Recommended Reggae Reissues

matt b

Indexing all opinion
it seems quite easy to be crushed by the sheer weight of reggae reissue compilations that come out each month / year from 'compiling' labels- B&F, pressure sounds, auralux, basic replay etc etc.

despite saying before christmas that the month of january would be free of record purchases, i feel a need to buy a couple of things, but in order to control myself i simply want to walk into a record shop, pick up a couple of lps, quickly buy them and run for the door before having loads of other stuff pushed my way, which invariably increases my spend dramatically.

so, what were the best comps/ reissues of 2005 for you (vinyl preferable)?

mine:

v/a 'george phang presents powerhouse volume 1' (virgin frontline)
v/a 'jack ruby hi fi' (auralux)
andrew bees 'militant' (basic replay)
 
D

droid

Guest
Still lovin the studio one LPs on Soul Jazz. 'Roots 2', 'Women' and 'Lovers' being the most recent. Sure you always have a few of the tunes, and its a bit arbitrary - but still tons of brilliant tracks...

Cant think of anything else from 2005 at the mo except for that 'Sleng Teng revival' riddim LP, with 30 or so cuts from the 80s on double LP. More of that kinda stuff please!
 

john eden

male pale and stale
Good idea for a thread.

Studio One Women and Lovers I got for Xmas. "Women" is absolutely bloody brilliant. Lovers is "merely" superb.

I also got the Frontline Volcano comp, which is great but has big overlap with the Greensleeves 79-82 compilation.

What else?

The Taxi Sound of Sly and Robbie on Auralux is well worth checking, especially as Juno had the vinyl really cheap about 6 months ago.

5 Borough Fire - Phillip Smarts digital productions in NY is worth a look but I haven't had much of a chance to hear it. On vinyl also, includes some great Garnet Silk ("Retreat Wicked Man") Scion Success etc but there is quite a lot of it I wasn't too sure about on first few listens. Will report back.
 

redcrescent

Well-known member
Not really recent stuff at all but...

The Haul and Pull Up Selecta set (2003?) on Trojan is fantastic, the 12" mix of the Morwells' "Kingston 12 Tuffie" worth the price of entry alone. Minimal overlap with the Trojan 12" box set, which I recommend without reservations.

As I'm a real sucker for 80s reggae I have been caning that Prince Jammy's Computerised Dub CD from 1992 I found only recently, an absolutely peerless set in true showcase style. "Sleng Teng" is on it too, obviously. Droid check this out. Up there with that Pressure Sounds compilation of late era Tubbys' which never seemed to move from my turntable.

Obviously that Wackies stuff too, they have been really busy with the reissues, I guess the best place to start is those samplers they have put out to see what piques your interest, then you can delve into the catalog knowing what you are looking for.
 

matt b

Indexing all opinion
redcrescent said:
The Haul and Pull Up Selecta set (2003?) on Trojan is fantastic, the 12" mix of the Morwells' "Kingston 12 Tuffie" worth the price of entry alone

yep, both john eden/ mr meme and i have plundered that song for recent mixes :)

redcrescent said:
As I'm a real sucker for 80s reggae I have been caning that Prince Jammy's Computerised Dub CD from 1992 I found only recently, an absolutely peerless set in true showcase style. "Sleng Teng" is on it too, obviously.

if you don't have these all ready, get the 'king jammy superpower' compilation (2xcd, 12xlp) and i'd also recommend the above george phang comp- pre-digital, but it kinda pre-empts the upcoming revolution. frankie paul's 'tidal wave' is worth the price of admission alone

redcrescent said:
Obviously that Wackies stuff too, they have been really busy with the reissues, I guess the best place to start is those samplers they have put out to see what piques your interest, then you can delve into the catalog knowing what you are looking for.

i've heard the 'reggae goodies' lps in passing, but they didn't grab me tbh.


shall we stick to this year though, eh? ;)
 

matt b

Indexing all opinion
john eden said:
The Taxi Sound of Sly and Robbie on Auralux is well worth checking, especially as Juno had the vinyl really cheap about 6 months ago..

yeah, i've added this to my list since yesterday- when i got a certain tracklist ;)


john eden said:
5 Borough Fire - Phillip Smarts digital productions in NY is worth a look

woah, not even seen this. must seek out.


the soul jazz comps end up being default purchases. must stop being a snob.
 

john eden

male pale and stale
matt b said:
the soul jazz comps end up being default purchases. must stop being a snob.

not sure I know what you mean here?

