Juggling Some Junjo - Part Two

Here is part two of the ongoing Junjo juggling project... this mix, like the first, includes two seperate riddims (10 tracks in total) and if you enjoyed the first one I know you'll dig this one. The riddims this time are the timeless favorites "Answer" and "I Can't Hide." And unlike last time, which I will quickly remedy by the way, I have included the track listing so you can know who you're hearing. Be sure to leave me a comment and let me know what Junjo riddims you want to hear next and I'll get them going as soon as I get some more free time.

Answer
1. Toyan - Creamy Corner - Volcano 7"
2. Cocoa Tea - Jah Made Them That Way - Weh Dem A Go Do...Can't Stop Coco Tea LP
3. Yellowman - Body Move - Witty Music 12"
4. Burru - Non Stop - Volcano 7"
5. Al Campbell & Little John - Mash It Already - Volcano 12"

I Can't Hide
1. Barry Brown - I Can't Hide - Jah Guidance 12"
2. Yellowman - Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt - Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt CD
3. Billy Boyo - Check In - DJ Clash Vol. 2 LP
4. Toyan - You I Love - Spar With Me LP
5. Yellowman - Natty Sat Upon The Rock - Mister Yellowman CD

Enjoy!

Juggling Some Junjo - Part One

I've been messing around with my GarageBand software and some of my all-time favorite tunes produced by the man Junjo Lawes. This is my first attempt at really juggling tunes - or putting together a continuous mix on the same riddims and it has been coming out okay. It's not perfect but in regard to doing the same with 2 turntables and a mixer it would be nearly impossible. I've had some limited experience with trying it out the old fashioned way with massive assistance from my friend Nick and his skills and if I can dig up the CD maybe I'll throw that up too - complete and un-cut with the occasional skipping record. I guess that's one of the problems you must be prepared to encounter when spinning 20 year old Jamaican pressed vinyl.

I'll be posting this first part of this multi-riddim challenge in installments so that once they are all completed you'll have a complete Junjo Lawes/Volcano Mega-mix! I've actually been working on two mixes simultaneously but the second one with longer segments of each tune is not panning out nearly as well. This first part contains the "Another One Bites The Dust" riddim and "Three Blind Mice" which is one of my real favorites... I don't know maybe it has something to do with loving the original tune/nursery rhyme way back in elementary school. But I digress... please, let me know what you think.

Juggling Junjo Part One

Also - I am adding this identical post to my Junjo Lawes Discography page since it is definitely relevant over there as well! If you haven't checked out the Discog site be sure to have a look around. I know it's not much to look but what's more important is to see how important Junjo Lawes was to "rub-a-dub" and reggae music as a whole. A truly prolific and talented producer with an unbelievable string of hits and a stable of artists that virtually defined who's who in Jamaican music during that era and even today.

The Tracklist...

Another One Bites The Dust

1. Toyan - "How The West Was Won" - How The West Was Won CD
2. Michael Prophet - "Gunman" - Greensleeves 12"
3. Johnny Osbourne - "Backra" - Jah Guidance 7"
4. Yellowman - "Jamaica A Little Miami" - Mister Yellowman CD
5. Michigan & Smiley - "Lu-Be-Lu" - Volcano 7"
6. Clint Eastwood & General Saint - Another One Bites The Dust - Greensleeves 12"

Three Blind Mice

1. Josey Wales - Three Blind Mice - Arrival 7"
2. Little John - Slim Thing - Volcano 7"
3. Yellowman - Who Can Make The Dance Cork - Volcano 7"
4. Culture - Jah People - Culture & Don Carlos - Roots & Culture LP
5. Tony Tuff - Come We Come Fi Mash It - Jah Guidance 12"

I'm In The Mood For Ska!

It's been a while since I've touched on ska and today is as a good a day as any to throw up a ska mix I recently put together. Now as I did a couple years ago when I first made available some tunes for you to enjoy I need to reitterate that I am definitely not an authority on this era and my music collection is not stocked with a bunch of rare singles that haven't been heard by human ears for nearly 35 years. The costs involved with accumulating rare and or original ska is far too prohibitive for me to pursue... though I have that on my list of things to do once I hit the Mega-Millions lottery! Most of the tracks within this mix were culled from CDs and affordable "greatest hits" LPs but nonetheless they make for a fairly enjoyable listening experience.

