VA – Rubber Soul Clap, Volume 1 (2010)

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Various Artists – Rubber Soul Clap, Volume 1
Private pressing 2010
Flabbergasted Vibes Special Products (FBV-01)

This fun little compilation was something I had put together as a holiday gift for a friend last year, with promises to put together a second volume that is still unfinished. The idea should be pretty obvious – exploring the long arm of influence of the fabulous foursome into the furthest reaches of funkiness. They shall be named in the interest of this blog surviving a little longer, nor shall any song titles be listed here other than in the back cover art above. Some of the selections are well-known, even over-played, others much less so. Lots of cool stuff here, but I think The Crusaders probably steal the show. I hope you enjoy it, and – who knows? – maybe Volume 2 will see the light of day before year’s end…

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for complete liner notes and rare photos send a SASE to my PO Box in the Kayman Islands and a cashier’s check for $200.

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Gregory Isaacs – Mr. Isaacs (1977)

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Gregory Isaacs
“Mr.Isaacs”
Released 1977 on DEB Records
Reissued 2001 on Blood & Fire (BAFCD 035)

1 sacrifice
2 storm
3 story book children
4 handcuff
5 slavemaster
6 take a dip featuring Dillinger*
7 get ready
8 set the captives free
9 the winner
10 smile
———————–
11 mr brown extended*
12 conversation*
13 mr know it all*
14 war of the stars*

*BONUS TRACKS added to original album

Producer : Gregory Isaacs & Ossie Hibbert

Engineer : Ossie Hibbert

Backing Vocals : The Heptones
Backing Band : The Revolutionaries

Studios :
Recording : Channel One (Kingston, JA)
Mixing : Errol Thompson’s (Kingston, JA)
Voice Recording : Errol Thompson’s (Kingston, JA)

Review from Mojo:

Reggae Reissue Album Of The Month Originally released here on Dennis Brown’s DEB label in ’77, “Mr Isaacs” has subsequently been available on various weird, woefully packaged Jamaican / European CDs. Predating his honey-tonsilled loverman phase by a couple of years, this was Gregory’s first attempt at recording a whole album in one go. Here is a militant rootsman, firng off broadsides against social injustice on songs like Set The Captives Free and Slavemaster, the classic tune he delivered in the Rockers movie. In this context, covers of Smokey Robinson’s Get Ready and even Story Book Children (yes, the Roger Whittaker one) sound like natural anthems of ghetto suffering, Isaacs’ voice quavering with the anguish he’d later use to evoke his lady troubles. With five bonus tracks including Dillinger’s DJ cut of “Slavemaster” and an extended Mr Brown, it’s essential stuff. AP, Mojo (UK) April 2001

The Cool Ruler left us today, 59 years young. This post is my way of offering a eulogy. A great record and a great reissue, although I wish Blood & Fire had left the Dillinger version of ‘Slavemaster’ until *after* the original album sequence and tacked it on with the other bonus material. That’s all I am going to say about this for now. Isaac’s name and reputation is enough, as are the other players on this album.

Here is a nice obituary published in The Guardian:

Gregory Isaacs obituary

Reggae musician known as the Cool Ruler who scored a big hit with Night Nurse

David Katz
guardian.co.uk, Monday 25 October 2010 18.44 BST

Gregory Isaacs, who has died of cancer aged 59, was one of reggae music’s most popular singers. Known as the Cool Ruler for his exceptionally suave and emotive voice, Isaacs scored many hits during the 1970s and 80s, including the perennial favourite Night Nurse, and remained active as a recording artist, live performer and producer in the decades that followed. Although best known for romantic ballads, delivered with a hint of vulnerability, he also excelled at songs of social protest and work that expressed unwavering pride in his African heritage. However, his long-term drug use and involvement in criminal activity led to long periods of incarceration and repeated arrests, hastening his physical decline.

Isaacs was born in Fletcher’s Land, a particularly neglected patch of the ghetto in the Jamaican capital, Kingston. His father left for the US during his childhood, so Gregory and his younger brother, Sylvester, were raised by their mother in the rough streets of nearby Denham Town. Showing a natural aptitude for singing, Isaacs began making an impact on talent contests during his teens (often as a duo with Sylvester). He was inspired by stars such as Sam Cooke and Otis Redding, as well as local acts including Alton Ellis and the Melodians, but named his mother as his first vocal role model, since he used to hear her singing while she ironed.

