Dread Beat an’ Blood – Linton Kwesi Johnson (1978)

“Dread Beat an’ Blood is an album by Poet And The Roots released in 1978 on the Frontline label. It was produced by Vivian Weathers and Linton Kwesi Johnson. The Poet is dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson and The Roots are Dennis Bovell, Jah Bunny, Desmond Craig, Winston Curniffe, Everald Forrest, Floyd Lawson, John Varnom, Lila Weathers and Vivian Weathers. Most of the tracks first appeared in Johnson’s 1975 book of poetry Dread Beat an’ Blood. This album was the result of collaboration between Johnson, who had been active as a journalist and reggae critic as well as a poet, and Bovell a dub master and record producer. The combination of Bovell’s heavy dub rhythms and Johnson’s monotone intonation of his poetry created a whole new genre of reggae: dub poetry.”
Wikipedia

“The title pretty much says it all. This is a stunning debut and an indication of the great things that were to come. Johnson’s debut is longer on spoken-word pieces than it is on poetry and music, but Dennis Bovell’s influence can be felt in these eight tracks. Songs such as ‘It Dread Inna Inglan,’ which describes the death of George Lindo at the hands of racists, or ‘Five Nights of Bleeding,’ which recounts tales of British police’s capricious use of violence against London’s West Indian population, are moving and confrontational mini-masterpieces of anger and a man searching for justice in a country that seems all to willing too deny it to him and other Afro-Brits. A powerful and compelling record.”
allmusic

YouTube: Dread Beat an’ Blood (Live), Song of Blood, Doun De Road, Man Free (For Darcus Howe), It Dread Inna Inglan (For George Lindo), Come Wi Goh Dung Deh, All Wi Doin Is Defendin

My heart my soul – Lloyd & The Groovers / Diplomats – Going along (1967)

YouTube: Lloyd & The Groovers – My heart my soul , Diplomats – Going along

Big Youth – Screaming Target (1973)

“Achieving his first success on wax with ‘S 90 Skank’ for producer Keith Hudson in 1972, Big Youth recorded Screaming Target, his debut full-length, one year later for Gussie Clarke. That album, along with a handful of 45s from the period, was largely responsible for bringing the DJ art form forward after U-Roy’s innovations. Here, in place of hip, jive-derived phrases, listeners find Big Youth ruminating on themes that exemplified the new consciousness of the 1970s. The set-opening title track, for instance, finds the DJ promoting literacy and general positivity, Youth-style, over K.C. White’s ‘No No No.’ Similarly, he chants down slavery and calls for equal pay for equal work on ‘Honesty’.”
allmusic

“When people hear the term ‘island music,’ most immediately think of the reggae sound, and go no further in the thought process. Though the reggae style dominated for years, the reality is, like anywhere else in the world, there many other musical styles in play beyond just reggae. In many ways, the dancehall/dub style of music had more impact throughout the world than reggae, as it can be seen as the catalyst for the SKA movement, hip hop scene, and had a large influence on many areas of the punk scene as well. Though the dub style is based in reggae, and it often shares the political and social overtones, the dub style has its own distinctive feel, and produced its own list of music legends. Among this list is one of the loudest and most well respected voices in the history of Jamaican music, Big Youth. Though he gained the nickname long before he picked up a microphone, Big Youth (real name: Manley Augustus Buchanan) has one of the most distinctive sounds ever, and has been cited as an influence by artists across genres, perhaps most notably, The Clash. Setting the standard in vocal delivery, lyrical content, as well as DJing style and skills, few artists share as much talent as Big Youth, and his resulting albums remain some of the most stunning ever recorded. After gaining success though a few hit singles, Big Youth entered the studio and recorded his monumental 1972 debut record, Screaming Target.”
The Daily Guru

YouTube: Screaming Target, Pride and Joy Rock, Be Careful, Tipper Tone Rocking, One of these fine days, Screaming Target (Version), Solomon A Gunday, Honesty, I Am Alright,
Concrete Jungle

Horace Martin – Beautiful Dream / Version (1979)

YouTube: Beautiful Dream, Beautiful Dream version

Speed – There’s A Train / Blue Moon (1971)

YouTube: There’s A Train, Blue Moon. Bullet.

