You know they dance on the good foot

Brentford All Stars / Dub Specialist – Greedy G / Granny Scratch Scratch

Soul Jazz Records – SJR478-12

Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM, UK, 2021

info

It's hard to overstate the importance of Studio One in Jamaican music. The late Coxsone Dodd's record label is easily the most important in the history of reggae and the rhythms from his 1960s and 70s productions are still regularly getting a new shine and re-versioned for the riddims of today. Those tunes, revamped for the 1980s dancehall era by the Roots Radics and others, make up some of my favorite musical obsessions. All that said, I'm sharing a Studio One record today, but it's something else altogether.

This is a recent 12" single from the UK collecting two Studio One tracks cut that I'm pretty sure were cut in the early to mid 70s. But these aren't the early reggae or rocksteady classics, instead we get two storming funk cuts. On Greedy G, the Brentford All Stars (one of the regular names used for Coxsone's house band in those days, named after the road where the Studio One magic was happening) deliver an uptempo, instrumental breakbeat sure shot. This will put a smile on your face when you hear it, guaranteed. And if the tune sounds familiar, there's two reasons you'd know it: First, this wasn't a Coxsone original, the band was actually reworking a classic James Brown cut for the JA scene. Second, Greedy G actually scored a quick mention in these pages once before as the sample used for Boogie Down Productions' Jack Of Spades.

The B side, Granny Scratch Scratch, first turned up on 1975's Roots Dub LP. The album was credited to Dub Specialist, Dodd's alter ego for a series of dub albums Studio One released in the 70s (regardless of who was the actual engineer mixing those records down). Later releases say that the music on Roots Dub was played by the Sound Dimension and the Soul Vendors, two more names used by the rotating crew of brilliant musicians recording at Studio One. This track is a little more odd- it's got overblown distorted bass that it inherited from it's dub roots, but you quickly realize this isn't a reggae cut but a fusion jazz funk record, especially once you hit that long keyboard solo (maybe from the great Jackie Mittoo? Anyone know?).

I think I tend to like my reggae slow, which is the direction the music itself moved for many years. And the flurry of compilation albums collecting the odd bit of "Jamaican/reggae funk" for the American and UK markets have never been my thing. But these are just great and I'm glad I grabbed this pretty good sounding modern pressing. This tracks helped me put worries aside and enjoy the sun for a few important minutes of my day. Hope it does the same for others (or feel free to break out the cardboard to breakdance when you put on Greedy G).

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Tracklist
A            Brentford All Stars    –    Greedy G
B            Dub Specialist    –    Granny Scratch Scratch

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Going down to the crib and let it all hang out in FLAC! (Download zip file): HERE.

Qué pasa people, qué pasa ...Hit me in MP3! (stream or download): HERE.