Jimmy Riley - Woman Gotta Have Love

Lee Perry produced this soulful version of the Bobby Womack classic by the same name. The flip is a wicked dub that, IMO, is superior to the better known LP dub of the track. Bobby's original is one of his best, with an infectious walking baseline and lyrics that could only come of real life experience.

Ernest Ranglin - Exodus

Ernest Ranglin covering Ernest Gold's score for "Exodus," Otto Preminger's 1960 film about the birth of the state of Israel. Read more about the great Ernest Ranglin here.

Keith Hudson - Like I'm Dying

Ominously known as "The Dark Prince of Reggae," Keith Hudson was born into a musical family in Kingston, Jamaica in 1946. His musical education began as Hudson worked as a sort of roadie for Skatalite and Jamaican trombone king Don Drummond. By age 21, Hudson, who had been trained as a dentist, sunk his earnings into his own record label, Inbidimts, and had a hit with Ken Boothe's recording of "Old Fashioned Way." Not long after this chart success, the suddenly hot Hudson was producing some of the biggest names (and soon-to-be biggest names) in reggae -- John Holt, Delroy Wilson, Alton Ellis, and the great toasters U-Roy and Dennis Alcapone, all of whom benefited from what would be Hudson's trademark production style: groove-centered, bass/drum-dominated, lean and mean stripped-down riddims. By the mid-'70s, Hudson began releasing more solo work, hitting paydirt from the start with his 1974 debut, Entering the Dragon and his intense second record, Flesh of My Skin, an ominous, dark record that earned Hudson his title as reggae's "Dark Prince." In 1976, Hudson relocated to New York City and worked pretty much nonstop, producing as well as recording solo records up until 1982. He succumbed to lung cancer in 1984, at age 38, robbing reggae of one its greatest, most adventurous, and unhearalded producers and performers. ~ John Dougan, All Music Guide

Vivian Jackson - Crazy Moon

Rare organ cut to Conquering Lion only available on 45.

Joe R Lewis - Love Mystery

Over 20 years old and still one of the best house tracks ever made

Yabby You - Love Thy Neighbor

Classic Vivian Jackson dub on the Defenders label

The Twentie Grans -Guilty

Dennis Brown - It's Too Late

The crown prince of reggae doing a fine rendition of a Carol King classic.

Early 60's Richard Faralla

Made of salvaged wood and mirror. Scored this nice abstract piece on my recent trip to San Francisco to escape the smoke and heat of LA.

Richard Faralla- Sculptor 1916-1996

Attended CSFA (F.F.A. in 1955) and San Francisco State College 1956. Previously a painter, he turned in 1959 to sculptures and reliefs assembled from small scraps of wood, which he generally painted black or white; like the wood sculptures of Louise Nevelson, they were built around an essentially Cubist formal vocabulary, animated by a Byzantine intricacy of surface pattern and richness of texture. His earliest works were mosaics made of geometric bits of wood gathered from construction sites. In the early 1960's he began to use driftwood and his constructions became more organic.

from "Art in the San Francisco Bay Area" 

by Thomas Albright.

Karl Bryan & Count Ossie - Black Up

I love me some Studio One Roots. Karl Bryan blowing sweet over Count Ossie's nyabinghi drumming.

Ketty Lester - Love Letters

The Desires - Need Someone

Chi-town soul from the 60's. No mention of this one in Robert Pruter's book Chicago Soul (a great book by the way), but not to be overlooked. I love the piano, it sound like a kid's toy.

Bill Hutchinson - Congo Dread Dub

Also available on the Danger Zone label, this flip to Bob Soul - Message From The Congo is a scorcha!  One of King Tubby's earliest and possibly best mixes

Colgate Record Sleeve

Found in Jamaica. A recycled toothpaste box turned into a 45 sleeve.   

Carlton Jackson - History Of Captivity

Carlton Jackson, a true Rasta man bringin' civilization on ya. This is one of my personal favorite Lee Perry productions. 

I Kong - The Way It Is

In the early 60s, Errol I Kong was founding member of the rocksteady group The Jamaicans. After working as a bartender and singer on a cruise ship for 2 years in the late 60s, he returned to music business. In the early 70s, he recorded his first solo single for Tommy Cowans Top Cat label, under the name of Ricky Storm (coming soon). After the hit single "Ghetto Cry", I-Kong released his first and only album "The Way It Is" in 1978. After that, being disillusioned about music business, he moved to the hills of St. Elizabeth and lived there in relative obscurity.

Thanks Discogs for I Kong bio

Willie Cobbs - You Don't Love

The original to Dawn Penn's - No No No

Yami Bolo - Jah Made Them All

Now Thing Riddim

Late 90's rhythm from Sly & Lenky also available on the Mo Wax - Now Thing compilation. My 20 month old son loves to dance to this one.

The Palm Trees - Step It Out

Thanks again to Bob Brooks of Reggae Revive

L. Crosdale - Free Me Version

Absolute killer Studio One roots dub. Much deeper than the vocal flip

Stan Bitters Score

Found these four Hans Sumpf Bitters pots in an alley with dead plants in them.  Hand thrown on a wheel, each weighs around 200 lbs.