16borough.jpg


Yeah the 5 Borough Fire thing isn't all that easy to get hold of. Dub Vendor has it I think. There was a promo mix CD for it as well which I bigged up in my blog in early December. On Street Platinum and Gold records...

http://www.reggae-vibes.com/rev_var/5borough.htm
 

matt b

Indexing all opinion
john eden said:
not sure I know what you mean here?

just that i only buy soul jazz stuff when i can't find anything else but want to make a purchase. mainly because they keep them in print, so you know they're going to be around for a while.



the quote from the philip smart review- "much of the vocals are in a tenor saw/ nitty gritty style" seals it- must find.......
 
Last edited:

john eden

male pale and stale
matt b said:
just that i only buy soul jazz stuff when i can't find anything else but want to make a purchase. mainly because they keep them in print, so you know they're going to be around for a while.

Gotcha.
 

stelfox

Beast of Burden
it's not a reggae comp at all, but Big Apple Rappin': The Early Days Of Hip Hop Culture
In New York City 1979-1982 (Soul Jazz) is fantastic and, as a bit of an anomaly, it has General Echo's Rappin' Dub Style (on the Bathroom Sex riddim) on it, which I've been trying to track down for an age.
 

redcrescent

Well-known member
matt b said:
yep, both john eden/ mr meme and i have plundered that song for recent mixes :)

if you don't have these all ready, get the 'king jammy superpower' compilation (2xcd, 12xlp) and i'd also recommend the above george phang comp- pre-digital, but it kinda pre-empts the upcoming revolution. frankie paul's 'tidal wave' is worth the price of admission alone

i've heard the 'reggae goodies' lps in passing, but they didn't grab me tbh.

shall we stick to this year though, eh? ;)
Thanks for the heads-up. And those Wackies samplers are growers, believe.

Is Sugar Minott at Studio 1 from last year?

What is that Down Santic Way on Pressure Sounds like? Have not seen the tracklisting.

Honest Jon's putting out some good (reggae and non reggae) stuff too. I liked the Lagos Chop Up / Lagos All Routes compilations of that 70s Nigeria business I can't seem to get enough of.
 

redcrescent

Well-known member
Great thread btw. This should be done once every so often because the amount of stuff (or, put another way, the lack of funds) is stunning!
 

matt b

Indexing all opinion
redcrescent said:
Is Sugar Minott at Studio 1 from last year?.


this year, but i don't really rate it- not prime sugar

redcrescent said:
What is that Down Santic Way on Pressure Sounds like? Have not seen the tracklisting. .


01. Peace And Love Dub — Augustus Pablo
02. Problems #2 — Leonard Santic All Stars
03. I'm A Free Man — Freddie McKay
04. Santic Special — Leonard Santic All Stars
05. Hap Ki Do — Augustus Pablo
06. Tom Shooter — Jah Lloyd
07. Shooter Dub — King Tubby's
08. Columbo — Augustus Pablo
09. Special Branch — Leonard Santic All Stars
10. Late At Night — William Shakepare (Gregory Issacs)
11. Late Hour — I Roy
12. Santic Rock — Leonard Santic All Stars
13. Yankee Kankee — Jah Mojo
14. Down Santic Way — Big Joe
15. Santic In Dub — Leonard Santic All Stars
16. Children — Leonard Santic All Stars
17. Truth And Truth (DJ Version) — Jah Mojo
18. I Don't Want To Lose You — Paul Whiteman

looks good to me :)
 

henry s

Street Fighting Man
is that Blood & Fire label still around?...for a time, they were one of the sources for quality dub/reggae re-issues (Congos, Keith Hudson, King Tubby, etc.)...
 

john eden

male pale and stale
henry s said:
is that Blood & Fire label still around?...for a time, they were one of the sources for quality dub/reggae re-issues (Congos, Keith Hudson, King Tubby, etc.)...

