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Reggae - A daily blog

The relatively new Ska Vendors EP arrived at my door today to much anticipation. This Melbourne band has been at it a couple of years and came up to Sydney last year for a few Sydney shows as part of a weekend we put on for them. Top bunch of guys, though with a rotating lineup, like any good ska band, a few different faces playing on this CD than those we saw in Sydney.

The first three songs are those I’ve heard before. The opening track Venors’ Stew is one of their earliest tunes and is extremely catchy. It’s a call to arms or rather the dancefloor, where the anthem-like lyrics read, We are the Ska Vendors all right, We’re coming to your party, we’re gonna make it right. Straight up they tell you what the CD is going to be about, no two ways about it. A bunch of dancing traditional type ska songs with their own little slant is one you are going to get. The second track is Everyday Joe, which is more of the same though not my favourite track and then we have BLT, a nice little Ditty about a family ritual care of lead singer Steve. The fourth track of six is an instrumental, Hoodlum Nightcaps, which both breaks up the CD and is an example of how far the band has come. They are more polished and offer interesting songs. This song is particularly layered, with some excellent guitar work from the great John Holmes and a nice mix of punchy horn lines and solos.

The fifth song is probably my favourite original on the EP. It is Pay For Your Crime and is another catchy upbeat number. A bit more 2-tone sounding I suppose, which is a positive I think and is something that comes a lot from Steve’s Scottish accent. It is a very endearing and unique quality of this band that you cannot escape.

The CD ends on a high and I commend the band for their cover of this Byron Lee/Eric Morris track. I don’t like to say my favourite track on the CD is a cover, but it is up there as one of my faves. It is done so well – they must be applauded for the sound, on this song and the entire short player. Backing vocals on this track are particularly effective and it just sums up that period the band is noticeably influenced by.

Hear some tracks on My Space: http://www.myspace.com/theskavendors

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Posted By: Glen - Category: Reviews

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Blood & Fire Records UK

July 4th 2006 12:56

Blood & Fire Records are another of the prolific record labels reissuing some top quality artists. Where Trojan records are releasing more records from sixties inspired artists in genres such as rocksteady, ska and skinhead reggae, Blood & Fire, also a UK label, are releasing mainly dub, roots and DJ albums.

They are an extremely popular label. Their forum is one of, if not the most, popular reggae forums on the Internet. Another positive of the label, which always makes me happy, is the releasing of vinyl by them taking the form of The Congos and Friends – Fisherman Style. This is not merely for the DJ because don’t you think reggae just sounds better on the wax?

Another example of the records they have released includes King Tubby & Friends – Dub Like Dirt 1975-77 (just one of the King Tubby releases from the label). King Tubby is of course one of the most respected dub producers of all time (though some may have something to say about that). This record goes for 22 Aussie dollars off the Blood & Fire website, which is a damn good price for a CD. Others on the list include the late great Jackie Mittoo - one of the most exceptional keyboard players in reggae history; Horace Andy (one of my faves), Dennis Brown and Yabby U. These artists are just a taste of what you will get with the label.

For more fitting this sound, you may enjoy Jason’s radio show this Friday, where he is heading in this sort of direction. For Sydneysiders, tune into 2RRR, 88.5 FM from 8 – 10 am this Friday and every Friday for a great dose of the reggae.

http://www.bloodandfire.co.uk

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Posted By: Glen - Category: Reviews

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Reggae review: Micharl Arkk – Easier Said

June 26th 2006 07:31

Michael Arkk was kind enough to send me this CD to review, which does happen occasionally – though probably not as much as if Dizzybeat.com was updated as frequently as I would like. Anyway, on to the CD.

I like Michael Arkk’s voice a lot. It has a haunting quality – a wail to it that adds feeling to what he is singing about. It is the best element of the album, which is a good and important thing on a solo artist’s album. Unfortunately though, the album isn’t backed up by interesting music. It is restricted to the one drop roots reggae beat, which isn’t necessarily the problem, but nearly every backing track does sound similar. It has an electronic feel to it – very much inspired by tracks such as “I show you how to reggae” by Soulful Dynamics or Billy Ocean’s Can You Feel It. It’s a shame because songs like Wheel and Dance, where they do have a different feel to them, a bit more dance friendly, just sound like they are backed by a drum machine and a casio keyboard.

It’s such a shame, but I just can’t get past the fact this album sounds like it comes from a time when reggae was at its weakest. This type of reggae was popular for a time, but I think this popularity was on the back of some stronger artists, in that people wanted to hear anything resembling reggae at all. The thing is thought, that it wasn’t strong enough to keep people’s attention.

To me Michael Arkk’s voice is wasted on this album not because it is underused but because it is isn’t supported. Due to the way the backing music was recorded I would say, but I would also like to see some more variety in his songs. More of them could well do with a feeling one of the instruments is driving the songs. When you have this, such as in No Dream, where the bass line is more interesting and dominant, you have a much more appealing song. This song is the pick of the tracks. The third track, Dark Red is another decent track for a similar reason - the bass isn’t drowned out in the mix like many of the tracks. I would definitely prefer the recording to be raw than have the electronic wash over it that it seemingly does.

http://www.michaelarkk.com

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Posted By: Glen - Category: Reviews

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Dancehall Queen - Keiva the Diva

June 13th 2006 13:09

Okay so I have recently explored more of dancehall dancing, pointing out that it is a huge phenomenon in Jamaica. There is a huge competition called Dancehall Queen - a movie was also made of the same name. Dancehall Queen, Keiva the Diva is apparently right up there when it comes to dancing so I thought I'd check her out. I hit Youtube, which is awesome source for video, to see whether she is all that. I must say, having seen the video below, I am not entirely convinced. She can definitely move - her hips definitely suit the nature of dancehall dancing, but is it just me or is she extremely skinny? I don't suppose it really matters, but in the highly sex slanted nature of dancehall, she has quite a different body shape to the Jamaican norm.

