VARIOUS – Return To Orange Street – 14 Roots Rock Reggae Classics (Reissue) – LP – Vinyl [DEC 5]

LP – Standard Edition Black Vinyl Repress.

Kingston Sounds return with a further instalment of rare and unreleased recordings from the early-mid 70s from the vaults of Bunny Lee. Featuring tracks from Prince Jazzbo, I Roy, Delroy Wilson, Horace Andy, Lee Perry etc. The series is named after the legendary Orange Street, Kingston’s equivalent of London’s tin pan alley, where all of Jamiaca’s big recording studios were situated.

From 1968 through to the mid 1970s the reggae beat began to slow down, some say due to the extreme heat hitting down onto Kingston Town and its surrounding enclaves. People needed something less strenuous to dance to. The Ska and Rocksteady Sounds (see 101 Orange Street KS007) that rocked Jamaica previously, had now found a slower tempo and become more Dread lyrically to suit the times. Reggae music has always moved within the social climate it found itself in and this set here, as we Return To Orange Street was ROOTS ROCK REGGAE TIME….

The Rastafarian message that runs through this collection of Reality, sometimes labelled Sufferers music,is strong and works on many levels. It can come across on a heavy rhythm and vocal cut. Its example represented here by Prince Jazzbos Dread in a Earth and I Roys Roots Man Time, moving through to the popular new sounds of the DJs working over an old rhythm and alongside its existing vocal. As with Busty Brown working with Delroy Wilson‘s Know Your Friend and Mr Jah Stitch working over Johnny Clarkes Roots Natty Roots to produce an even more dreader True Born African. The heartfelt lyric can also convey this message as we can see when Horace Andy laments Where is the Love and Delroy Wilson again shows us on his Who Cares cut. The great Twinkle Brothers also put the message across on their two cuts we have here, Too Late one of their lost classics if ever there was one and the thoughtful Its Not Who You Know, being another prime example.

Orange Street itself is always at the heart of all reggae’s musical changes and some singers also ride these waves as Mr Cornell Campbell shows us here with two cuts. The mournful Too Be Loved and his uplifting Girl of My Dreams, which uses the same rhythm as our previously mentioned Prince Jazzbos ‘Dread in a Earth. Showing us that firstly you cant keep a good rhythm down and secondly that two if not more great songs can work from the same source point. The light hearted Vengeful lyric also worked in this period when artists spared off to each other on records to vent their frustrations. As we can hear here with Mr Lee Perrys You Funny Boy. The song snipping back at a previous employer over what he felt were his misdoings to an under appreciated Mr Perry. We have culled these tracks together to show that the Dread Roots feel of the 1970s came across in many guises and even in earlier songs these sentiments were also prevalent. As represented in Slim Smiths almost bluesy feel in Trying To Find a Home, never a truer statement in Kingston’s ghetto areas.

Well we hope you enjoy this musical journey and make a connection with messages portrayed here, as Mr Monty Morris points out on his contribution to this collection Times Are Dread…. Dread indeed…..

Tracklist:

A1 Prince Jazzbo Dread In A Earth
A2 I Roy Roots Man Time
A3 Delroy Wilson & Busty Brown Know Your Rights
A4 Twinkle Brothers Too Late
A5 Jah Stitch & Johnny Clarke True Born African
A6 Cornell Campbell To Be Loved
A7 Lee Perry & Aggrovators You Funny Boy

B1 Delroy Wilson Who Cares
B2 I Roy & Cornell Campbell On The Run
B3 Horace Andy Where Is The Love
B4 Cornell Campbell Girl Of My Dreams
B5 Monty Morris Times Are Dread
B6 Twinkle Brothers It’s Not Who You Know
B7 Slim Smith Trying To Find A Home

Credits:
Alto Saxophone Lennox Brown
Bass Aston “Family Man” Barrett, Robbie Shakespeare
Drums Carlton “Santa” Davis, Carlton Barrett, Sly Dunbar
Lead Guitar Earl “Chinna” Smith
Organ Winston Wright
Producer Bunny Lee
Rhythm Guitar Tony Chin
Tenor Saxophone Tommy McCook
Trombone Vin Gordon
Trumpet Bobby Ellis