In 1968, Isaacs recorded and produced a duet, Another Heartache, with an aspiring singer from the neighbourhood, Winston Sinclair, but the song sank without a trace. His next effort, Ballroom Floor, was recorded for Prince Buster, after receiving a personal recommendation from a local gangster, Lester Lloyd Coke (aka Jim Brown). In the same era, Isaacs sold marijuana on behalf of Toddy Livingston, father of the singer Bunny Wailer.

Isaacs subsequently formed a trio, the Concords, with two other hopefuls, recording a number of impressive tunes for Rupie Edwards in 1969, of which the most notable was Don’t Let Me Suffer. Other stirring solo singles, such as Too Late and Lonely Man, followed. By 1970 he had formed the independent label African Museum with a fellow singer, Errol Dunkley. They found instant success with Dunkley’s Movie Star and Isaacs’s moderately popular My Only Lover (featuring the Wailers’ backing band), before Dunkley broke away to found his own label. Isaacs’s first substantial hit, All I Have Is Love, was produced by a perceptive downtown promoter, Phil Pratt, in 1973. The following year, he scored an even bigger hit with Love Is Overdue, the first of several for the producer Alvin “GG” Ranglin, who soon issued Isaacs’s debut album, In Person (1975).

As his songwriting skills matured, Isaacs shifted focus to address social injustice, in work that expressed longing for his ancestral African homeland, and grew dreadlocks as a sign of his commitment to the Rastafari faith. At Lee Perry’s Black Ark studio, he cut the anthem-like Mr Cop in 1976 and the censorious Black Against Black, which decried self-destructive ghetto violence. After the release of the self-produced concept album, Mr Isaacs (1977), he received a major career boost in 1978 by signing to Virgin Records for the album Cool Ruler and making an appearance in the feature film Rockers. The 1979 Virgin follow-up, Soon Forward, included the chart-topping Mr Brown and a popular title track which was one of the first recordings to make use of the production skills of Sly and Robbie.

A shift to Charisma Records’ subsidiary Pre in 1980 brought the album Lonely Lover and its follow-up, More Gregory, the latter featuring the Jamaican chart success Top Ten. Both albums were backed by the Roots Radics band, with whom Isaacs toured the UK in 1980-81. Night Nurse (1982), issued by Island, was his most commercially successful set to date, but just as he reached a pinnacle of popularity, problems arose. He was imprisoned in Jamaica following the discovery of an unlicensed firearm at his home, and he also served time for cocaine possession. He addressed his experiences of prison in the subsequent Island release, Out Deh! (1983).

After recording the relaxed Private Beach Party album for the producer Gussie Clarke in 1985, he cut less impressive work for a number of relatively unknown producers. Then, in 1987, another cocaine bust prompted him to go into rehab. This was followed by a more productive period that peaked with the release of Red Rose for Gregory (1988), a hit dancehall album issued by Clarke, and featuring the outstanding single, Rumours.

Although Isaacs would score a few more Jamaican chart hits, record for the British label Acid Jazz, open a recording studio in Jamaica, and launch the singing career of his son Kevin, he continued to use drugs. This resulted in several patchy releases, the loss of a number of his teeth, and a reputation for unreliability. Nevertheless, he maintained a loyal fan base, both at home in Jamaica and overseas.

He is survived by his wife Linda and several children.

• Gregory Anthony Isaacs, singer, so
ngwriter and record producer, born 15 July 1951; died 25 October 2010


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Yabby You – Jesus Dread 1972-1977 (1997)

I’ve been depressed for a few days due to fucking my personal life up all over again. I think I have probably broken every spiritual rule of every ethical, mystical, or religious tradition out there in the last week or so, straying from righteousness in thought and word. Thoughts are not deeds but thought-forms that take shape and enter the air as words have force, have power, have to be cared for so as not to injure or bruise the ears they fall upon. I may not accept Jesus as my savior, but I do accept Yabby You into my life. Yabby You will set me back on the path of righteousness. His words do not enter into wickedness. My disturbed mental and spiritual state won’t allow for me to write a decent description in this moment, and the one below is just fine. Even better are the liner notes included in the wonderful booklet from Blood & Fire, one of the most righteous labels to ever stalk the earth. A labor of love, this set. All respect to Yabby You, may his soul be at rest.
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Yabby You – Jesus Dread 1972-1977

