Curly Locks 2, Babylon 0 (LSP RIP)
Junior Byles – Beat Down BabylonOrchid – ORC 712Vinyl, 7", Reissue, UK, (Late 1990s/early 2000s?)Original release: JA, 1971
Lee "Scratch" Perry produced records for so many of the best reggae singers and harmony groups of the 1960s and '70s. For a lot of them, those recordings included their greatest, most creative and memorable music. Junior Byles is one of my favorite singers from that orbit, someone whose records I find myself regularly going back to. Byles was not very prolific during his too short career, especially by Jamaican music standards. The former member of the Versatiles was a particularly strong songwriter and his small discography contains more than his share of classics, songs that still get played, covered and versioned.
Beat Down Babylon was Junior Byles' 1971 hit produced by Perry at Dynamic Studios. Recorded in the years before the Black Ark, it's still a great example of Perry helping to break new ground. The song, an anthem for standing up to injustice and fighting the wicked, foreshadowed the roots reggae style that would dominate Jamaican music within a few years along with the rapid growth of the Rastafari movement. I think's a pretty timeless cut that still sounds great after 40 years.
This is recorded from a later UK pressing, I'd guess from the late 90s or very early 2000s. When I dug it out, I was surprised by how clean it looked. I thought I remembered the record being a little messy, but I was excited that it looked like it was in really good shape! When I slapped it on the turntable though, it turned out I hadn't imagined it. The crackles, distorted high end and other issues were there... but not during the lead-in or out groove. Those were quiet. Turns out that this British pressing was mastered straight from a (less than perfect) copy of the Jamaican 45. Those crackles can't get cleaned off, because it's actually what they pressed onto the record. Sigh... It won't get in the way of appreciating a great song and, to my ears anyway, the bass still sounds better than on the (excellent) recent double CD reissue of the Beat Down Babylon album. The b side version is a trombone instrumental that manages to quote Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire without sounding out of place.
As a little bonus...
Junior Byles – Curley Locks
Hot Shot! – ML-4370
Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, US, 1974
info
Just a few years later, Byles had a strong LP and clutch of hit singles under his belt. It looked like he could become a major star, maybe even break out internationally. Back in the studio with Lee Perry (but this time at Perry's new Black Ark), he recorded Curly Locks in 1974.
My copy of Curly Locks is a wreck and makes that funky pressing of Beat Down Babylon sound pristine. It sounds like bacon frying on top of the music, but I wanted to throw it in because it's such a great song, really highlighting Junior Byles' songwriting strengths*. JA music had moved his direction and messages of Rastafari beliefs in the music were becoming more bold as the movement exploded on the island. But rather than recording just another track militantly declaring the faith, Byles instead wrote this Rasta love song, a creative and sweet twist on a common reggae theme of the dreadlocked believers being shunned.
Curly locks, now that I'm a dread locks
Your daddy say you shouldn't play with me
But it's alright...
Junior Byles and Lee Perry parted ways soon after this with both facing mental health crises in the coming years. Byles' biggest hit was still around the corner as he worked with other producers, but his recording soon slowed to trickle as these issues consumed more of his life. He was institutionalized in the late 70s. While he still released the occasional recording over the next decade, Byles faded from the scene, reportedly facing homelessness on and off since the 1980s. Now in his 70s, Byles' daughter has recently done work to raise funds for his medical bills and living situation. A lot of beautiful and inspiring music was shared by him in those few short years, it's sad to think that it's taken this long for world to find him again and give back.
If these do anything for you, let me know. I'd love to share more Junior Byles soon... Next time with sound quality that's a little more befitting this great singer.________________________________________________
Tracklists
Beat Down Babylon
A Junior Byles - Beat Down Babylon
B The Upsetters - Beat Down Babylon (Version)
A Junior Byles - Curly Locks
B Junior Byles - Lock And Key
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