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RR 332CD
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Radiation Roots presents a reissue of Dillinger's Marijuana In My Brain, originally issued in 1977. In the early 1970s, top-ranking toaster Lester Bullock got his start on the El Paso sound system in the mean streets of western Kingston. Initially known as Young Capone, since he was a protégé of the better-established Dennis Alcapone, he was renamed Dillinger by Lee 'Scratch' Perry, the first producer to record a significant number of tracks with the youth. "Dub Organiser" and "Tighten Up Skank" were somewhat popular when released in 1973 and there were individual tracks cut for Phil Pratt, Augustus Pablo, Prince Tony Robinson, and Joe Gibbs, as well as Studio One, who issued his debut LP, Ready Natty Dreadie, in 1975. By then, Dillinger was recording a series of singles for hit-making producer Bunny 'Striker' Lee, particularly on Johnnie Clarke's rhythms, though recordings for Channel One and the CB 200 album were what catapulted him into overseas consciousness in 1976, once the outstanding single, "Cocaine In My Brain," reached the European pop charts. Marijuana In My Brain dates from 1977 and placed the toaster over some of the Striker's hottest rhythms, previously utilized for Clarke scorchers like "Satta" and "Poor Marcus" (along with the odd Ronnie Davis track); Clarke's reading of "Going To A Ball" is here transformed into an ode to the Bouncing Ball, then one of the most popular clubs for black Londoners, and his "African Roots" anthem gets the Dillinger treatment too. Of course, the title track was the biggest hit of the bunch, an ode to the 'wisdom weed' driven by cosmic space synth overdubs.
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RR 332LP
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LP version. Radiation Roots presents a reissue of Dillinger's Marijuana In My Brain, originally issued in 1977. In the early 1970s, top-ranking toaster Lester Bullock got his start on the El Paso sound system in the mean streets of western Kingston. Initially known as Young Capone, since he was a protégé of the better-established Dennis Alcapone, he was renamed Dillinger by Lee 'Scratch' Perry, the first producer to record a significant number of tracks with the youth. "Dub Organiser" and "Tighten Up Skank" were somewhat popular when released in 1973 and there were individual tracks cut for Phil Pratt, Augustus Pablo, Prince Tony Robinson, and Joe Gibbs, as well as Studio One, who issued his debut LP, Ready Natty Dreadie, in 1975. By then, Dillinger was recording a series of singles for hit-making producer Bunny 'Striker' Lee, particularly on Johnnie Clarke's rhythms, though recordings for Channel One and the CB 200 album were what catapulted him into overseas consciousness in 1976, once the outstanding single, "Cocaine In My Brain," reached the European pop charts. Marijuana In My Brain dates from 1977 and placed the toaster over some of the Striker's hottest rhythms, previously utilized for Clarke scorchers like "Satta" and "Poor Marcus" (along with the odd Ronnie Davis track); Clarke's reading of "Going To A Ball" is here transformed into an ode to the Bouncing Ball, then one of the most popular clubs for black Londoners, and his "African Roots" anthem gets the Dillinger treatment too. Of course, the title track was the biggest hit of the bunch, an ode to the 'wisdom weed' driven by cosmic space synth overdubs.
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RR 333CD
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Radiation Roots present a reissue of Sly & Robbie's Dubs For Tubs: A Tribute To King Tubby, originally released in 1990. Lowell Dunbar and Robert Shakespeare are the renowned Jamaican rhythm section that has worked with a range of international stars, including Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Joan Armatrading, Garland Jeffries, and countless others. They first came to know each other in the early 1970s, when both were based in rival bands playing in clubs on Kingston's Red Hills Road and started working together at Channel One studio in the mid-1970s, when Sly was musical arranger for the Revolutionaries house band and Robbie the main bassist for Bunny Lee's Aggrovators. After a stint of international touring in Peter Tosh's Word, Sound and Power band, which exposed them to the tastes and markets of overseas audiences, the pair joined forces more concertedly with their Taxi label, producing hits with Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown, Sugar Minott, and the Wailing Souls. At the same time, as the driving force behind the Compass Point All Stars, they brought Grace Jones to prominence worldwide and made Gwen Guthrie a star through reggaefied disco, and then brought Black Uhuru into the top spot in the wake of Bob Marley's passing. Then, when Jamaican music went digital with the "Sleng Teng" craze of the mid-1980s, Sly and Robbie made the shift in that direction too, becoming among the most prominent producers as the '80s gave way to the '90s. Dubs For Tubs: A Tribute To King Tubby is a digital dub salute to King Tubby, issued shortly after his terrible murder; it is mostly comprised of synthesizer re-cuts of classic Jamaican rhythms, with "Dub For Joy" being a tough re-working of the Heptones' "Love Me Girl" and "Dub To Make You Move And Groove" a take on their "Party Time"; Dennis Brown's "Here I Come" is here mutated to "Dub For Roots People" and his "Here I Come" anthem shifted into the spongy "Dub For All Seasons." An intriguing re-work of "Sleng Teng" is among the other highlights.