Released 1997 on Blood & Fire Records
Tracklist:

1 Love Thy Neighbour 3:35
2 Conquering Lion 3:25
3 Fisherman Special 3:16
4 Yabby Youth 3:13
5 Big Youth Fights Against Capitalism [King Tubby’s Version] 3:07
6 Covetous Men 2:56
7 Run Come Rally 3:16
8 Rally Dub [Upsetter Mix] 3:18
9 Antichrist 2:39
10 God Is Watching You 2:56
11 Pablo Dread in a Red 3:06
12 King Tubby’s Rock [King Tubby’s Version] 3:21
13 Warn the Nation 2:25
14 Honey Dub [King Tubby’s Version] 3:00
15 Carnal Man 3:04
16 Love of Jah 3:03
17 Love of Jah [King Tubby’s Version] 2:58
18 The Man Who Does the Work 2:42
19 Jah Vengeance 2:48
20 Revenge 2:53
21 Freshly 3:14
22 Natty Dread on the Mountain Top 2:58
23 Gwan and Lef’ Me 2:47
24 Tubby’s Vengeance [King Tubby’s Version] 2:57
25 Death Trap 3:07
26 Man of the Living 2:58
27 King Tubby Special [King Tubby’s Version] 3:22
28 Lord of Lords 3:19
29 Lord Dub [King Tubby’s Version] 3:15
30 Chant Jah Victory 3:31
31 Jah Victory Dub [King Tubby’s Version] 3:38
32 Walls of Jerusalem 3:40
33 Jerusalem Dub [King Tubby’s Dub] 3:40
34 King Pharoah’s Plague [Discomix] , 5:14
35 Plague of Horn 3:23
36 King Pharaoh Dub [King Tubby’s Version] 3:20
37 Jesus Dread 3:26
38 Chant Down Babylon Kingdom [Discomix] , 5:07
39 Chanting Dub [King Tubby’s Version] 2:43
40 Hornsman Chant 2:44
41 Fire in a Kingston 3:13
42 Fire Dub [King Tubby’s Version] 2:33
43 Judgement on the Land 3:06
44 Repatriation Rock [King Tubby’s Dub] 3:23
45 Deliver Me from My Enemies 2:52
46 Born Free [Discomix] Rose, 5:53
47 Love Thy Neighbour [King Tubby’s Version] 3:34

Review by Rick Anderson

The title of this two-disc set comes from the fact that Yabby You (born Vivian Jackson; his nickname comes from the chorus to his song “Conquering Lion”) is a devout Christian Rastafarian. The depth of his religious faith informs every note on this remarkable album, which contains some of the darkest, dreadest reggae ever made. The medium-slow tempos, the minor chords, the song titles (“Love Thy Neighbor,” “Carnal Mind,” “Warn the Nation,” etc.) all reflect an intent that goes beyond mere music-making. And yet the music itself is spectacular. Most of the songs featured on the album are presented in several versions — an original vocal mix, a dub version, a deejay version (with toasting performed by such deejays as Dillinger and Big Youth over the dub cuts), and, often, an instrumental version featuring saxophonist Tommy McCook. The McCook tracks tend to sound like filler, but the album is still utterly essential. It’s hard to imagine a better example of golden-era reggae at its finest.

Credits:

Errol Alphonso Performer
Family Man Barrett Organ, Bass
Steve Barrow Liner Notes, Compilation, Interviewer, Annotation
Big Youth Performer
Dicky Burton Performer
Basil “Benbow” Creary Drums
Santa Davis Drums
Dillinger Performer
Sly Dunbar Drums
Bobby Ellis Trumpet
Clinton Fearon Bass
Carl Gayle
Albert Griffiths Guitar
Dirty Harry Hall Fife
Bernard Touter Harvey Piano
Dave Katz
King Tubby Mixing
Earl Lindo Organ
Tommy McCook Saxophone, Performer
Kevin Metcalfe Editing, Mastering
Dennis Morris Photography
Augustus Pablo Piano, Melodica, Performer
Lee “Scratch” Perry Voices, Mixing
Prince Jammy Mixing
Prophets Performer
Michael Rose Performer
Robbie Shakespeare Bass
Phillip Smart Mixing
Earl “Chinna” Smith Guitar
Adrian Talbot Design
Uziah “Sticky” Thompson Percussion
Trinity Performer
Wayne Wade Performer
Bunny Wailer Percussion
Earl “Bagga” Walker Organ
Leroy “Horsemouth” Wallace Drums
Andy Walter Digital Restoration
Michael Williams Design
Yabby You Vocals
Tapper Zukie Performer

