Radio Frequency

Reggae reviews with High Pressure's Papa John

Hello people and welcome to the first High Pressure reggae page, where this time we’ll be rummaging through selected new and re-releases from the world of roots reggae.

Danny Red

First up we have a trio of 12” releases outta Amsterdam on the King Shiloh Majestic Music label. Of these Danny Red’s ‘It’s Your Choice’ and Earl 16’s ‘Rally Round’ are the best, both tunes produced by Amsterdam’s Slimmah Sound, with Slimmah’s trademark bubbling organ throughout. ‘It’s Your Choice’ is a horns backed, heavy one-drop with a meditative bassline (which Slimmah seems to specialize in) where Mr Red warns against the bad-man life. ‘Rally Round’ is a more energetic affair: a fast-paced steppa with nice trombone and xylophone touches. The Danny Red platter gets my vote as the better of the two due its B-side, ‘Overjoy’, produced by another Dutchman, Dubcreator. It has a hip-hop-esque beat with choppy guitar and a quirky feel; something a little outside the box; compared to the pretty average Gussie-P produced ‘Education’ on the B-side of the Earl 16 release.

Earl 16

The third of these releases features Christine Miller on vocal duties, again over one Slimmah Sound riddim and one from Dubcreator. The Slimmah side (‘Zion Bound’) is a straight-up roots steppa, good but not as good as the tunes on the other two discs. The Dubcreator track (‘Lift Up My Voice’) is OK but nothing that particularly excites me, although the dubwise does make it a bit more interesting. So all in all two very good releases and one not-quite-as-good release from King Shiloh, and for the penny-pinchers among us good value as each tune comes with two versions!

While we are examining the world of Dutch roots we cannot ignore two 7” releases from the man of the moment, Slimmah Sound, on his own Roots Tribe label. Zed-I’s ‘Where Is the Love’ is my favorite of all the recent Slimmah releases: a heavy one-drop with the trademark bubbling organ; great singing from Zed-I; beautiful female backing vocals and a bad dub! What more could a roots fan want? Not Kyle Sicarus’ ‘Tribulation’ I’m afraid, which doesn’t really live up to the high standards Slimmah has set, but I suppose if you set the bar so high you’re not going to be able to jump it every time.

miller

Closer to home we have two 12”s from Mungo’s Hi-Fi on the ‘Ruff Mi Tuff’ riddim. Mungo’s like to vary their sound and this time have gone for an uncompromising, batty-shaking dancehall vibe for these releases. UK veteran Tippa Irie rides the riddim with Omar Perry (Lee Perry’s son) ‘pon the flipside on one of the discs; while JA legend Daddy Freddy toasts his rasping vocals on the other, Sister Carol and Yorkshire’s very own Bongo Chili providing the B-side. To be fair I don’t think this is Mungo’s best effort. The riddim is OK but, Daddy Freddy aside, none of the vocals really set it on fire. However I have to take my hat off to Mungo’s as they refuse to follow a formula and continue to take their own path to great success. Bravo.

Last up we’ve got a couple re-issues, the first being Matic Horns’ ‘Delamere Avenue Skank’/’Ancient Harmonies and Melodies’ 10”, out on Gussie-P’s Sip A Cup label. ‘Delamere Avenue Skank’ is a new cut to Tristan Palmer’s ‘Bad Boys’ (also recently re-issued), the riddim originating from 1980. Matic’s trombone blows over the dub, keys and guitars expertly popping in and out of the tune, echoes and reverb in just the right quantity. However the killer tune on this disc has to be ‘Ancient Harmonies and Melodies’. Cut over Shaka’s dubplate ‘Wicked Shall Fall’ by Barry Boom, the tune has a proper dread feel; the horns just right to add to the effect.

Earl 16

Sugar Minott’s digikal ‘Letter to Nelson Mandela’, originally from the late 90s and re-released on 7” by Black Solidarity, is our final review. The tune comes out of the leftfield; the bouncy, marching, drum-machine beat and interestingly squelchy bassline offset by slightly out-of-kilter chords and barely-heard ethereal strings. Add to this Sugar Minott’s tribute to the great African leader and what do you get? A killer tune, this time with a version that the original 12” release failed to provide.

Thus ends our first selection of reviews, which, due to the restraints of time and finances can only scratch the surface of the many excellent reggae releases which can be found at this present time. Keep your eyes peeled for the next installment of High Pressure reggae musings that may be more record reviews or maybe something completely different. Until then big-up and stay safe.

Papa John, High Pressure.