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RR 333LP
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LP version. Radiation Roots present a reissue of Sly & Robbie's Dubs For Tubs: A Tribute To King Tubby, originally released in 1990. Lowell Dunbar and Robert Shakespeare are the renowned Jamaican rhythm section that has worked with a range of international stars, including Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Joan Armatrading, Garland Jeffries, and countless others. They first came to know each other in the early 1970s, when both were based in rival bands playing in clubs on Kingston's Red Hills Road and started working together at Channel One studio in the mid-1970s, when Sly was musical arranger for the Revolutionaries house band and Robbie the main bassist for Bunny Lee's Aggrovators. After a stint of international touring in Peter Tosh's Word, Sound and Power band, which exposed them to the tastes and markets of overseas audiences, the pair joined forces more concertedly with their Taxi label, producing hits with Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown, Sugar Minott, and the Wailing Souls. At the same time, as the driving force behind the Compass Point All Stars, they brought Grace Jones to prominence worldwide and made Gwen Guthrie a star through reggaefied disco, and then brought Black Uhuru into the top spot in the wake of Bob Marley's passing. Then, when Jamaican music went digital with the "Sleng Teng" craze of the mid-1980s, Sly and Robbie made the shift in that direction too, becoming among the most prominent producers as the '80s gave way to the '90s. Dubs For Tubs: A Tribute To King Tubby is a digital dub salute to King Tubby, issued shortly after his terrible murder; it is mostly comprised of synthesizer re-cuts of classic Jamaican rhythms, with "Dub For Joy" being a tough re-working of the Heptones' "Love Me Girl" and "Dub To Make You Move And Groove" a take on their "Party Time"; Dennis Brown's "Here I Come" is here mutated to "Dub For Roots People" and his "Here I Come" anthem shifted into the spongy "Dub For All Seasons." An intriguing re-work of "Sleng Teng" is among the other highlights.
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RR 331CD
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Radiation Roots presents a reissue of Bob Marley and The Wailers' Soul Rebels, originally issued in 1970. Easily one of the greatest roots reggae albums of all time, Soul Rebels resulted from the intensive partnership brokered by the group and maverick producer, Lee 'Scratch' Perry. It was the first Wailers 'concept' album, conceived as a long-player based on a rebellious theme, rather than a collection of isolated singles, and the presence of the Barrett brothers in the rhythm section pointed the way for greater glories to come. The Wailers first formed as an unruly five-piece in 1963, with Junior Braithwaite as lead singer and Beverley Kelso an early member, sometimes replaced by Cherry Green. During their long tenure at Studio One, Bob Marley gradually shifted to the lead vocal role and the robust core of Marley, Peter Tosh, and Neville Livingston, aka Bunny Wailer, soon emerged as the mainstays of the group. Perry was involved with the Wailers at Studio One, using their talents for backing vocals on some of his solo work, but the partnership that yielded Soul Rebels was in an entirely different league. The title track, Tosh's anguished "400 Years and "Corner Stone" are legendary for their intense power; "It's Alright" set the template for the later "Night Shift," "My Cup" was an individual barebones reading of James Brown's "I Guess I'll Have To Cry Cry Cry," while the playful "Try Me" and "No Water" are suggestive odes. Tosh's dejected "No Sympathy" and the spirited "Soul Almighty" are other winners and the "Cloud 9" revamp "Rebel's Hop" is another joy. All killer, no filler!