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Yabby You – Deliver Me From My Enemies (1977)


Yabby You (aka Vivian Jackson, born 4 August 1946) passed away a week ago, January 12, from a brain aneurysm at 63 years old. This is his third album, and a mighty fine one, fleshed out with bonus tracks of nice rarities by the wonderful Blood & Fired lable. There’s not much I can add to the description below taken from the liner notes, typed out in their entirety by my friend from Addis Ababa (thanks!). The links are at the bottom of the page.. R.I.P.
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BAFCD / LP 051
Title: Deliver Me From My Enemies
Artist: Yabby You

1. Deliver Me From My Enemies
2. Deliver Me From My Enemies Version
3. Judgement Time
4. Blood A Go Run Down King Street
5. Love In Zimba
6. Zion Gate
7. Lonely Me
8. Stranger In Love
9. Pound Get A Blow
10. Pick The Beam
11. And Amlak (One God)
bonus tracks:
12. Jah Vengeance / Yabby You & Trinity [12″ mix]
13. Free Africa / Yabby You & Trinity [12″ mix]
14. Babylon A Fall / The Prophets [12″ mix]
15. Falling Babylon / Tony Tuff [12″ mix]
16. Pick The Beam / previously unreleased dubplate mix
17. Pick The Beam Version / previously unreleased dubplate mix

Producer : Yabby You

Mixing Engineer : Prince Jammy

Vocals : Yabby You
Drums : Sly Dunbar
Bass : Robbie Shakespeare
Rhythm Guitar : Alric Forbes & Albert Griffiths
Lead Guitar : Earl Chinna Smith & Clinton Fearon
Piano : Bernard Touter Harvey
Organ : Ansel Collins
Flute : Tommy McCook
Saxophone : Tommy McCook
Trumpet : Bobby Ellis
Trombone : Vin Gordon
Percussions : Scully Simms

Studios :
Recording : Channel One (Kingston, JA)
Mixing : King Tubby’s (Kingston, JA)

Arrangements were mainly done by Vivian Jackson, Albert Griffiths,
Alrick Forbes and Tommy McCook.
Produced for reissue by Steve Barrow
Digital restoration : Paul Alexander at CEDAR Audio, Cambridge
Mastered by Moritz von Oswald at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin, Germany
Cover illustration & lettering by Ski Williams
Design by Intro Design Group (or The Intro Partnership?)
Thanks to David Katz, Colin Moore, Clive Plummer, Ski Williams.
Special thanks to Dave Hendley and Chris Lane for making their exclusive dubplate of “Pick The

Beam” [mixed by Prince Jammy at King Tubby’s] available for this reissue.

BOOKLET NOTES:

“Yabby You in a class by himself. That Ras there a very strong Ras, and
you have to be strong to deal with man like Yabby You: head strong,
rootically strong, biblically strong, physically strong.”[Michael Prophet]

As Michael Prophet says above, the producer and vocalist, founder of the Prophets, Yabby You
[born Vivian Jackson, Kingston 1950] occupies a unique place in 1970s Jamaican roots reggae.

Not simply in the way he constructs his songs [and their lyrical sentiment] but also in their
rhythmic conception. In this way, the words ‘Yabby You’ become almost adjectival when applied
to his rhythms; hence the celebrated ’Yabby You Sound’ . A Yabby You song is always
recognisable, always true to its producer’s vision.

With the release in 1977 of his third album “Deliver Me From My Enemies”, Yabby completed a
trilogy that began in 1975, with the stunning “Conquering Lion” album and continued through
1976 with “Walls Of Jerusalem” [Both LPs are included on the 2-CD set “Jesus Dread”, BAFCD
021]. These albums – and the many singles released by Yabby in the same period – constitute a
striking body of work, at once pure, coherent and moving. Although the original LP – issued
through Yabby’s association with Grove Music in London in 1977 – was, overall, perhaps not quite as spiritually consistent as the earlier works, it certainly offered a more varied range of styles. As well as songs that matched the earlier works in intensity and expression – like “Judgement Time”, Blood A Go Run Down King Street” or “Zion Gate”, there were straight-ahead love songs like “Lonely Me” and the recut of John Holt‘s “Stranger In Love”. Yabby’s treatment of this type of material prefigure the work he would shortly undertake with vocalists Wayne Wade, Patrick Andy and Michael Prophet. He recently explained his decision to record this type of material:

“I was not a person who live with woman, run-run round and girl-girl, those things. So mostly now I use to look at myself as somebody by meself, never no woman, so… lonely me ! An ‘ “Stranger in Love” now, I did love that song…..”

