Upsettlement

Either Dollar in Teeth or Return of Django appear on just about every ska compilation ever...compiled. And they're seriously good tracks. Other than those two though I admit, my knowledge of Upsetters instrumentals was scanty.  Anyway, the other week, after twenty years of not really being that bothered I decided to check out some of their other output. I pondered which track to post and was torn between Sipreano and Tipper Special. Ska and more so dub can test even my taste for repetition, but these two though I find thoroughly satisfying, mainly on account of their slight weirdness I think, a defining attribute of the famous Lee Perry production. Regarded as a legend in this household and I know all my friends feel the same way, is he famous in the real world?

I was going to leave it on the question there, but I spoke to my brother shortly after I'd written it and so I asked him. He had absolutely no idea who he was. Didn't even know what he did.

Anyway, Tipper Special. I opted for this one on the grounds that it's drier.

Frequencies

Moving chronologically forward into the realm of dub, a couple of things from Tunes from the Missing Channel. Despite being a classic this album seems to have dropped off the map a bit. Well, it's not available digitally in any of the usual places. "One of the most upfront dub albums ever recorded" pontificated one of my friends at the time. He was not wrong. It's all very good but here's side one, track one - I'm not sure what the instrument is that comes in at 41 seconds but if you've had a couple of hot knives and you're playing it loud enough, it might just rip your head off. I imagine it'll have quite a nice effect on your graphic equalizer as well.

Dub Syndicate Ravi Shankar Pt1

Side one, track two is This Show is Coming which, much as I love it, is showing its age a bit due to some overly snazzy keyboards. So I've ruthlessly swapped it for a younger model - a version from Pay It All Back Volume 2 featuring Lee Scratch Perry spouting his inimitable cosmological, messianic stuff over the top of it. Rather a long intro, the track proper kicks in at 57 seconds.

Lee Scratch Perry Train to Doomsville

Buzz feeling

Inspired by the general reggae goings on around Reggae Britannia (which I didn't watch) and by an article I read yesterday about Rastamouse, here is one of my favourite reggae tunes. Though is it reggae? It's very slow - but it's Bob Marley produced by Lee Perry, so it must be reggae.

Weirder than your average though, it certainly seems to be the odd one out on my copy of The Best of Bob Marley 1968 - 1972 on which it's credited to B. Marley - the most rudimentary of searches reveals the writer in fact to be Glen Adams. Over the years I've probably spent a few minutes pondering the meaning of the lyrics. I can't remember if I'd come to any conclusions, but if I had they were wrong.

Bob Marley Mr Brown