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LP
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RR 331LP
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LP version. Radiation Roots presents a reissue of Bob Marley and The Wailers' Soul Rebels, originally issued in 1970. Easily one of the greatest roots reggae albums of all time, Soul Rebels resulted from the intensive partnership brokered by the group and maverick producer, Lee 'Scratch' Perry. It was the first Wailers 'concept' album, conceived as a long-player based on a rebellious theme, rather than a collection of isolated singles, and the presence of the Barrett brothers in the rhythm section pointed the way for greater glories to come. The Wailers first formed as an unruly five-piece in 1963, with Junior Braithwaite as lead singer and Beverley Kelso an early member, sometimes replaced by Cherry Green. During their long tenure at Studio One, Bob Marley gradually shifted to the lead vocal role and the robust core of Marley, Peter Tosh, and Neville Livingston, aka Bunny Wailer, soon emerged as the mainstays of the group. Perry was involved with the Wailers at Studio One, using their talents for backing vocals on some of his solo work, but the partnership that yielded Soul Rebels was in an entirely different league. The title track, Tosh's anguished "400 Years and "Corner Stone" are legendary for their intense power; "It's Alright" set the template for the later "Night Shift," "My Cup" was an individual barebones reading of James Brown's "I Guess I'll Have To Cry Cry Cry," while the playful "Try Me" and "No Water" are suggestive odes. Tosh's dejected "No Sympathy" and the spirited "Soul Almighty" are other winners and the "Cloud 9" revamp "Rebel's Hop" is another joy. All killer, no filler!
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RR 317CD
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Radiation Roots present a reissue of Jah Stitch's Watch Your Step Youthman, originally released in 1977. After a disjointed childhood that saw him raised largely by two aunts between eastern Kingston and rural St Mary, Melbourne James became the toaster Jah Stitch after running away from home and linking with the Spanglers street gang, whose Princess Street headquarters was also the base of the popular Tipper Tone sound system. After cutting his teeth on Tipper Tone alongside Big Youth and Dr Alimantado, friction over financial recompense saw him forming the rival Black Harmony set in 1975, but because the new sound was based in a district that was on the other side of the political divide, Stitch was shot in the face at point-blank range, his miraculous survival immortalized in the Bunny Lee-produced hit, "No Dread Can Dead", which became the title track of Stitch's debut album. Watch Your Step Youthman was the follow-up set released by Bunny in 1977, and again places Jah Stitch's understated Rasta-oriented chanting over a set of rock-hard Aggrovators rhythms, recorded with Johnny Clarke, John Holt, Derrick Morgan, and others.
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RR 328CD
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Radiation Roots presents a reissue of Tommy McCook, the self-titled debut by the legendary Skatalites saxophonist, originally released in 1969. Known on its initial release as The Skatalite, this is, simply put, a collection of some of the greatest ska tunes ever put to tape. Recorded by Arthur 'Duke' Reid at his legendary Treasure Isle Studios, these classic recordings feature Roland Alphonso, Don Drummond, Rico Rodriguez, and all the original Skatalites. The album also features some classic vocal appearances from some of the biggest names in ska history including Justin Hines, Stranger Cole, and Millicent 'Patsy' Todd, a perfect blend of Skatalites instrumentals and vocal tracks. Ska is the heartbeat that created the worldwide cultural phenomenon that is reggae music and at the very center of the ska universe you will find Tommy McCook and The Skatalites. Here, Radiations Roots presents some of their most historical and influential recordings.
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RR 328LP
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LP version. Radiation Roots presents a reissue of Tommy McCook, the self-titled debut by the legendary Skatalites saxophonist, originally released in 1969. Known on its initial release as The Skatalite, this is, simply put, a collection of some of the greatest ska tunes ever put to tape. Recorded by Arthur 'Duke' Reid at his legendary Treasure Isle Studios, these classic recordings feature Roland Alphonso, Don Drummond, Rico Rodriguez, and all the original Skatalites. The album also features some classic vocal appearances from some of the biggest names in ska history including Justin Hines, Stranger Cole, and Millicent 'Patsy' Todd, a perfect blend of Skatalites instrumentals and vocal tracks. Ska is the heartbeat that created the worldwide cultural phenomenon that is reggae music and at the very center of the ska universe you will find Tommy McCook and The Skatalites. Here, Radiations Roots presents some of their most historical and influential recordings.