The instrumental “Love In Zimba” is, similarly, another recut – in this case an old ska classic,
Baba Brooks “Shang Kai Shek”- whilst the anthemic “Amlak” has a pronounced Nyabinghi feel
and “Pound Get A Blow”, unusually for the producer, comments on the relatively modern matter
of currency devaluation. The powerful title track pleads convincingly for guidance and protection
from God, directly relating to Yabby’s own situation at the time:

“I was livin’ at a place – that was Kingston 13, a road name Burke Road, number 9, up by Maxfield
Avenue – up Channel One way. A policeman own the place, an’ im wife was a teacher. So I never
expect them to believe in obeah-ism, y’know? The wife, me an’ she grew up, an’ her parents dem
never expected dem could a deal with dem tings. So, she rent me a back room [and] we share
the same facilities, like the bathroom and washroom. One mornin’ when I get up, my daughter,
she show me a box, weh ‘ave in all kind a obeah bottle, black oil, black powder, all kind of
spiritual, diabolical black obeah bottle….an’ I was so surprised, that I decide now, seh, well, me a
fe move. Me a mek a song, an’ mi jus’ go in a di bathroom, and look ‘pon the bottle, look ‘pon it as
mi enemy, an’ so the song come up – “Deliver Me From My Enemies”.

As a bonus track, we have also included the b-side to the original 45 rpm issue.

“Pick The Beam” also relates to a series of fractious experiences Yabby was having at the time:

“Those days you use to ‘ave the Rasta business, an’ you ‘ave the church business.. The Rasta
man always tryin’ fe show seh Haile Selassie is the Supreme. And meanwhile the church people
dem use to show seh Jesus is the son of the Almighty, son of the Creator, the true son. Well,
each one want fe tell fe dem point, dem never really tell of the life weh dem demselves live, beca’
to me, righteousness is an action, weh you suppose to exercise right livin’, to be righteous. Wrong
livin’ is unrighteous.

So I use to say, instead of tryin’ fe show other people, you mus’ first pick the beam out of our own
eye, pick the mote that is over our own eye, so we can see clearly, fe guide others, fe show
others what is right from what is wrong.. So I come up with that song, pick the beam out of your
own eyes, yunno?”

For the additional bonus tracks we have added a brace of 12” discomix songs that originally
appeared as Grove Music releases; “Jah Vengeance” revisits Yabby’s earlier classic, utilising a
steppers remake of the classic song of retribution – the “Jesus Dread” 2-CD set contains versions
of the original cut, whilst this recut showcases deejay Trinity, who also made his own album for
Yabby You [“Shanty Town Determination” BAFCD 031] . Yabby had this to say about his
association with the deejay, with whom he was reunited for a series of European appearances a
couple of years ago:

“Well, Trinity – Dillinger bring Trinity to me, an’ tell me seh, well, ‘im would a like fe promote
Trinity, because anywhere ‘im go a dancehall, ‘im carry ‘im. So ‘im would a like fe promote ‘im.
When he bring ‘im to me, I show Trinity seh well, what I really defendin’ is righteousness, God
fearin’ lyrics.

It was about God, the creation, it wasn’t really strictly about dancehall an’ dem things. So I show
seh, if ‘im is willin‘, to come and do those style a songs, pertainin’ to the Supreme, pertainin’ to
what is right. An’ ‘im agree right away, so me start fe record ‘im. When we start record ‘im, ‘im
realise seh the crowd like ‘im, beca’ what did draw me to ‘im, ‘im sound like Big Youth. Big Youth
is popular those days, an’ ‘im sound exactly like Big Youth. An’ Big Youth those days was a man
incline fe do conscious lyrics. Then ‘im just fit in, to me ‘im did more versatile than Big Youth. ‘Im
catch on right away. ‘Im start go about now an’ record fe all kind a people, Joe Gibbs an’ all
different producers.

