Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Day 262 of 365 Day Jamaican Music Challenge - Frankie Jones - Haul And Galong

I was looking through the 259 songs in the "playlist" thus far and came to the realization that I didn't have enough George Phang representation!   The music that Phang produced throughout the mid 80s and released on his Powerhouse label with Sly & Robbie doing the backing are some of my favorites and for the most part don't get the credit they deserve.  Right at the dawn of the digital era, Sly & Robbie made music that had all the feel of the fast approaching "computerized" tracks which for the most part put a lot of studio musicians out of work but still maintained a sense of roots.  Their reworking of the Studio One and other classic riddims remain in the same bloodline as what Channel One, Jah Thomas, Linval Thompson, Junjo Lawes and The Roots Radics had done just 5 or 6 years earlier.  To me, the stuff that came out of Powerhouse can best be compared to rub-a-dub on Red Bull because the tempos are noticeably faster than what came before but, the heart is still there.  It still keeps its human element before digital made dancehall sound like Q*Bert.  Now don't get me wrong, I have an appreciation for digi but nothing can compare to reggae before studio economics and cost effectiveness ripped the drummers, the bassists, the guitarists. the percussionists and the horn sections from behind the mics and out on the streets of Kingston on their collective asses.  But enough about that let's get to today's tune!  "Haul And Galong" by singer Frankie Jones, who got his start in the late 70s at Channel One, was originally released on his 1986 album Old Fire Stick on Powerhouse.  Riding the Taxi Gang's take on the Lecturer riddim, this is one smooth tune!

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