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RR 324CD
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Radiation Roots present a reissue of Vibes Of Barry Brown, originally released in 1981. Barry Brown is one of the enigmatic roots reggae vocalists that rose up from the sound system circuit and talent shows of western Kingston, which has always formed the bedrock of Jamaican popular music. Horace Andy was an obvious vocal influence, but Brown's phrasing was distinctly different, his slurring interjections leaning towards the dancehall style of the future. During the late 1970s, tons of material by the singer surfaced from recording sessions for producers such as Bunny Lee, Sugar Minott, Carlton Patterson, and the Hookim Brothers at Channel One, and by 1980, Brown was also issuing finely-crafted self-produced work. Vibes Of Barry Brown, an album of deep roots reggae, surfaced in limited quantity in 1981 via Sonic Sounds' Gorgon imprint, the sub-label reserved for producers that lacked an established label of their own, and although production is not specifically credited, the album is likely self-produced work, since Brown is credited as sole songwriter, just as he was on the self-produced Cool Pon Your Corner LP from 1980. The albums are stylistically similar too, with Brown singing over hard roots rhythms, most likely laid at Channel One with the core of the Roots Radics, and voiced and mixed at King Tubby's.
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RR 324LP
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LP version. Radiation Roots present a reissue of Vibes Of Barry Brown, originally released in 1981. Barry Brown is one of the enigmatic roots reggae vocalists that rose up from the sound system circuit and talent shows of western Kingston, which has always formed the bedrock of Jamaican popular music. Horace Andy was an obvious vocal influence, but Brown's phrasing was distinctly different, his slurring interjections leaning towards the dancehall style of the future. During the late 1970s, tons of material by the singer surfaced from recording sessions for producers such as Bunny Lee, Sugar Minott, Carlton Patterson, and the Hookim Brothers at Channel One, and by 1980, Brown was also issuing finely-crafted self-produced work. Vibes Of Barry Brown, an album of deep roots reggae, surfaced in limited quantity in 1981 via Sonic Sounds' Gorgon imprint, the sub-label reserved for producers that lacked an established label of their own, and although production is not specifically credited, the album is likely self-produced work, since Brown is credited as sole songwriter, just as he was on the self-produced Cool Pon Your Corner LP from 1980. The albums are stylistically similar too, with Brown singing over hard roots rhythms, most likely laid at Channel One with the core of the Roots Radics, and voiced and mixed at King Tubby's.
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RR 327CD
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Radiation Roots presents a reissue of Dennis Alcapone's 1977 album, Investigator Rock. Dennis Alcapone was one of the first sound system deejays to rise to island-wide prominence, following the incredible success of U Roy's fluid toasting style, which took Jamaica by storm during the late 1960s. Alcapone, who was born Dennis Smith in the country town of Culloden in Westmoreland, southwestern Jamaica, first made an impact on a sound system called El Paso, based in the rough-n-ready west Kingston district of Waltham Park. Initial recordings for Keith Hudson were strictly underground, but an album for Studio One and popular work for Duke Reid significantly boosted his profile. Dennis Alcapone worked closely with hit-making producer Bunny 'Striker' Lee from the early 1970s, establishing a friendship that has lasted to the present day; Investigator Rock, which dates from 1977, sees the toaster riding Striker's rockers-styled hits, voiced by the likes of Cornell Campbell, John Holt, and Johnny Clarke.
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RR 327LP
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LP version. Radiation Roots presents a reissue of Dennis Alcapone's 1977 album, Investigator Rock. Dennis Alcapone was one of the first sound system deejays to rise to island-wide prominence, following the incredible success of U Roy's fluid toasting style, which took Jamaica by storm during the late 1960s. Alcapone, who was born Dennis Smith in the country town of Culloden in Westmoreland, southwestern Jamaica, first made an impact on a sound system called El Paso, based in the rough-n-ready west Kingston district of Waltham Park. Initial recordings for Keith Hudson were strictly underground, but an album for Studio One and popular work for Duke Reid significantly boosted his profile. Dennis Alcapone worked closely with hit-making producer Bunny 'Striker' Lee from the early 1970s, establishing a friendship that has lasted to the present day; Investigator Rock, which dates from 1977, sees the toaster riding Striker's rockers-styled hits, voiced by the likes of Cornell Campbell, John Holt, and Johnny Clarke.