Trinity is in similar Jah Youth-inspired form on his other track, “Free Africa”, on which Yabby
eccentrically includes Guatemala in his lyrical roll-call of ‘African’ countries. The remaining 12”
single included is “Babylon A Fall”, credited to the Prophets on release, the latter part of which
contains some excellent soloing by the hornsmen. The other side of that single featured Tony
Tuff, performing in the then-new ’singjay’ style. Tony was another singer that Yabby brought into
his circle at the time and who eventually made a whole album with the producer:

“Those days now, the style weh Tony Tuff a do, it was more like a sing-type a deejay, those
things they call singjay, an’ I like the idea, yunno. Tony Tuff did in a group with Sugar Minott and

Eric ’Bubbles’, name African Brothers, and ‘im start to do that type a thing. I use to suggest to him
seh, mek Sugar Minott leave the group, beca’ ‘im ‘ave a better voice, so ‘im start tryin’ new tings…
‘im start try the idea now, an’ then we call it a singjay ting. The group eventually mash up, ca’
Sugar Minott go start sing fe Coxsone,, sing back on Coxsone old riddim, an’ Eric Bubbles go
away. So the style eventually work in Tony Tuff benefit….”

The album closes with two mixes taken from a dubplate made by Dave Hendley and Chris Lane
of the song “Pick The Beam”, with a mix by Prince Jammy that differs considerably from the
previously available mixes on 45 and LP. Blood and Fire are please to present this expanded
edition of “Deliver Me From My Enemies”, featuring one of Jamaica’s greatest roots artists
offering us his strikingly original world view.

Steve Barrow / September 2006
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Yabby You – Deliver Me From My Enemies (1977) in 320kbs em pee three

Yabby You – Deliver Me From My Enemies (1977) in FLAC LOSSLESS AUDIO

Trinity – Three Piece Suit (1977)


Tracklist:
Song Of The Midnight Hour
Queen Majesty
Render Your Heart
John Saw Them Coming
Strictly Cash
Rasta Dub
Kingston Two Rock
Mr Bassie
Three Piece Suit
Mohammed Ali
U Brown – Nice Up The Yard *
Jamaican Dollar *
———————————————————–
Release history:
Joe Gibbs LP #none 1977
Joe Gibbs Europe LP #JGELP 006 2006
Joe Gibbs Europe CD #JGECD 007 2006
———————————————————–

Producer : Errol Thompson & Joe Gibbs
Engineer : Errol Thompson

Vocals : Trinity
Drums : Sly Dunbar
Bass : Lloyd Parks & Robbie Shakespeare
Guitar : Eric Lamont & Bo Peep
Organ : Harold Butler & Franklyn Bubbler Waul
Piano : Franklyn Bubbler Waul & Errol Nelson
Alto Saxophone : Herman Marquis
Trombone : Vin Gordon
Trumpet : Bobby Ellis
Tenor Saxophone : Tommy McCook
Percussions : Sticky & Ruddy Thomas

Studios :
Recording : Joe Gibbs (Kingston, JA)

———————————————————–
Deejay Trinity, born February 10, 1954 in Kingston, was a keen follower of soundsystems such as Tippertone, El Paso, Kentone and King Tubby’s HiFi, to name but a few. At soundsystem Vee Jay the Dubmaster he started his career and there stayed for some four years. It’s not sure whether he recorded his first tune for producer Derrick Harriott (‘Owner Fi De Yard’) or for Channel One boss JoJo HooKim (‘Step Up Yourself’), both tunes released in 1976.

After doing some more tunes for JoJo, he switched to the then in-demand producer Joe Gibbs, where he recorded his most popular tune Three Piece Suite in just one cut! The tune utilized the riddim of Marcia Aitken’s updated version of Alton Ellis’ Studio One hit I’m Still In Love. The whimsical version by teenage schoolgirl duo, Althea Forrest and Donna Reid — ‘Uptown Top Ranking’ — was virtually ignored when first released; the preferred cut was Trinity’s piece on the riddim! A slew of fine singles followed: John Saw Them Coming, ‘Starsky and Hutch’ and ‘Judgement Time’. Joe Gibbs released Trinity’s debut LP in 1977, predictably under the title ‘Three Piece Suit’.

