What I'm Listening To: December

Peter Broggs - “Jah Golden Throne” [Jah Warrior Records - 2000]

I didn’t have to dig back too far to find this absolute GEM of an album from Jah Warrior, the once mighty label from out of the UK. Peter Broggs is one of a very small group of artists who I just tend to make sure I’m listening to something from (others would be people like Yami Bolo, Batch and Ras Army as of late) as I almost always pick up something new from them on each and every spin. Lately, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying ”Jah Golden Throne” from Steve Mosco and company. This wasn’t Broggs’ best piece of work, I acknowledge that, but it’s always been one of my personal favourites. With a big big new version of ‘Jah Voice Is Calling’, ‘I Put My Trust In Jah’, 'Jah Is Mighty In Battle', ‘Rasta Nah Lose Him Culture’ (TEARS!), ‘Lef Babylon’, ‘Hail Him’, ‘Warning’ . . . You know what? Maybe I should take that back. Maybe it was one of his bests!

Black Dillinger - “Live & Learn” [MKZWO Records - 2007]

It’s easy to say that it must’ve been those two nights two or three weeks ago when his latest album, ”Love Life”, was absolutely MURDERING my players that brought the debut release of South Afrikan Reggae star, Black Dillinger, ”Live & Learn” back into my sights. In no way was this album as complete or as . . . FUN as it’s successor (when you listen to one after the other, the difference is SO obvious), but it also wasn’t AWFUL either. Today, the highlights on the album have perhaps changed (and again, my expectations are a bit higher for Dillinger these days than a couple of years ago), but I still think tunes such as ‘Dangerous’ alongside Vido Jelashe, ‘Dem A Wonder’, ‘Jah Jah Love’ (LOVE that ridiculous riddim) ‘Sinking Sand’ (especially that one) and a few others (like ‘Mama’) (Hey Mama!) are certified big tunes, regardless of the album they appear on.

Lutan Fyah - “Healthy Lifestyle” [VP Records - 2006]

“I know there’s a thief in Jah Garden
They only come to spoil Jah Jah Harvest”

The Xterminator produced ”Healthy Lifestyle” is an album I very much have a ‘hot & cold’ relationship with. I can remember when it first dropped and although I was pretty impressed at the time (it wouldn’t have been hard to be impressed at that time), I certainly wasn’t blown away by what I heard and soon after the album pretty much fell out of players and out of my favour as well. Over the last year or so, however, it’s slowly been creeping back to me, and it is outstanding because it’s almost like Lutan Fyah released a new album to my ears (instead of not taking off ALL of 2010, which is what he did) It’s not his best (I’m sure this time) and you would’ve hoped for that for his debut on VP Records, but what it is, is typically high level material from one of modern Roots Reggae’s greatest and most unquestionable lyricists. Every tune isn’t stellar (I don’t particularly like ‘You Can Do It’ at all), but you can drop in at almost any point of the album and hear something powerful being said - You can pretty much say the same thing for the Fyah’s entire career.

Peter Tosh - “No Nuclear War” [EMI - org. 1987, re. 2002]

There’s no surprise at all why I went rummaging through my embarrassingly small collection of Peter Tosh albums in early November - Early next year we will FINALLY be treated to the release of the LOOOOOOOOONG awaited ”Bushman Sings The Bush Doctor” tribute album to Tosh by Bushman (with February 15 supposedly being the actual date). The surprise is why I eventually settled on ”No Nuclear War” which just happens to be the final album Tosh was to release before his September 11, 1987 death (just days before actually), because this one, while certainly not horrible, wasn’t amongst his finest work. The original eight track set ( and the re-release with nine) pretty much only features three songs that I like . . . Did I say “like”??? I mean LOVE in every possible way. There’s the misty-eyed ‘In My Song’ which is beautiful, ‘Nah Goa Jail’ which is such a SIMPLE herbalist tune that the fact that it is as dazzling as it is comes as another surprise and of course arguably my favourite Peter Tosh tune ever is on the album, ‘Vampire’. Hopefully Bushman sings at least the latter (although he kind of tried that on ”My Meditation/A Better Place” with downright DISASTROUS results), but I am WELL looking forward to that album.

Riddim Driven: Diesel [VP Records - 2002]

Awful. Bloody awful (biggup Sherman) in almost every way. You know that you’ve made a really bad riddim when just about every artist you choose to voice it sounds off-beat and you don’t voice rubbish artist after rubbish artist, but some big names. Well, that’s exactly what happened with Peter Jackson and Rattler Records, but it wasn’t because his riddim, the Diesel was BAD, because it wasn’t, it was HEAVY (incidentally Rattler was also the name behind the most ‘difficult’ Trafalga Riddim as well), but with fifteen songs on the riddim’s album, it had maybe four tunes which were at least decent. Of course, the greatest was ‘Wosen’ from Kartel (then still spelled Vybz Cartel).

“Dem no got no girls like mine
Nor girls my kind
Whether down to di minute or up to di time
All the time
Some time
More time
Less time
Some bwoy a Joe Give, but mi ah Joe Grind”

Also doing well was Bounty Killer with ‘Chicken Head’, unfortunately the tune also featured the underrated Angel Doolas who wasn’t in a fine form but was annoying, Ward 21 on ‘Topping’ and Shadu (remember Shadu???) with ‘Money’. That’s it! I think Ele’s tune was a hit, ‘Passa Passa’, but it was bad and others such as Anthony Cruz, Vegas, of course Bling Dawg and Galaxy P, Bugsy Malone (remember Bugsy Malone??? He’s now Thugsy Malone) and even Mad Cobra and LMS with Morgan Heritage - All of them just missed the mark, but still draw this one for ’Wosen’.

Treason - “Word on The Street” [VP Records - 2003]

In retrospect . . . I have absolutely no idea what in the hell would have caused VP Records to take a chance on a pretty unknown trio named Treason (now named 3Suns), but also in retrospect, I’m pretty glad they did. Their debut, ”Word on The Street”, was probably one of the first Soca albums that I bought and back then at least, with tunes such as ‘Carnival Darling’, ’By The Bar’ with Bunji Garlin, ’Muddy Angels’, ’Dread Angels’ also with Garlin (and over the Tempted to Touch riddim) which is probably my favourite song these days and definitely Karnamania, I really enjoyed it. Not so much these days because I’m well spoiled and I probably haven’t like a 3Suns song in two or three seasons now, but it definitely helped to reopen a personal gate for me and to that end, it and 3Suns’ later album, ”Definitely” from a couple of years on, will always be kind of special for me. Just not very good anymore . . . although still pretty fun!