Lloyd Daley’s Matador Productions, 1968-1972

“Like many of reggae’s best producers, Lloyd Daley remains virtually unknown outside of Jamaica, though his name and that of his Matador label will evoke smiles of recognition among hardcore reggae fans. Heartbeat was the first American label to release a compilation of classic Matador sides, and the result is spectacular. There are many predictable gems from famous artists — notably U Roy, who toasts in classic fashion on ‘Sound of the Wise,’ and Alton Ellis, whose ‘Back to Africa’ is one of the truly archetypal repatriation anthems — but even more impressive are the stellar contributions from the relative unknowns. Perhaps the best track on the album is the deeply moving ‘Cholera’ by the Jesters, a beautiful and melancholy depiction of the horror of contagious disease in a tropical climate; on the lighter side are equally fine songs by obscure harmony groups like the Creators (‘Bad Name’) and the Caribbeans (‘Let Me Walk By’), and the exquisite ‘Repatriation’ by Audley Rollins.”
allmusic (Video)
“Lloyd Daley also known as Matador (born 12 July 1939, Kingston, Jamaica) is a Jamaican electronic technician, sound system pioneer and reggae producer. Daley worked as a linotype apprentice for short time, while attending Kingston Technical High School, where he graduated in electronics. He built his first amplifier to boost the signal strength of his army surplus walkie-talkie, and he converted this amplifier into a sound system amplifier, and in 1956 started his ‘Lloyd’s the Matador’ sound system at Victoria Avenue, one of the first sound systems in Jamaica, named after bullfighters.”
Wikipedia

YouTube: Bongo Nyah – Little Roy, LLOYD CHARMERS – ZYLON, Death A Come – Lloyd Robinson, Let Me Walk By – The Caribbeans, AUDLEY ROLLINS – Repatriation, Dennis Brown – Things In Life, Owe Me No Pay Me – The Ethiopians, Back To Africa- Alton Ellis, The Viceroys – Take your hand from my neck, THE SCORCHERS – Ugly man, Deliver Us – Blake Boy

Leroy Brown – Prayer Of Peace (1976)

YouTube: Prayer Of Peace, Kismet 7″, Leroy Turner.

Herman Chin Loy – Aquarius Dub (1973)

“… It was 1968 when Ruddy Redwoods went to Duke Reids to cut the first dub plate but the engineer accidentally left the vocal track out. The instrumental track was played for the crowd at the dance that night and was a huge hit, so much so that Byron Lee when to King Tubby the next day to tell him he needed to make some instrumentals. King Tubby started playing around with the vocals and the instruments in the mix, leaving the vocals out, pumping up the bass, and basically early dub was born. But these instrumentals were not Dub. It wasn’t till Little Roy’s ‘Hard Fighter’ recorded in March 1971 was released that the first vocal record with a full dub version on the flip B side existed. Soon must singles had a dub version on the other side of the vocal side. The popularity was there and innovative Jamaican mixing engineers were ready to start the new age of Dub Albums. But the first so called dub albums were really instrumental albums since they did not contain any special effects or sampling.”
What is the First Dub Album? (Video – Jah Jah Dub)
“‘Aquarius Rock’ is a collection of twentyfour tracks by different artists produced by Herman Chin Loy in the mid 70’s. As happens with such collections, the Yardie-Reggae policy is that of fileing the release under the producer’s name. So here we are trying to tell the story of how ‘Augustus Pablo’ started a new sound with and by Augustus Pablo. Herman Chin Loy was born in 1948 in the Trelawny Parish.”
yardie’s reggae collection

YouTube: Vinyl Side 1, Vinyl Side 2

Junior Delgado – 12″ Famine / Dub (1978)

YouTube: 12″ Famine / Dub. Produced by: Dennis Brown.

Prince Buster & The All Stars – The Hunter/Little Joe (1965)

“… Typical Prince Buster intro, replete with barking dogs and gun-shots. The Allstars are playing tight and tough. Dizzy Johnny Moore takes one of his finest tommy-gun Jazz solos (see here for an interview with the great trumpeter), but, the highlight is the ultra-funky guitar of Ernie Ranglin (?). I would ring the Prince and ask him to confirm the identity of the guitarist, but, last time I caught him at home he put on a high voice and pretended to be the housekeeper…long live The Prince.”
Diddy Wah
“The B Side of this record (second half of above sound clip) is named after a character on the U.S. television show Bonanza which was popular during this time period. This tune was also covered in 1965 by Carlos Malcolm and titled ‘Bonanza Ska’.”
Off Beat Ska

YouTube: The Hunter, Little Joe