things and time will tell.

Raphael Green & Dr. Alimantado / Hugo Blackwood & Dr. Alimantado – Rasta Train / Reggae Music Upsetter – no catalog number Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM Jamaica, 1977 info I got a really nice email the other day from a good friend who I haven't seen in far too long due to a conspiracy of the pandemic, many miles, work commitments, and my pathologic inability to pick up the phone and talk to people. (Sorry.) He told me that listening to the Police And Thieves 12" that I posted recently had sent him down a Lee Perry rabbit hole. So a contribution to that particular obsession... This 1977 single has Lee Perry producing two very different songs with two obscure singers, each paired with the great deejay, Dr. Alimantado for these extended 12" disco mixes. The A side features Raphael Green and the good Doctor on the upbeat Rasta Train . Backing vocal "shoobee doobee doo" harmonies might be from the Heptones? It would have been right around the same time that they we

Junior Murvin ‎– Police And Thieves Island Records ‎– 12WIP 6539 Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM, Single, UK, 1980 info Junior Murvin's Police And Thieves has to be one of the most memorable pieces of reggae songwriting ever. Urgent lyrics delivered with the gentleness of Murvin's unmistakable Curtis-Mayfield-in-JA falsetto and the production magic worked up by Lee Perry on the Upsetters' backing track combine to make something special. It's one of the reggae songs that everyone would know if there was any justice in this world. Of course, the lack of justice in this world inspired the lyrics when Junior Murvin and Scratch wrote this in 1976, then quickly recorded the single at Perry's Black Ark studio. The lyrics tell of gang violence and even worse police brutality. The words were clearly spilling out of the Kingston headlines of the day, but they've also tragically proven timeless. New versions of this still get cut every few years, easily translating to different c

Aaliyah ‎– Rock The Boat Label: Blackground Entertainment ‎– 72438-38814-7-5, EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single, US, 2001 Info DJ Still Life ‎– Try Otra Vez BSTRD Boots ‎– BJX7:10 Vinyl, 7", US, 2011 Info A friend recently mentioned Aaliyah holding a special place in her heart, so I was very happy when I actually managed to hunt these down as I sorted through a stack of singles the next day. First up, two of her hits on a 45, helpfully labeled "FOR JUKEBOXES ONLY!" (I don't remember real jukeboxes that played vinyl still being much of a thing by 2001. What diner was playing the latest by Aaliyah if you popped in a quarter? And what would they be playing if we went there for lunch this weekend?) Rock The Boat  is a great track, but it's More Than A Woman on the flip that really gets me. Aaliyah is pretty much at her best with a killer hook, pounding drums, the squelchy synth bass and strings... Some of Timbaland's sci-fi funk fo