Best Reggae Albums of all time?

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Couple other 80's albums (well, one is a comp) I've been diggin lately:
Al Campbell - Mr. Lover's Rock
Ariwa 81 Sessions: In the Front Room

A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Tuesday, 19 July 2011 16:46 (twelve years ago) link

Those 4CD Reggae Legends things look pretty cool. Josey Wales and Sugar Minott ones sound particularly good.

Fig On A Plate Cart (Alex in SF), Tuesday, 19 July 2011 16:47 (twelve years ago) link

Don't know if you're into still buying cd's, but I'm sure I got the Osbourne package through Ernie B's.

A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Tuesday, 19 July 2011 16:47 (twelve years ago) link

Travel With Love is one of my favorite albums

A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Tuesday, 19 July 2011 16:53 (twelve years ago) link

I'm pretty much not buying stuff these days (as much because of space constraints as money ones.)

Fig On A Plate Cart (Alex in SF), Tuesday, 19 July 2011 16:59 (twelve years ago) link

I have a fully loaded Ernie B's cart right now and I'm up for adding the Osbourne package, but I can't find it.

Fastnbulbous, Tuesday, 19 July 2011 17:00 (twelve years ago) link

Checked my order history, and I got it from Ernie's 11/1/10, so maybe they're out of it now. Paid $17.39.

A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Tuesday, 19 July 2011 17:04 (twelve years ago) link

Yeah it looks like they are only stocking 6 of the Reggae Legends sets now (Cocoa Tea, Dennis Brown, Frankie Paul, Gregory Isaacs, Josey Wales, Yellowman.)

Fig On A Plate Cart (Alex in SF), Tuesday, 19 July 2011 17:07 (twelve years ago) link

Best of these 4CD things is definitely Dennis Brown at Joe Gibbs.

Fig On A Plate Cart (Alex in SF), Tuesday, 19 July 2011 17:09 (twelve years ago) link

Followed closely by the Culture at Joe Gibbs thing which has the wacky order on Two Sevens Clash.

Fig On A Plate Cart (Alex in SF), Tuesday, 19 July 2011 17:10 (twelve years ago) link

Which mix do you prefer?

i've spent the most time with the jamaican mixes, so those are definitely the most familiar

the UK remixes are pretty great, adding dubby elements to the pop without going all out dub

the US mix is definitely my least favorite.. i was stoked when i found the LP at my local record store and was taken aback by the mix. i might just need to spend more time with it though

ILX Point Never (diamonddave85), Tuesday, 19 July 2011 19:01 (twelve years ago) link

I found someone who has Lacksley Castell's Princess Lady. Funny, the Rough Guide to Reggae is usually pretty good, but is totally missing Castell. With the other Castell album and the additions below, my cart has bloated to over $150, too much! I need to pare it down to at least 100, so if anyone is interesting in trading lossless, I have plenty of good stuff. I have the OOP Blood & Fire version of Heart Of The Congos, and the Japanese imports of the Justin Hinds, Ijahman and Rico. savand*at*fastnbulbous*dot*com.

Black Uhuru - Black Sounds Of Freedom + Dub + Love Crisis 77-81
Dennis Brown - At Joe Gibbs (Words Of Wisdom, Love's Gotta Hold On Me, Reflections)
Culture - At Joe Gibbs (Baldhead Bridge, More Culture, As Hard The Rest)
Ethiopians - Slave Call 78
Delroy Wilson - Go Away Dream 82

Fastnbulbous, Wednesday, 20 July 2011 13:29 (twelve years ago) link

i'd ditch Princess Lady and give yourself time to fall for Morning Glory. You'll be able to get Princess Lady at a later date.

brotherlovesdub, Wednesday, 20 July 2011 16:56 (twelve years ago) link

Anyone thinking of ordering the Dennis Brown, be aware that Reggae Legends set is an entirely different set of albums than At Joe Gibbs -- Nothing Like This, Rumours, Over Proof and Vision Of A Reggae King. I think those are all from the 90s? You can enlarge the photo of the tracklisting before ordering to be sure.

Fastnbulbous, Wednesday, 20 July 2011 17:03 (twelve years ago) link

Yes, they aren't the same at all. Sorry if I confused anyone.

