I don't want to. No, I don't want to.

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Horace Andy + Sly & Robbie – Zion Gate
Tropical Dubwise – TD12001
Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM, Maxi-Single, Stereo, France, 2021
info

A modern Horace Andy follow up to my last post, on this re-cut of his 1973 song Zion Gate. His voice is in great form as he delivers this reminder to live righteously before it's too late. I appreciate the spiritual clarity at a moment when the world seems pretty dedicated to handing me complication.

Andy has released some quality records in the last few years, especially two brilliant LPs for On-U Sound. As much as I like his reinvention in the 90s and 2000s through his work with Massive Attack, it's been great hearing such successful new reggae recordings from this veteran, 50-odd years into his career.

Horace Andy teamed up with Sly and Robbie on this single, released just a few months before Robbie Shakespeare sadly passed away in December, 2021. Sly & Robbie lead their classic Taxi Gang band on the backing track and don't disappoint, recreating the Zion Gate rhythm (aka Ain't Got No Love rhythm) from the 70s. The UK's Russ Disciple is on mixing duties and turns in a dub version, a straight instrumental, and (my favorite) a second dub that he mixed Ina King Tubby Style.

A nice modern roots 12" that I hope you enjoy. (And if you do, more below...)

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Tracklist
A1 Zion Gate
A2 Dub Version
B1 Riddim Version
B2 Ina King Tubby Style

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No, I don't want to be outside when Zion gate close in FLAC (24 bit/96 kHz, download zip file)

Yes, I want to be inside when Zion gate close in MP3 (320 kbps, stream or download)

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Bonus: For those who haven't spent a good portion of your life digging though reggae records, "one rhythm albums" are a distinctly Jamaican format, collecting a full record's worth of different songs by different singers, all over the same "riddim." Here are two digital collections of more tracks on the Zion Gate rhythm. The first collects oldies on Zion Gate from the 1970s, including Leroy Smart's No Love and dub mixes credited to King Tubby and Gussie P. (Another note to the uninitiated: be skeptical of the credits on modern dub reggae releases.) The other EP is a 2010 set produced by (King Jammy's son) John John of contemporary singers voicing new cuts on this classic rhythm. For some reason, the Sanchez track seems to be missing from the all the FLAC versions of this collection that I could find, so there's one extra song in the MP3 archive here. (For the audio nerds- I didn't check, but wouldn't be shocked if the FLAC files were just recoded MP3s, so probably no big loss if you go that way.)

Various Artists – Zion Gate Riddim
Black Arrow
Digital, 2011

Tracklist
1 Frankie Paul        Better Days
2 Leroy Smart        No Love
3 Horace Andy       Zion Gate
4 King Tubby         Heartless Dub
5              King Gussie P     Zion Dub


Various Artists – Zion Gate Riddim
John John Productions
Digital, 2010

Tracklist
1 Alborosie                    Rudie Don't Fear
2 Sanchez                      Mad Love For You
3 Sizzla                          Music In My Soul
4 Tarrus Riley                Sweet Jamaica
5              The Revolutionaries   Zion Gate Riddim Instrumental

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2 x 1 rhythm in FLAC (download Zip file)

1 rhythm x 2 in MP3 (stream or download)

Comments

  1. art58koenDecember 22, 2023 at 8:24 AM

    Great Horace + dub, thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MMDecember 22, 2023 at 11:31 AM

      Glad you like it! I was pretty happy when I ran into this 12" a year or two ago. I love that Horace Andy has been putting out some really great records over the last couple years. (If you haven't heard those On-U albums yet, you should def check them out.) Always good when the older guys don't embarrass themselves! Thank you.

      Delete

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