things and time will tell.

Ghetto Priest with Skip McDonald & Adrian Sherwood – Auld Lang Syne c/w The Slave's Lament Not On Label (Graham Fagen Self-released) CD Single, UK, Feb 11, 2005 This New Year's Eve share might be too somber for a party night... but I'm hoping I'm still on good paper after the Louie Vega Xmas disco records and that you'll forgive me if this is less aimed for the holiday dancefloor. I'm no expert, but it seems that Scottish artist Graham Fagen has produced a number of works over the years exploring the history of connections between Scotland and Jamaica (especially via the slave trade). He has collaborated with musicians to produce music and sounds to accompany his installations and visuals, several times working with members of the On-U Sound family. For a 2005 exhibit called Clean Hands Pure Heart , Fagen asked that team to produce a recording that combined the New Year's standard  Auld Lang Syne with another song, The Slave's Lament , also written...

Lee "Scratch" Perry – Makumba Rock (2019, 10" vinyl) Adrian Sherwood X Lee "Scratch" Perry – Time Boom X The Upsetter Dub Sessions (2019, CD) Lee Perry stayed very active in his later years, but plenty of music industry attention was always spent playing up the wild image he had built. Not making light of it at all, but at times it could leave the impression of his antics walking the line between mental health crisis and marketing scheme. In a lot of ways, many Lee Perry albums starting at some point in the 80s were selling "Scratch" the character as much as anything he necessarily contributed to the music. The result was more than a few CDs released under his name and featuring his vocal ramblings over music produced entirely by others that were far from essential (and far from the heights of Perry's most inspiring, innovative or beautiful work from earlier days). (Confession: That " Lee Perry meets Andrew W.K. " album? I admit to buyin...

Little Axe ‎– Bought For A Dollar/Sold For A Dime Echo Beach ‎– EB 133C Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Germany, Sep 2018 (original release: digital 2008/CD 2010) info This is the 2018 vinyl version of Little Axe's sixth LP, Bought For A Dollar/Sold For A Dime . Skip McDonald's blues-dub-hip hop hybrid "band" again features the rest of Tackhead (Doug Wimbish on bass, Keith LeBlanc on drums, and a mixdown by On-U Sound main man Adrian Sherwood) on nearly every track. But this is Skip's show, with the guitarist leading the group in some subtly different directions on their second set of recordings after signing to Peter Gabriel's Real World Records.  Bought For A Dollar...  is probably the slickest and most commercial sounding Little Axe production, but that's not a critique (and it may be my favorite of their records). Cutting to the chase: it's a remarkable record. I promise you'll love it with no background, history lessons, or color commen...

Afrika Bambaataa & The Godfather Of Soul James Brown ‎– Unity Tommy Boy ‎– TB 847 Vinyl, 12", 33 ⅓ RPM, US, 1984 info 25 minutes of James Brown diving head first into hip hop ala 1984, brought to the party by his greatest NYC disciple, Afrika Bambaataa. They rap against cold war greed and violence and the virtues of funk over live breakbeats supplied by some of my favorite musicians. It's a shame this record isn't more remembered, it's a gem. The '80s weren't packed with new highlights in the James Brown discography, but hanging out with the Universal Zulu Nation brought something out in him and the Godfather of Soul gives a great performance on Unity . Maybe he enjoyed hearing his music being kept fresh. Maybe he was moved by Bambaataa's obvious joy at getting to record with his hero. Or maybe he was just feeling inspired to preach that day on the power of funk, the dangers of nuclear war, the importance of education and the gospel of " peace, uni...

While we're on the topic... Wood, Brass & Steel ‎– Funkanova / What Cha Say White label ‎– AN-001-A Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM, Unofficial Release, US, 2005 info This is a 2005 white label featuring Kenny Dope re-edits of two disco funk burners from Wood, Brass & Steel. Kenny Dope Gonzalez is best known for his house productions as half of Masters At Work, but the guy's soul, funk and disco credentials run deep with many years of disco mixes, hip-hop productions, and running his Dopewax and  Kay-Dee Records labels. Kenny slipped these mixes into the world on one bootleg 12" and, as far as I know, they've never been issued anywhere else (other than one track popping up on CD-R promo mix CD he made once promoting a Kenny Dope disco compilation). It's a shame, these are something special. I had forgotten I had this- even better than I remember! Both tracks come from WB&S's 1976 self titled LP. By now Doug Wimbish had officially joined the group on bass. ...

Skull Snaps ‎– Skull Snaps GSF Records ‎– GSF-S-1011 Vinyl, LP, Album, US, Reissue (Original release, 1973) Info I mentioned this 1973 LP by Skull Snaps in my last post and figured I'd follow up on it. Continuing with the saga of "It's A New Day..." The Diplomats, originated as a Washington DC area soul group, a trio (and sometimes quartet?) of singers who released  a string of 45s through the 1960s . By the early '70s, they had moved both to New York and to a new sound. As their music shifted toward funk, so did their name, dropping the R&B diplomacy of their early days and rechristening themselves "Skull Snaps." Skull Snaps only released one LP, a 1973 album recorded with George Kerr for GSF records. The Skull Snaps were now comprised of Diplomats Samm Culley (bass) and Ervan Waters (guitar) along with new recruit George Bragg on drums. They were billed as a band, not just a vocal trio, and album's liner notes credit them playing those instrume...

Wood, Brass & Steel ‎– Hey, What's That You Say / Always There Soul Brother Records ‎– SB7023 Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Remastered, UK, 2016 Info Much to be thankful for? Yes. But as a friend recently said to me, "2020 can kick rocks." I haven't posted anything here in months, but decided Thanksgiving would be the day I made some time. I prepared this record late last night, before finding out about a friend passing this morning. Chorus on Side A: "Hey, what's that you say? It's a new day. And a better day is coming." Doing my best to try to take that one to heart. I'm thankful for those who struggle despite everything in our way. My forgiving friends and family. I'm reeling a little today- heartbroken and furious about losing someone that this world needs ... and confident that she'll keep inspiring us to stick with our fights , be deeply committed, and take care of each other like family. _____________________________________________...

We return to Bim Sherman for Reality,  his 1992 album backed by Style Scott's Dub Syndicate.  Bim Sherman & Dub Syndicate - Reality Century Records - Century 1700 Vinyl, LP, Album, UK, Nov 1992 More info on  Discogs Tracklist A1 Over The Rainbow A2 Brother And Sister A3 Keep On Moving A4 Fire A5 Rock Crys Out B1 Wake Up Reality B2 Take Me B3 Go To The Mountain B4 Best Of Love B5 Too Hot The album isn't an official "On-U Sound production," being one of the few records credited to Dub Syndicate without having Adrian Sherwood at the controls. Instead, Mad Professor contributes the mix with the great Skip McDonald as "engineer" for the actual recordings. Skip McDonald is the former Sugarhill guitarist mentioned in my last post, who not only played on pivotal funk and disco recordings and helped invent the sound of recorded hip-hop, but went on to be a central figure in the On-U orbit of artists. His guitar (and production work) became def...