Fig On A Plate Cart (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 20 July 2011 17:21 (twelve years ago) link

I'll order the Morning Glory for sure. But those who have something like, say, the Johnny Osbourne 4CD set that is no longer in stock, the OOP Travel With Love on CD/lossless, etc., I'd trade for 'em. Here's what I have.

Fastnbulbous, Wednesday, 20 July 2011 17:27 (twelve years ago) link

Had no idea Travel With Love was OOP.

Fig On A Plate Cart (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 20 July 2011 17:34 (twelve years ago) link

Yeah, $31+ on Amazon with shipping, used not much cheaper, so as good as OOP. I just have MP3s. Same with the 80s Junior Murvin.

Fastnbulbous, Wednesday, 20 July 2011 17:45 (twelve years ago) link

Had no idea. Got it for $4 from Ernie's a couple of years back.

Fig On A Plate Cart (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 20 July 2011 17:58 (twelve years ago) link

one year passes...

It's fucking criminal that I can find no copies of the Gladiators' "Trenchtown Mix Up" on vinyl anywhere on the internet, other than at ridiculously high prices.

besides Sunny Real Estate (dog latin), Thursday, 10 January 2013 09:45 (eleven years ago) link

this is still my number one at the moment.

http://dug-out.de/images/doxyz004a.jpg

scott seward, Thursday, 10 January 2013 15:02 (eleven years ago) link

but there are a LOT of reggae albums i haven't heard. so it might change someday.

scott seward, Thursday, 10 January 2013 15:02 (eleven years ago) link

I'm sure I've heard that before somewhere... Will have to have a look around my collection as it really rings a bell.

besides Sunny Real Estate (dog latin), Thursday, 10 January 2013 15:03 (eleven years ago) link

it's haunting. and hypnotic. essential.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb6VAZSMHNc

scott seward, Thursday, 10 January 2013 15:31 (eleven years ago) link

oh Ras Michael, yeah I have that cos you banged on about it a few months back. It is indeed a joy (although the tracks are VERY long). Have you heard Ras Michael & The Sons of Negus' "Rastafari" album? Also very lovely.

besides Sunny Real Estate (dog latin), Thursday, 10 January 2013 15:34 (eleven years ago) link

hope this is a good quality tube - i'm at work, so can't check:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ42tkAFu_g

besides Sunny Real Estate (dog latin), Thursday, 10 January 2013 15:35 (eleven years ago) link

Scott, you might also like Cedric IM Brooks & The Magical Light of Saba in this vein.

besides Sunny Real Estate (dog latin), Thursday, 10 January 2013 15:35 (eleven years ago) link

cedric brooks is amazing. love that stuff. i recently sold an original copy of this album. i wanted to keep it but i need to, like, eat and stuff.

http://www.popsike.eu/pix/20120417/280865306953.jpg

scott seward, Thursday, 10 January 2013 15:40 (eleven years ago) link

its basically the history of reggae that ends with long mystical freedom jam.

scott seward, Thursday, 10 January 2013 15:41 (eleven years ago) link

Have you both heard Count Ossie & the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari? Even longer songs including some spoken poems, but worth checking out if you like Ras Michael and Cedric Brooks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHER45e_4nY

rob, Thursday, 10 January 2013 15:44 (eleven years ago) link

I have a copy of a triple CD I bought years ago of that for about 6p (not joking, it was so cheap). The sound quality is atrocious but the music was great - jazz inflected nyabinghi jams and spoken word monologues IIRC.

besides Sunny Real Estate (dog latin), Thursday, 10 January 2013 15:48 (eleven years ago) link

lol, yeah my copy is in one of those first-generation double CD sets that are as wide as three jewelcases. And yes, you do RC.

rob, Thursday, 10 January 2013 15:50 (eleven years ago) link

just wonderful stuff. easy to become obsessed with it all.

brought this up on the reggae thread probably but still captivated by this 12 inch. THIS i had to keep when i got a nice copy. not an album, but it would be on any list i would make of fave jamaican records. must have played it 50 times when i got it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqbzrvWFWIc

scott seward, Thursday, 10 January 2013 17:10 (eleven years ago) link

kinda endless though when it comes to great reggae. ha! to put it mildly. i've been listening non-stop via what i get in at the store and i've barely scratched the surface.

scott seward, Thursday, 10 January 2013 17:12 (eleven years ago) link

and the hits just keep on coming. got a big stack of recent 45s in the other day and have had a ball listening. fave this week: unicorn & sajay - couchie tight (from 2005. don't even know who unicorn is...)

scott seward, Thursday, 10 January 2013 17:14 (eleven years ago) link

http://www.muzieklijstjes.nl/Tips/tootsMaytalsFunkyKingston.jpg
Still my favorite, 30 years after I first heard it. Probably in my all-time top five.

