Upsetter Disco Jam
Raphael Green & Dr. Alimantado / Hugo Blackwood & Dr. Alimantado – Rasta Train / Reggae MusicUpsetter – no catalog numberVinyl, 12", 45 RPMJamaica, 1977
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 were recording with Perry at the Black Ark. I can't tell you much about Green, but Alimantado is in good form on this song of repatriation via the Black Star Liner and the Rastaman Train. The deejay's first album, 1978's Best Dressed Chicken In Town, collected some of his best early singles and is a regular in my house, but doesn't include either of these tracks. (It's also one of the all time top ranking album titles as far as my kids are concerned. Hard to argue with that.)
The epic Reggae Music on the flip is the star of this show for me. The B side may have the lighter weight lyrical topic, rapping on the virtues and popularity of reggae, but it still manages to be one of the most intensely moody reggae cuts that I know. That vibe is largely due to Perry's wildly creative production work on this mix of his Vibrate On rhythm, first released that same year as Vibrate Onn with melodica genius Augustus Pablo. The song has a driving four on the floor kick drum that you don't typically hear in reggae. But rather than coming off as the "disco jam" that the center label promises, swirling voices, strange phasing sound effects, and melodies drift in and out over that relentless beat delivering a very different kind of dance music. I could definitely still imagine playing this out. It's shockingly modern sounding to my ears, but in a way almost reminds me of something like Cabaret Voltaire(?!) at their best- unmistakably dance music, but claustrophobic, anxious, and mysterious. Reggae for a paranoid dance floor? You decide.
This single looks to be in remarkably good shape for a an over 40 year old record. That is until you look closely and notice the strange pock marks all over it, little dimples that somehow were scattered across both sides when they pressed the vinyl. I did some clean up of the many many pops in the quietest parts of the songs and removed the loudest clicks that could have done a number on your speakers or eardrums. I even corrected the spelling of the artists' names from the labels, so I hope you'll forgive that I couldn't dig in and remove more of the noises, including some rather annoying deep bassy thumps from the vinyl flaws. I was tempted to try to "fix" a strange drop out near the end and balance the channels of the stereo mix a bit when it takes a swing to one side, but decided to leave you with all the oddness there on the original record.
Turn it up and focus on the music though. I think you'll find something pretty special. I really enjoyed pulling this one out for the first time in a few years- I hope you do too. (Especially to the friend who provoked this!)
Tracklist
A Raphel Green & Almantado – Rasta Train
B Hugo Blackwood & Almantado – Reggae Music
I said the music with the message in FLAC (download Zip file): https://mega.nz/file/MLxRVKpD#tnHPDzOCHN-pJgvcgG16VGDuknWFbXj7p1lREW3IY1E
I said the music with the blessing in MP3 (stream or download): https://mega.nz/folder/ZDp2jIaD#0OsC-rH4wo980De-p1yafQ
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