But before we get to the music let me tell you a couple experiences recently that have got me in the mood for ska today... I noticed recently that Sandals Resorts was using Lord Tanamo's "I'm In The Mood For Ska" as their theme and when I went and dug up the track I rediscovered what a cool song it is. If I owned a multi-millions dollar resort in the Caribbean I'd have used the same tune - Sandals would have to fight me in court over the use of that one! Note to self - add that to the "to do" list when the Mega Millions cash starts rolling in! The second story involves a guy I work with who played guitar for a Detroit based third generation ska band when he was in college. He overheard me listening to the Skatalites and asked who it was... I of course had to give him a hard time by asking, "You used to be in a ska band and you don't even know the Skatalites?" He of course said he definitely knew their name but wasn't familiar with their music. I was floored... I was under the impression that all of these new ska bands were in touch with the roots of the music they played. Did these "young punks" (I'm just using the term for illiteration and to help switch into my grumpy old man persona) not know where this music came from? Are there actual ska bands whose only knowledge of ska history begins with London's 2 Tone movement of the late 70's? Are there ska bands who consider The Specials, The Beat and Madness the fathers of this genre? It appears so! And though I can appreciate and even enjoy some if not most of the UK's hybrid of this sub-genre, I immediately felt as if I should raise the Jamaican flag and make it my duty to present to my co-worker and those younger readers out there who are unfamiliar with the true roots of this music a brief but enjoyable history lesson!

Here's the playlist...

1. Justin Hinds & The Dominoes - Carry, Go, Bring, Come
2. Duke Reid & His Group - Burial
3. Jimmy Cliff - Miss Jamaica
4. Lord Tanamo - I'm In The Mood For Ska
5. Ken & Stranger - Home Home Home
6. Frank Anderson & The Skatalites - Musical Storeroom
7. The Wailers - Simmer Down
8. The Skatalites - Ska-Ra-Van
9. Millie Small - My Boy Lollipop
10. Duke White - It's Over
11. The Skatalites - The Guns Of Navarone
12. Laurel Aitken - Coconut Woman
13. Jackie Opel - Push Wood
14. Alton Ellis & The Flames - Girl I've Got A Date
15. The Skatalites - Ghost Town (You Can't Sit Down)
16. The Skatalites - Spred Satin
17. Unknown - Drink Rum
18. The Wailers - Go Jimmy Go
19. Clancy Eccles - Sammy No Dead
20. Don Drummond & The Skatalites - Thoroughfare
21. Prince Buster - Hard Man Fe Dead
22. Lord Tanamo - Come Down
23. Shenley Duffus & The Skatalites - Rukumbine
24. Lord Brynner - Congo War
25. Derrick Morgan - Time Marches On

Enjoy!

Happy April... Time To Celebrate Arbor Day Inna Jamaican Stylee!

Before I go any further I should probably preface this post with an explanation. I put this mix together last month on a dare. I've been trading monthly/holiday themed mixes with some of my friends since Halloween and when it was suggested in jest that we should trade Arbor Day mixes, the other traders just laughed it off but I took it as a challenge. Now these mixes we've been compiling are definitely not exclusively Jamaican and I of course cram as many ska/rocksteady/reggae tunes in all my mixes, as long as they fit the theme. But after doing some digging I came to the realization that I could in fact do an Arbor Day Mix and that I could find all the tunes I needed in my favorite genres! And don't get me wrong, I like trees as much as the next guy and I do recognize their importance so I can perfectly understand and appreciate this holiday. Well now that you've got the lowdown you may read on.

For those elsewhere in the world let me briefly explain Arbor Day. The first Arbor Day was celebrated in Nebraska in 1872 and was originally conceived by politician Julius Sterling Morton. Morton proposed that a specific day should be set aside each year to plant trees and increase the awareness of the trees' importance. Well the idea spread and by the turn of the twentieth century all the states within the still expanding U.S. had dedicated their own statewide Arbor Day celebration with varying dates to coincide with their own regional winter thaw. In 1970, President Richard Nixon named the last Friday in April as National Arbor Day. Now the holiday is celebrated in countries all around the world though the official names vary.

Here's what you're gonna hear... perfect music for tree planting!

1. The Skatalites – Hanging Tree
2. The Melodians – Little Nut Tree
3. Ras Michael – Birds In The Treetop
4. The Pioneers – Tree Oak Tree
5. Gregory Isaacs – Willow Tree
6. Lady Saw – Sycamore Tree
7. Tony Rebel – Money Tree
8. The Saints – Sleeping Trees
9. Barry Isaac – My Collie Tree
10. Wailing Souls – Ishen Tree
11. Aston “Familyman” Barrett – Herb Tree
12. Culture – Where The Tree Falls
13. Miss Lou & Linton Kwesi Johnson – Under The Coconut Tree
14. Stranger Cole & Ken Boothe – We Are Rolling (Under The Tree Of Life)
15. Black Uhuru – Willow Tree
16. Bunny Wailer – Fig Tree
17. John Brown’s Body – Tree Of Life
18. Justin Hinds – Almond Tree
19. Everton Blender – Tabernacle Tree
20. The Robotiks – It Started Under A Coconut Tree!
21. Desmond Dekker & The Aces – The Hanging Tree

Enjoy!