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RR 319LP
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LP version. Radiation Roots present a reissue of Tetrack's Trouble, originally released in 1983. Roots harmony trio Tetrack formed in the Mountain View area of east Kingston in the early 1970s, borrowing the name from a local sound system (which had taken the moniker in reference to the Tetrarchy established by the Roman Emperor Diocletian in the third century). Although Paul Mangaroo was the primary lead singer, Carlton Hines wrote most of their material and was the real figurehead of the group; Hines and Dave Harvey were typically employed as backing vocalists, but each also sang lead. A mutual friend introduced them to the visionary producer Augustus Pablo, leading to impressive debut recordings at Lee Perry's Black Ark and the stunning debut LP, Let's Get Started (1978). Despite the album's widespread acclaim, the lack of ready finance and slow pace at Pablo's Rockers stable led the group to shift base to Gussie Clarke's Music Works in 1983, with Hines also being employed as a songwriter for other artists there. The resultant album Trouble was cut for Gussie with Sly And Robbie, the engineer Soljie, and a range of other stellar players, including guitarist Willie Lindo, the material issued in extended "disco mix" format, to make the most of its captivating rhythms; British and Japanese editions complimented its initial Jamaican release.
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RR 325LP
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Horace Swaby, known as Augustus Pablo, was a Jamaican roots reggae and dub record producer, melodica player, and keyboardist. In addition to popularizing the use of melodica in reggae music he also wrote and produced some of the most well-known and appreciated dub and instrumental reggae records of the 1970s and '80s. This fiery set featuring Augustus Pablo with his High Times Band was recorded live at the Greek Theater in Berkeley, California on October 5, 1984 to an appreciative audience of hippies and heads. Radiation Roots presents this beautifully packaged and mastered live roots reggae/dub classic. Originally released in 2014 on Cleopatra. Limited edition yellow vinyl; Edition of 500.
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2LP
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RR 326LP
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Reggae legend Gregory Isaacs blows the roof off of Hollywood's Roxy Theatre with the help of superstar backing band, The Roots Radics. Recorded in 1982, to an adoring crowd of rastas, punks, freaks, and second wave ska kids, Isaacs in in top form during one of his earliest USA live performances. One of the heroes of roots reggae, Isaacs plays many of his classics including "Slave Master", "My Number One", "Soon Forward", "Top Ten", and more. The Cool Ruler of reggae lays it down here. Limited edition of 500.
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RR 322LP
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LP version. Radiation Roots present a reissue of U Roy's The Originator, originally released in 1990. Ewart Beckford, aka Daddy U Roy, changed the focus of Jamaican popular music by turning the sound system deejay from an incidental figure that told jokes in between records and made announcements about where the next dance would be held, to a major star whose rhyming toasts were as important as the lyrics for any singer. U Roy's command on the microphone on sets like Dickies Dynamic and Sir George the Atomic paved the way for his influential residency on King Tubby's Hi Fi. Keith Hudson, Lee "Scratch" Perry, and Bunny "Striker" Lee were some of the first producers to bring him into the studio, but the breakthrough hits came for Duke Reid in 1970, with Roy toasting over old rock steady rhythms. Work for Prince Tony subsequently brought him international fame through a contract with Virgin, but he continued to record grassroots efforts at home. The Originator gathers some of the greatest tracks U Roy cut for Striker, voiced as usual at King Tubby's studio over hot hits by Johnny Clarke, Cornell Campbell, Gregory Isaacs, and others; "King Tubby's Skank" celebrates Tubby himself.
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RR 317LP
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LP version. Radiation Roots present a reissue of Jah Stitch's Watch Your Step Youthman, originally released in 1977. After a disjointed childhood that saw him raised largely by two aunts between eastern Kingston and rural St Mary, Melbourne James became the toaster Jah Stitch after running away from home and linking with the Spanglers street gang, whose Princess Street headquarters was also the base of the popular Tipper Tone sound system. After cutting his teeth on Tipper Tone alongside Big Youth and Dr Alimantado, friction over financial recompense saw him forming the rival Black Harmony set in 1975, but because the new sound was based in a district that was on the other side of the political divide, Stitch was shot in the face at point-blank range, his miraculous survival immortalized in the Bunny Lee-produced hit, "No Dread Can Dead", which became the title track of Stitch's debut album. Watch Your Step Youthman was the follow-up set released by Bunny in 1977, and again places Jah Stitch's understated Rasta-oriented chanting over a set of rock-hard Aggrovators rhythms, recorded with Johnny Clarke, John Holt, Derrick Morgan, and others.
