#124

Think pretty much every album is on the Fela bandcamp page. Would totally recommend anybody who’s not familiar with him spending an afternoon burning through some of this lot (the mid-late 70s stuff especially).

5 Likes
#125

Interestingly, a lot of the Scratch press I remember from the 90s took the line that the madness was all an act. I’ve seen it pretty convincingly suggested that he burned the Black Ark down to get out from under a protection racket, for instance, but came up with a public explanation that fed the legend instead.

#126

Yeah – read a lot of this as well. Who knows really I guess. Find the protection racket story harder to buy because destroying your studio would seem to be a strange way to deal with this when Perry was also recording at Tubby’s studio and Randy’s during the Black Ark period anyway, and the racketeers could have simply insisted he go on recording at those if they wanted to carry on bleeding him. It also doesn’t really explain why he burnt the re-built Black Ark down too. Have you read the Dave Katz biography? I haven’t, but might now of the back of this thread! Will report back if it sheds any further light…

#127

Setting the official over/under at 3.81.

Those who have actually listened to Toots and the Maytals have been mostly very positive, with only a handful of explicitly negative comments and sub-3 scores appearing. At 58 votes so far it’s looking like it will be a fairly low turnout, which in the past has usually resulted in higher scores.

The over/under has not been set at 4 or higher as I imagine there are a fair few silent voters who will give a 1 or 2, much like Bob Marley’s score

Thank you for listening.

2 Likes
#128

I guess these are the connotations I have of reggae:

  • trust fund types on years out, jamming on a shit acoustic guitar
  • cod-reggae / crossover 90s pop (UB40, Aswad, Sweat by Inner Circle, the reggae version of Baby I Love Your Way)
  • if we were lucky, a couple of reggae tracks on a John Peel show
  • 6music DJs being irritating

Am probably missing out on loads but I think a lot of good reggae probably suffers from association.

#129

There are some insufferable gap-yah types who seem to think that talking about reggae makes them sound spiritually enlightened but only know three Bob Marley songs.

Not the first thing that comes to mind when I think of reggae by a long way, but I can see how exposure to such fill might give a bad impression to people not versed in the better parts of the genre… I mean… Have you ever heard Puff Puff Give? It’s ‘those people’ in a song.

#130

You’re now the third person to mention either trustafarians / white guys with dreads / gap yahs which I guess means that this is the dominant impression that the people of DiS have of Jamaican music. As above, just find this absolutely staggering (and makes me a bit sad).

Everyone: please, please don’t let trustafarians put you off this music. There is so much good stuff. It’s also a genuine revelation when you hear how much of the UK’s own music has Jamaican DNA.

2 Likes
#131

It’s certainly not my dominant impression, just that those people definitely exist and I understand them being a barrier to entry for a lot of folks.

Might put a playlist together to help overcome such barriers if anyone’s interested?

2 Likes
#132

yeah i like discovering these massive bandcamp treasure troves. shitload of Sun Ra on bandcamp too

#133

GIVE IT TO ME
ONE TIME
:drum:

GIVE IT TO ME
TWO TIMES
:drum::drum:

GIVE IT TO ME
THREE TIMES
:drum::drum::drum:

GIVE IT TO ME
FOUR TIMES
:drum::drum::drum::drum:

9 Likes
#134

Some reggae, just off the top of my head, for people who may not know much reggae. Please share and enjoy.

8 Likes
#135

my knowledge is fairly limited so i look forward to diving into this. strong choice of opener.

#136

Absolutely brilliant seeing them do this live and just keep going with this bit. Got up to 17 when I saw them!

#137

:smiley: sounds amazing. would love to see them

2 Likes
#138

Have to admit, it’s not really sequenced in any meaningful way - just an ‘off the top of my head in five minutes’ thing. Shuffle is your friend.

#139

Good reggae is like classic motown soul to me, undeniable tunes delivered perfectly through a fairly strict format with minor production variants and great musicians serving the groove. And Toots and the Maytals were masters.

This was a good thread:

2 Likes
#140

add Ring The Alarm by Tenor Saw!

3 Likes
#141

Yes! Big ol’ tune, that.

1 Like
#142

Also, anyone looking to expand their reggae knowledge, this is an excellent read.

IMG_0119
IMG_0119866×1154 264 KB

1 Like
#143

I have an excellent book by him called Bass Culture. Wonder if it’s the same thing under a different title?

EDIT: looks like it is - Bass Culture is the UK title. Really good, isn’t it?

1 Like