At the time of this album’s original release deejay Trinity was — alongside fellow deejays Dillinger and Ranking Trevor — at the height of his powers and popularity. After his stay at Joe Gibbs’ he went on recording for Prince Tony Robinson, Alvin Ranglin and he also released some self-produced albums. In 1987 he resurfaced as Junior Brammer – a fine vocalist – and under that moniker he put out two vocal albums.

The ‘Three Piece Suit’ album has been a sought after piece for a long time. Now Crazy Joe Records in France has re-released this classic deejay album in truly fine style. The digipack format includes two wicked bonus tracks, and comes in the original, amusing sleeve art. The sound quality is excellent, probably they have used the original tapes.

The ten album songs offered here utilize the classic Jamaican riddims which Joe Gibbs used for tons of his productions. Queen Majesty is Rocksteady style, riding the riddim of the same name. Strickly Cash tackles another rocksteady riddim, the Jamaicans ‘Ba Ba Boom’ tune. ‘Heart and Soul’ was a hit for Junior Byles, here Trinty lays down a wicked rendition called Render Your Heart. Bob Marley’s ‘Hypocrites’ riddim is used in full effect on John Saw Them Coming. Jacob Miller, by the way, delivered a stunning version on the same riddim for Joe Gibbs as well. Studio One’s Coxsone Dodd released several tunes on the ‘Rockfort Rock’ riddim. Joe Gibbs loved the riddim and Trinity voiced his cut calling it Kingston Two Rock, complete with some bizarre sound effects. Muhammed Ali is cut across the ‘Joe Frazier'(!) riddim.

The bonus tracks are two 45’s on Joe Gibbs’ Belmont label. The first one — Nice Up The Yard on the ‘Boxing’ riddim — sees Trinity in combination with U Brown, while the second tune is a hard roots tune on Gibbs’ cut to the Gaylads ‘Hard To Confess’.

information compiled and reproduced without permission from reggae-vibes.com and Roots Archive.org

Even if the music on this disc sucked, you will still have one of the coolest album covers ever. Thankfully the tunes are of an equally high standard. The song Mohammed Ali scares me though, and its necessary to turn on all the lights in the house and check all the cupboards for gremlins. You might notice “Nice Up The Yard” has the same chant as ‘Soul Makossa’ that would later be reappropriated by MJ who would then give “permission” to meritless/talentless pop divas to use “his” material..

When I get married, I am going to list “dub toaster” on the gift registry. An original copy of this LP will suffice nicely.

Don’t worry, it’s very unlikely this situation will ever occur in real life.

Enjoy this THREE PIECE SUIT!

Trinity – Three Piece Suit (1977) in 320kbs em pee tree

Trinity – Three Piece Suit (1977) in FLAC LOSSLESS AUDIO

Junior Byles – Beat Down Babylon, The Upsetter Years (1997) 320kbs

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Trojan Records, 1997 release

What a collection of beautiful reggae music this is!! What can I say about it, everything on here is classic. I think maybe its best to let the music speak for itself. But do you remember that comedian from the 90s, Prince Jeff I Foxworthy? Remember that routine he used to do, “You know you’re a righteous Rasta when….” Man, was that funny. He used to always dedicate a part of it to Junior Byles

Photobucket You know you’re a righteous Rasta when —
* you attempt suicide upon hearing about the death of Emperor Haile Salassie
* your reputation for nuttiness is surpassed only by the king himself, the original Upsetter, Lee Perry
* you recorded classic reggae milestones like There’s A Place Called Africa, Curly Locks, and Beat Down Babylon (complete with the sound of cracking whips)

Well, Prince Jeff would go on and on like that, but you get the point.

Junior Byles – Beat Down Babylon, The Upsetter Years (1997) 320kbs HERE

Tracklist:
1. (Festival) Da Da
2. I’ve Got a Feeling
3. Don’t Know Why
4. Demonstration
5. Coming Home
6. Beat Down Babylon
7. A Place Called Africa 3
8. Joshua’s Desire
9. A Matter of Time
10. Poor Chubby
11. (A) Fun and Games
(B) Motion Dub
12. (A) Pretty Fe True
(B) Pretty Dumb
13. King of Babylon
14. Pharaoh Hiding
15. Hail to Power
16. Fever
17. Auntie Lulu
18. When Will Better Come
19. The Thanks We Get
20. Mumbling and Grumbling
21. Curley Locks
22. Dreader Locks
23. The Long Way