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RR 321LP
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LP version. Radiation Roots present a reissue of Delroy Wilson's Worth Your Weight In Gold, originally released in 1984. Delroy Wilson, one of Jamaica's best loved vocalists, got his start with Coxsone Dodd's Studio One label, scoring his first hit when he was just 15 years old. His career soon took off and Wilson spent most of the following two decades producing hits for Dodd, as well as Sonia Pottinger, and Bunny Lee. These six tracks, recorded at Channel One and produced by Augustus "Gussie" Clarke, feature the unbeatable drums and bass of Sly And Robbie.
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RR 323LP
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LP version. Radiation Roots present a reissue of Judge Dread's Dreadmania (It's All In The Mind), originally released in 1972. Dreadmania (It's All In The Mind) is Judge Dread's (nee Alexander Hughes) very first album, originally released by Trojan Records in 1972, and is a confirmed ska and skinhead reggae classic. The least likely of reggae stars, the white, Brixton-raised Dread had previously served as a club bouncer (where he met Derrick Morgan and Prince Buster), wrestler, bodyguard, DJ, and debt collector for Trojan Records, before hitting it big in 1972 with "Big Six" -- inspired by Prince Buster's classic "Big 5" -- which reached number 11 on the UK chart and sold nearly a half a million copies. On the back of that hit, and its follow up "Big Seven", the label quickly assembled an album to cash in on their success, and its title, Dreadmania, aptly summed up the state of the nation, as Judge Dread fever gripped the island. Of course, the two hits were included within, as was "Oh She Is a Big Girl Now", which was subsequently spun off as a single, and "Dr. Kitch", which later reappeared as a B side. Appropriately enough, the Chuck Berry hit "Ding A Ling" was covered, and just in case there were any remaining doubts about the album's contents, there's even a track titled "Donkey Dick". "It's all in the mind/It's all in the mind/The rudeness it's all in the mind," the Judge ruled on the opening track. Perhaps, but Dread could make even a nun blush. He was the king of the double entendre, his clever wordplay and wit a revelation for the staid British. But he also captured the imagination of Jamaicans. Dread wrapped his rude lyrics within perfect reggae backdrops, with many of his songs built around classic Jamaican rhythms, adding further authenticity to his sound.
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RR 323CD
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Radiation Roots present a reissue of Judge Dread's Dreadmania (It's All In The Mind), originally released in 1972. Dreadmania (It's All In The Mind) is Judge Dread's (nee Alexander Hughes) very first album, originally released by Trojan Records in 1972, and is a confirmed ska and skinhead reggae classic. The least likely of reggae stars, the white, Brixton-raised Dread had previously served as a club bouncer (where he met Derrick Morgan and Prince Buster), wrestler, bodyguard, DJ, and debt collector for Trojan Records, before hitting it big in 1972 with "Big Six" -- inspired by Prince Buster's classic "Big 5" -- which reached number 11 on the UK chart and sold nearly a half a million copies. On the back of that hit, and its follow up "Big Seven", the label quickly assembled an album to cash in on their success, and its title, Dreadmania, aptly summed up the state of the nation, as Judge Dread fever gripped the island. Of course, the two hits were included within, as was "Oh She Is a Big Girl Now", which was subsequently spun off as a single, and "Dr. Kitch", which later reappeared as a B side. Appropriately enough, the Chuck Berry hit "Ding A Ling" was covered, and just in case there were any remaining doubts about the album's contents, there's even a track titled "Donkey Dick". "It's all in the mind/It's all in the mind/The rudeness it's all in the mind," the Judge ruled on the opening track. Perhaps, but Dread could make even a nun blush. He was the king of the double entendre, his clever wordplay and wit a revelation for the staid British. But he also captured the imagination of Jamaicans. Dread wrapped his rude lyrics within perfect reggae backdrops, with many of his songs built around classic Jamaican rhythms, adding further authenticity to his sound.