Gregory Isaacs pulls out of Bowl Reggae Night

Gregory cancelled  for tonight's show. Here's a taste of what we'll be missing

The Cool Ruler in the 80's

Ted Bielefeld

Ted Bielefeld was a teaching assistant to Tony Prieto at

Mills College in the late 50's, early 60's. Not much info

can be found about Ted; he was a potter and a jazz

musician and died young. In a 1981 interview with

Robert Arneson, speaking of his days at Mills college,

Robert says "A fine fellow was Ted Bielefeld, who died a

few years later (mid 60's). I learned a lot from him as a

student." Vasefinder calls him "the 'Vincent VanGogh' of

studio because of his personal life struggle."

Jackie Mittoo - El Bang Bang

Calvin Stewart - Alphabet

Patrick Alley - Come We Go Reason

Nice roots tune by the same guy who unsuccessfully sued Mick Jagger over the song "Just Another Night" back in 1986.  Mr. Alley contended that Mick had either heard his release from 1983 or Sly Dunbar, a Jamaican studio musician, who worked with Mick on his track, had brought it to Mick.  The testimony included live and recorded music.  In the course of the seven-day trial a Juilliard faculty member played piano, Sly Dunbar played drums and Mick Jagger sang snatches of ''Jumpin' Jack Flash,'' ''Brown Suger'' and ''Miss You'' from the witness stand.  Pretty sweet jury duty. The jury sided with Mick but you be the judge. Patrick's version and Mick's version.

Bob Andy - Holy Moses

Lovely version of Border Song (Holy Moses) by one of the best Jamaican vocalists ever. Thanks again to Bob Brooks, Reggae Revive, and thanks Fray whoever you are.

Burning Spear - Shady Tree

Dub version of Spear's Resting Place.  Nice tune to wind down a hot summer work day.

Donald Saxby - Wood Pot

Late 60's hand turned, then carved California black walnut pot by Bay area artist Donald Saxby.  Not much is known about Don, rumor is he left wood turning and sculpture to build boats in the 70's.

The Losers

Warren Oates, Bobby Lee - I Was Born A Loser, Agustus Pablo - Bells Of Death (Cut to Derrick Harriot's - The Loser, borrowing from Bobby Lee and the Artistics - I'm Gonna Miss You).

Tiger - Rap Pon Rydim

Time for some ruffness. From 1988 here's Tiger screaming over a Detroit techno style rydim.

Black Skin The Prophet - Your Teacher

Serious roots tune produced by Prince Fari. Conscious lyrics on par with Poor Man Cry or Carlton Jackson - History Of Captivity (coming soon). Big thanks to Bob Brooks of Reggae Revive who lucked into a box of these in Toronto a while back at Monica's Wig Shop. Sorry, just noticed a skip in the recording, maybe I'll rerecord some day

Jacob Miller - Dub In The Yard

Alternate dub cut to Jacob Miller's Tenement Yard

Doyle Lane - Weed Pots

Doyle Lane attended USC in the mid 50's where he studied under Vivika Heino.  After school he set up shop in East L.A. where he created some fine glaze work.

Sample Dub

Another silk screen Studio One cover. This time it's made from used Tetley Tea bag boxes.

Jerry Hitler - Too Much Religion

Step out of my way. I'm comin' through with a heavy heavy Wackies tune this time from Jerry Hitler (no relation, I'm sure).

Marvin L Sims - What Can I Do

Nice deep soul version of the Donnie Elbert low-rider classic.  This one comes out of Chicago and sounds almost like it could have been recorded live.

Trevor Byfield - Love Me Version

Released in the early 70's, this is the first record I know of to have recorded scratching. This is one deep ass dub track complete with a steam engine locomotive to drive it home.

Shinehead - Billie Jean

Had to do a little tribute to MJ.

Killer Sleeves

Vintage Jamaican handmade record sleeves. Some Teriable Skank. Thanks Charlie Morgan for the pics

Lascelle Perkins - Nature Boy

The Studio One keeps coming. Lascelle Perkins doing a nice version of Eden Ahbez Nature Boy

Marcus Reid - Poor Man Cry

Reissued in the 90's as Max - Inner City Blues, this roots gem features heartfelt blues style lyrics with a killer Pablo version.

Glen Brown - Scatter Light Rock

Glen Brown the "God Son" produced some quality roots records in the 70's, this one included. Check out the guitar, it sounds like the strings are about an inch away from the neck.

Buddy Cantrell - Why Did She Leave Me

Dead slow deep soul classic out of Atlanta.

Peter Broggs - I A Field Marshall (Dub)

Killer Prince Far I Dub of the Peter Broggs vocal. Check out the violin in the last 1/3 of the track.

Dub Store Special

Dub Store Special silk screen cover on reused Lipton Tea Bag cardboard. Below are 2 tracks from the album:  a horns cut to Horace Andy's Skylarking (Idle Burg) followed by a version of Karl Bryan's Money Generator (Musical Science). Loads more Studio One to come.

Vernal Wentworth - Rainbow

Based on Gene Chandler's Rainbow, some lovely laid back singing over a driving Studio 1 rhythm.

Gene Rondo - Rebel Woman

A Ladbrook Grove classic from 1974 on the Queen Bee label.  Late night lovers roots about Gene's dream woman - bare chested, natural as can be.