I suppose judge for yourself though. Look out for the excellently named dance The Jerry Springer!

I apoligize to those who don't have broadband - I won't be putting up videos everyday. Tomorrow I will go more text based. Until then.

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Posted By: Glen - Category: Reviews

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Dancehall dance steps DVD

June 9th 2006 06:13

I’ll be honest I haven’t seen the DVD, It’s All About Dancing, but having seen the trailer I really want to. You can see it too over at: It's All About Dancing Trailer. Though a completely legitimate DVD, I can’t help but laughing at an instructional video on reggae dancing set on the beaches of Jamaica. There should be more of this. I would say that only Jamaicans can get away with something like this, but they may not be the only ones. I could probably name a few people who couldn’t get away with.

Despite my comic perception of the DVD, it does seem to have some very good aspects to it. Dancehall dancing is a movement in itself in Jamaica and around the world, really very popular for punters. There are a huge array of dances, from the very basic to the very complex. This is consistent with the entire Jamaican music tradition. For example The Ska was a dance as was the rock steady. Never before have there been so many dancers though. The dancehall queen competition and the competitors are viewed almost as favourably as the dancehall stars.
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Posted By: Glen - Category: Reviews

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Jamaican Label Art

June 6th 2006 11:43

I’d found out about the website Jamaican Label Art on the Trojan Forum. It is pretty cool. There is already a website doing a similar sort of thing over at: Dancecrasher.co.uk, but it wasn’t laid out especially well and it lacked in a section I was more keen on, which is the sleeve covers reggae records went in. There is also room for more websites like this that do well in presenting a very interesting side to reggae and keeping a historical account. All types of Jamaican music is here whether your taste is U-Roy, Sizzla or Prince Buster or you love you Calypso, ska, roots or dancehall. Catered for.

I was disappointed to discover the website was already down in its very early stage because of the popularity. They exceeded their bandwidth in no time! I was hanging out for it get back up and now it is. It is surprising how something like Jamaican label art can be so popular, but reggae fans are often fanatical and so would find a huge database of record artwork fascinating.
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The Harder They Come

May 24th 2006 12:43

It was mentioned in a comment and I watched it again the other day, so The Harder They Come gets a look-in today on the reggae blog. Is the film The Harder They Come something reggae fans should cherish or is it a film cherished only because it is a reggae film?

I like it. I like it to see Jimmy Cliff recreating the recording of the title track The Harder They Come. I also like it for the rest of the sound track, despite the pop flavour of You Can Get It If You Really Want. Sweet and Dandy is one of my favourite Toots songs and Johnny Too Bad, by The Slickers is another great tune and is basically The Pioneers playing under a different name.
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Aggrolites New Album

May 18th 2006 09:22

I don’t buy that many CDs – my smallish income goes largely towards records and I’m slowly getting a good collection together. One CD I couldn’t afford not to purchase was The Aggrolites self-titled CD. Released on May 9th and with doubts about my chances of getting hold of it in Sydney, I pre-ordered it online. Was I excited when it arrived in the post? Was I ever.

I know I talk about the Aggrolites a lot, but there isn’t another contemporary band that excites me as they do. The new album is fantastic – all 19 tracks of it and I suggest if you only buy one reggae CD this year you buy this one.
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45 RPM May Sydney Review

May 15th 2006 22:14

I had a relatively quiet weekend apart from 45 RPM on the Friday night. The place was humming again with an atmosphere unmatched by any similar club night in Sydney. The mix of reggae and other sixties inspired sounds had the dance floor full all night.

Dimitris is a Greek restaurant on the bottom floor with a top floor playing host to 45 RPM once a month. It has a long bar, dance floor and huge chill out room with booths and couches. Friday night all areas were choccas with a mix of mods, skins rudeboys, rudegirls, rockabillies and plenty of people there for the music not fitting into a subculture.
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Safe Travel - The Rare Side of Rock Steady

May 12th 2006 02:56

With Phil Pratt & Friends 1966-68

The most recent rocksteady release from label Pressure Sounds, Safe Travel, is a real gem. Though not exactly a new release anymore – it was released in 2005, it is so good I couldn’t help but write something about it.
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Madness movie - Take It or Leave It

May 4th 2006 10:15

I’m going to continue on a Madness tangent today having gotten my frustration about imitators out of my system.

On a quick note, did you know that Madness were the most successful UK band of the eighties, having the most songs in the UK charts? Also, they have appeared on Top of the Pops more times than all but a handful of artists.
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The Skatalites in Sydney

April 21st 2006 12:52

Wed April 19th @ the Basement.

Lester Sterling stated on Wednesday night that Bob Marley had said the Skatalites were the best reggae band ever and after Wednesday night you’d have to agree with him. Who’d have thought that the first ska band, therefore the first reggae band, would ever come to my hometown? I’m glad they did, even if it only contained two members who were there at the start when the band formed in the early sixties.
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Posted By: Glen - Category: Reviews

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