Jazzbo, Thursday, 10 January 2013 17:18 (eleven years ago) link

Haha, what happened there? Was supposed to be this:
http://www.recordrevolution.com/sites/default/files/album_covers/reggae_20.jpg

Jazzbo, Thursday, 10 January 2013 17:19 (eleven years ago) link

would have to pick a heptones album or singles comp but i don't know which one. how about every heptones album and singles comp from the 60's and 70's. that ought to cover it.

scott seward, Thursday, 10 January 2013 17:24 (eleven years ago) link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxipmsfJMVs

♨ (am0n), Thursday, 10 January 2013 17:26 (eleven years ago) link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PURSWR3iwbQ

♨ (am0n), Thursday, 10 January 2013 17:35 (eleven years ago) link

three years pass...

https://rymimg.com/lk/o/l/3fc02cd0b1f4f70318c4bbf38adcf3fb/6132801.jpg

Bob Andy - The Music Inside Me (1976)
While one could argue that Bob Andy reached an early peak with the singles collected on Song Book (1970), it's not the whole story. His songwriting, vocals and melodies are just as strong on this album, but with the added benefit of a better, fuller sound. Similar to Justin Hinds who was also better known for his 60s work with the Dominoes, The Music Inside Me is a brilliant, underrated gem along the lines of Hinds' somewhat more celebrated Jezebel (1976). This is sorely in need of a proper reissue. All but three of the songs show up in the Retrospective collection, but the title track, "Make Mine Music" and "Feeling Soul" are killers, not fillers that deserve to be heard alongside his better known "Fire Burning." Also check out Lots of Love & I (1977).

A 1976 mix: https://open.spotify.com/user/1212496385/playlist/0Wlvk9tOshWjOl4hqoAo3H

Fastnbulbous, Wednesday, 8 June 2016 23:16 (seven years ago) link

huh dunno this one

Οὖτις, Wednesday, 8 June 2016 23:17 (seven years ago) link

Have been glad to see a number of the Trojan compis that came out around the milenium reappear over the last year. The 2cd sets are great.

Stevolende, Thursday, 9 June 2016 07:29 (seven years ago) link

Hm, have had "The Music Inside Me" for like 20 years, remember not thinking much to it; I'll give it another go. It'll have to go some to match "Song Book" though.

Tim, Thursday, 9 June 2016 08:12 (seven years ago) link

Marcus Garvey by Burning Spear has qualities that always made me stick tracks on tapes next to Miles Davis or Can.

%4-69 Was My Number Toots and the Maytals the Trojan 2cd overview of his stuff, first disc is ska and rocksteady 2nd is the 70s stuff. I think it has almost complete lps on there.

Lee perry Ape-ology has the jamaican Super-Ape and it's sequel and Roast Fish And Collie Weed plus some stray tracks
also Wonderman years, Dub Triptych, Dubstrumentals.

Augustus Pablo Original rockers

Flashing Echo the Trojan 2cd dub compi.

Culture 2 7s Clash had an anniversary remaster on Shanachie about 10 years ago which is great.

The Wailers Trenchtown Rock The trojan 2cd of all of the Lee Perry stuff 1st disc is the late 60s, 2nd is the 70s. I think this material has been released elsewhere under different titles. I do really like taht early stuff from the late 60s. I don't really listen to that much Bob Marley since I found his music too poppy, maybe it was watered down for the Interantional market,. Took me years to hear how much soul there was in his voice.

Heart of the Congos love the iridescent production.

several others that will probably come back to me later.

