 12" cut "Hustling Man".
Also making their first appearances, are Afrikan Star with "Run And Hide" originally issued in 1980 on Black Vinyl Records and from the Crucial Music stable, Sledge Hammer with "Ruled By The Stone" released as a 7" single on the Crucial Music Inc. label. The remaining three tracks are provided by label favourites and key players in the Birmingham scene, Black Symbol, Sceptre and Eclipse and showcase songs from the individual albums we've previously released by each band.
Elvis Costello and The Roots have announced a collaborative album entitled Wise Up Ghost which is exclusively released.
The existence of the record was first revealed by ?uestlove as an aside during an interview with Billboard Magazine in January and a small number of test pressings were distributed as white labels on Record Store Day on the 20th of April. Most of the sessions took place in secret at Feliz Habitat Studios in the dead of night, while others were in plain sight at Costello’s Hookery Crookery Studios.
Elvis described the record as “the shortest distance between here and there” and containing “both rhythm and what is read”. Ahmir says, “It's a moody, brooding affair, cathartic rhythms and dissonant lullabies. I went stark and dark on the music, Elvis went HAM on some ole Ezra Pound shit.”
The existence of the record was first revealed by ?uestlove as an aside during an interview with Billboard Magazine in January and a small number of test pressings were distributed as white labels on Record Store Day on the 20th of April. Most of the sessions took place in secret at Feliz Habitat Studios in the dead of night, while others were in plain sight at Costello’s Hookery Crookery Studios.
Elvis described the record as “the shortest distance between here and there” and containing “both rhythm and what is read”. Ahmir says, “It's a moody, brooding affair, cathartic rhythms and dissonant lullabies. I went stark and dark on the music, Elvis went HAM on some ole Ezra Pound shit.”
TRACK LISTING
1.Walk Us Uptown
2.Sugar Won’t Work
3.Refuse To Be Saved
4.Tripwire
5.Stick Out Your Tongue
6.Come The Meantimes
7.(She Might Be A) Grenade
8.Cinco Minutos Con Vos
9.Viceroy’s Row
10.Wise Up Ghost
11.If I Could Believe
The Roots are back with probably their most political album to date, dealing with addiction, nihilism, hypocritical double standards in the prison system and overall life in Philadelphia. The political nature of "Rising Down" is not only heard within the music. The title comes from William T. Vollmann's treatise on violence entitled 'Rising Up And Rising Down', and the release date falls on the 16th anniversary of the Los Angeles riots sparked by the acquittal of the police officers accused of beating Rodney King. Standout tracks include "Criminal", a reflection of life on the streets and unjust persecution, "I Will Not Apologize", a tribute to Fela Kuti that discusses keeping dignity in the music biz and "I Can't Help It" a look at addictions and urges that compel us all. Guests on the album include Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Saigon, Dice Raw, Wale, Chrisette Michele and more.