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RR 322CD
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Radiation Roots present a reissue of U Roy's The Originator, originally released in 1990. Ewart Beckford, aka Daddy U Roy, changed the focus of Jamaican popular music by turning the sound system deejay from an incidental figure that told jokes in between records and made announcements about where the next dance would be held, to a major star whose rhyming toasts were as important as the lyrics for any singer. U Roy's command on the microphone on sets like Dickies Dynamic and Sir George the Atomic paved the way for his influential residency on King Tubby's Hi Fi. Keith Hudson, Lee "Scratch" Perry, and Bunny "Striker" Lee were some of the first producers to bring him into the studio, but the breakthrough hits came for Duke Reid in 1970, with Roy toasting over old rock steady rhythms. Work for Prince Tony subsequently brought him international fame through a contract with Virgin, but he continued to record grassroots efforts at home. The Originator gathers some of the greatest tracks U Roy cut for Striker, voiced as usual at King Tubby's studio over hot hits by Johnny Clarke, Cornell Campbell, Gregory Isaacs, and others; "King Tubby's Skank" celebrates Tubby himself.
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RR 319CD
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Radiation Roots present a reissue of Tetrack's Trouble, originally released in 1983. Roots harmony trio Tetrack formed in the Mountain View area of east Kingston in the early 1970s, borrowing the name from a local sound system (which had taken the moniker in reference to the Tetrarchy established by the Roman Emperor Diocletian in the third century). Although Paul Mangaroo was the primary lead singer, Carlton Hines wrote most of their material and was the real figurehead of the group; Hines and Dave Harvey were typically employed as backing vocalists, but each also sang lead. A mutual friend introduced them to the visionary producer Augustus Pablo, leading to impressive debut recordings at Lee Perry's Black Ark and the stunning debut LP, Let's Get Started (1978). Despite the album's widespread acclaim, the lack of ready finance and slow pace at Pablo's Rockers stable led the group to shift base to Gussie Clarke's Music Works in 1983, with Hines also being employed as a songwriter for other artists there. The resultant album Trouble was cut for Gussie with Sly And Robbie, the engineer Soljie, and a range of other stellar players, including guitarist Willie Lindo, the material issued in extended "disco mix" format, to make the most of its captivating rhythms; British and Japanese editions complimented its initial Jamaican release.
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CD
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RR 321CD
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Radiation Roots present a reissue of Delroy Wilson's Worth Your Weight In Gold, originally released in 1984. Delroy Wilson, one of Jamaica's best loved vocalists, got his start with Coxsone Dodd's Studio One label, scoring his first hit when he was just 15 years old. His career soon took off and Wilson spent most of the following two decades producing hits for Dodd, as well as Sonia Pottinger, and Bunny Lee. These six tracks, recorded at Channel One and produced by Augustus "Gussie" Clarke, feature the unbeatable drums and bass of Sly And Robbie.
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LP
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RR 320LP
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LP version. Radiation Roots present a reissue of Barry Brown's Step It Up Youthman, originally released in 1979. Roots reggae vocalist Barry Brown had a very distinctive singing style. His most obvious role model was the fragile tenor of Horace Andy, but Brown gave his delivery further distinctiveness with a range of wordless slurs, some of which were doubtless inspired by the creatures of the animal kingdom. As with his friend and fellow west Kingston resident, Johnny Clarke, Brown got his start in the many talent shows that were regularly held in the downtown Kingston area, and also got early experience on west Kingston sound systems such as Tape Tone, which gave rise to Barrington Levy, Triston Palmer, Sammy Dread, and Rod Taylor among others; Taylor and Brown even had a short-lived duo called The Aliens for a time. Such was his widespread popularity that several different producers all claimed to have been the first to capture his voice on tape, but it is undeniable that Bunny Lee was the first to bring Brown to prominence through the outstanding 1978 hit, "Step It Up Youthman", an optimistic meditation on the merits of self-determination, which led to this popular debut album of the same name; as with Johnny Clarke's 1975 album Enter Into His Gates With Praise (RR 318CD/LP), Step It Up Youthman mixed hard-hitting songs of Rastafari devotion with well-executed cover tunes.
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