Stevolende, Thursday, 9 June 2016 09:24 (seven years ago) link

Yeah, a good summary of some of the best. Toots & the Maytals is the best. I remember that comp, and eventually I just got all his albums. I had to! I'm actually going to see him this summer at a reggae fest in Chicago. It's been 20 years, so will be good to see him before he croaks (as so many of that generation are doing with increasing frequency).

Some nice writing by Sean Murphy on five albums:

HalleluJAH: Heart of the Congos
http://www.popmatters.com/post/five-reggae-albums-you-cannot-live-without/

Part Two: Make a Joyful Noise Unto JAH: Culture’s International Herb
http://www.popmatters.com/post/five-reggae-albums-you-cannot-live-without1/

Go and Seek Your Rights: The Mighty Diamonds’ Right Time
http://www.popmatters.com/post/five-reggae-albums-you-cannot-live-without-part-three/

Walking the Streets of Glory: Israel Vibration’s The Same Song
http://www.popmatters.com/post/five-reggae-albums-you-cannot-live-without-part-four/

Party Music for the Apocalypse: Mikey Dread’s Beyond World War III
http://www.popmatters.com/post/five-reggae-albums-you-cannot-live-without-part-five/

Fastnbulbous, Saturday, 11 June 2016 01:51 (seven years ago) link

Junior Delahaye - Showcase (1982)
And yet another release in the string of classic Wackies albums that have been (re)released by Berlin dub-techno duo Moritz Von Oswald and Mark Ernestus a.k.a. Rhythm & Sound, as part of their rerelease program of the complete Wackie's catalog. More on their own releases, whether technodub on Basic Channel or their Rhythm & Sound label and also on their classic Wackie's (re)releases can be found at the Basic Channel website. "Reggae" as the album is called on the sleeve a.k.a. "Showcase" as it is known as well and dubbed by Rhythm & Sound upon their Bullwackies reissue programme, by Junior Delahaye was originally released in 1982. "Love" is a fabulous self-penned track where Junior's falsetto in combination with the classic dubby Wackies riddims immediately brings to mind the best moments of the classic combination of Junior Murvin's voice over Lee 'Scratch' Perry produced riddims. And like every other track, this album is truly showcase style, thus followed directly by its dub version, and coming from Wackies that's a real treat. Next Junior, who also co-engineered the album alongside Lloyd 'Bullwackie' Barnes covers the 1971 Fuzz hit penned by their lead singer Seil Young "I Love You For All Seasons" in a much deeper voice that keeps floating on top of the dub mix in the second part of the track. The 'reggae-traditional' "Travelling Man" is preceded by the self-penned absolutely brilliant "All I Need Is Jah" on which the version part of the track gets a beautiful saxophone treatment by legendary Roland Alphonso, and another classic song versioned by more than a few reggae-icons gets the Junior Delahaye/Wackies treatment: Billy Stewart's "Sitting In The Park". This beautiful disc, that should be recommended to just every lover of roots, only has one weakness, as we have gotten used to bonus tracks even on regular releases, it clocks in at 35 minutes, and no matter how nice the ideas to release the another catalogue in 'original form' it's a bit short. I could stand more than an hour of this niceness, that is now cut short after the lovers tune "Movie Show" for which Junior Delahaye uses the most seductive lower ranges of his vocal register, before the final bars of its dub fade away.

Fastnbulbous, Saturday, 11 June 2016 17:08 (seven years ago) link

am i weird for liking the heptones "party time" more than "heart of the congos"?

hypnic jerk (rushomancy), Saturday, 11 June 2016 20:52 (seven years ago) link

Not at all, I'm sure many people prefer the soulful, tuneful Heptones to the murk of the Congos. It's not a universal appeal, but the Congos just has a sort of mystical feel that's hard to nail down, and for me results in some rewarding repeated listening, both deep sessions on headphones, or just in the background. Kind of along the lines of what made Astral Weeks and Black Saint and the Sinner Lady favorites too.

Here's a dynamic list that evolves month to month:

https://rateyourmusic.com/list/jgnikkila/top_250_reggae_albums__according_to_ryms_heavy_reggae_heads_/

Fastnbulbous, Monday, 13 June 2016 21:27 (seven years ago) link

think i prefer police and thieves to both. heart of the congos is really frontloaded, iirc, but i should listen again.

brimstead, Monday, 13 June 2016 21:45 (seven years ago) link


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