Heavy Al Campbell productions given the golden touch by three master engineers — Channel One dons Stanley ‘Barnabas’ Bryan and Lancelot ‘Maxie’ Mackenzie, and the one and only Hopeton Brown.
It was Al Campbell who produced Linval Thompson’s classic sides. Barnabus started up with Channel One when he was still at school; he was deejay for the sound; he learned mixing from Tubby; Sly taught him drums. Maxie was the technical whiz who built Channel One’s studio and sound-system amplifiers.
Originally out on Silver Kamel in 1981.
The great reggae saxophonist surfing a dazzling array of immortal Glen Brown instrumentals and dubs, like Dirty Harry, Mr Bald Head Aitken, Merry Up, South East Music, Fathers Call, Music From South Side…
GB the Rhythm Master is right up there in the first pantheon of reggae producers, with the Upsetter, Niney and one or two others; stuff like Dirty Harry is the food of gods.
A deeply pleasurable set, warmly recommended.
These two early-eighties dub albums, plus a disc with nineteen dubs originally out on the Trojan subsidiary Attack.
Mixed by Ossie Hibbert, originally on Cash And Carry — mostly the dubs of Gregory’s Mr Isaacs album, with the Revolutionaries.
Excellent dub set originally released in 1988, based around Tetrack’s classic Let’s Get Started LP, from nearly a decade before. Roomy and reverberating, with synths preferred to melodica.
The LP is from Only Roots.
Classy digi dub from 1987 — the living, but chilled and de-populated Pablo sound-world — with killer dillers like Raggamuffin Year and Seven Seals on the desk.
Cutting his teeth at Impact! with Clive Chin.
The Heptones, Dennis, Swing Easy; an unforgettable lesson in dub, over the killer Ordinary Man rhythm.
‘Leave the studio, sah!’ ‘Leggo dat an hold dis.’ Listen everything.’
Crucial crucial crucial crucial.
First time out for this wildly raw dubplate, sister-recording to the Pablo master-rhythm, shot through with other-worldly incantation.
Surely that’s Family Man stalking a sunken cavern, and his bro battering all seven shades out of his drum-kit, like Meters on fire; and Chinna on guitar, glazed and violent. The mixing rears up right in your face.
Producer Gussie Clarke says Theophilus ‘Easy Snappin’ Beckford is playing piano, with the front removed so he can strum the strings (like he finally snapped) — but he credits the work overall to Augustus Pablo.
Transferred from acetate — fuss-pots don’t grumble, just be humble — though the flip brings a clutch of criss, unmissable alternates, direct from Gussie’s tape-room (where the files are entitled ‘Classical Illusion / The Sun’).
Heavy, heavy funk. Simplicity People dug in. Stunning.
Last few.