Very much so and you can get their back catalogue cheap via their site.
 

redcrescent

Well-known member
matt b said:
this year, but i don't really rate it- not prime sugar




01. Peace And Love Dub — Augustus Pablo
02. Problems #2 — Leonard Santic All Stars
03. I'm A Free Man — Freddie McKay
04. Santic Special — Leonard Santic All Stars
05. Hap Ki Do — Augustus Pablo
06. Tom Shooter — Jah Lloyd
07. Shooter Dub — King Tubby's
08. Columbo — Augustus Pablo
09. Special Branch — Leonard Santic All Stars
10. Late At Night — William Shakepare (Gregory Issacs)
11. Late Hour — I Roy
12. Santic Rock — Leonard Santic All Stars
13. Yankee Kankee — Jah Mojo
14. Down Santic Way — Big Joe
15. Santic In Dub — Leonard Santic All Stars
16. Children — Leonard Santic All Stars
17. Truth And Truth (DJ Version) — Jah Mojo
18. I Don't Want To Lose You — Paul Whiteman

looks good to me :)
Sugar Minott for me is that Ghetto-ology showcase LP. A monster.
OK then I guess that Santic will eventually end up in my bag, too! How good is "Shooter Dub", I ask you!!!

Check out the Roots Archives 2005 awards here.
Winners:
Best vocal/dj album: Willie Williams Messenger Man
Best v/a: Soul Jazz Roots 2
Best instrumental: Lee Perry Dubstrumentals
Best label: Trojan
 

Leo

Well-known member
- "wackies sampler, volume 1" is REALLY solid, most of the best tracks from their first round of reissues.

- a great "hits" collection is "reggae: i am king" on ocho, compiled by ian mccann: classics from the rockers era (althea & donna's "uptown top rankin'", junior murvin's "police & thieves", jacob miller's "baby i love you", john holt's "man next door", dillinger's "cocaine on my brain", etc.)...mostly well-known/obvious choices but nice to have in one 62-minute package.

- "darker than blue: soul from jamdown 1973-1980" on blood & fire, lots of great soulful stuff.
 

Grievous Angel

Beast of Burden
I dunno about the rest of you but I am so overburdened with stuff to listen to -- six CDs from Droid alone! and I haven't got to Eden's or Matt's mixes yet, or Droid's new one! -- that I am simultaneously gagging to pcik up all these compliations and, well, just gagging at the over-abundance.

Mind you I have spent the last month working through 20+ jungle compilations :).

And my new years resolution -- for the third year running -- is to buy some fresh-ish dancehall every month.

While also buying every dubstep classic that comes out in 06.

Oh, god...
 

petergunn

plywood violin
55836.jpg


so neccesary, a 8 dollar reissue of a 200+ dollar 12"... some of the wildest lee perry ever, a 12" disco mix of him chanting over "chase the devil"
 
D

droid

Guest
That Santic LP is fairly essential if i remember correctly... a couple more of the big comps of last year were 'Aquarius Rock' (Herman Chin-Loy) on Pressure Sounds, and the 'Joe Gibbs Productions' on Soul Jazz which has a few hard to get gems on it...

Cheers for the Digital Dancehall comp info - Ill hunt them down. The best Jammys comp Ive got is the double CD 'Dancehall Roots' on 'union square music' (who?). Some amazing tunes on it like Johnny Osbournes 'Fire Fire' and Major Mackerels 'Sorry Fi Botha', on all the riddims youd expect - Agony/Sleng Teng/Duppy/Chinatown/Kuff etc...
 
Top