Listening Link: https://soundcloud.com/dkr-nyc/sets/dkr-278-judah-eskender-tafari-rocky-road-7-wackies

We've been overdue to let off a modern gem from the Wackie's vaults, so here we go. Another of our favorite 12 Tribes related artists, the late great Judah Eskender Tafari, on a hard and moody but uplifting digital stepper straight from the Bronx. B-side features a great ghostly raw rhythm version from Bullwackie. More

Repress!

Soundcloudlink: https://soundcloud.com/dkr-nyc/sets/dkr-276-va-jah-children-invasion-vol-6-digital-dawn-lp-wackies

Tracklist:

A1. HORACE ANDY - DROP OFF
A2. WAYNE CHIN - WON'T DO FOR LOVE
A3. MILTON HENRY - MAKE IT RIGHT
A4. JERRY HARRIS - A LITTLE LOVE WE NEED
A5 . CHRIS WAYNE - STREETS OF AFRICA
B1. HORACE ANDY - DUB OUT A SOUND
B2 . JACKIE MITTOO - SORROWFUL
B3 . CHRIS WAYNE - WILD GOOSE RACE
B4 . CHOSEN BROTHERS - MAJORITY RULE
B5. MILTON HENRY - NOW YOU SEE THE SCENE


10 song LP in 2-sided hand silkscreened jacket; blue or green print.
Three tracks previously unreleased.

New compilation and long overdue next entry in the long running 'Jah Children Invasion' compilation series! This volume focuses on Wackies' foray into digital reggae, with a killer selection of tracks from the late '80s and early '90s. There are three previously unreleased tunes alongside seven others culled from prior rare and long out of print releases. In DKR style this comes in a 2 sided hand silkscreened jacket. More

Rudie will recognise Bobby Sarkie from The Tartans and The Immortals (not to mention his solo roots killer Better World). His singing here is expertly reined in by desolation, numbness and regret, over a hollowed-out, mesmeric rhythm, with some nasty synth-work and casually brilliant effects on the drums. The vocal cut is more than a minute longer than the version which opens the Jah Son Invasion album with such a flourish; and the mix is different, with more prominent keys, and toned-down bass. It’s previously unreleased, like the dub. The B-side is booby-trapped with sensational instrumental excursions on Junior Delahaye’s Working Hard For The Rent Man and Jackie Mittoo’s almighty Drum Song, which conclude the same original tape-reel as Over And Over. Rent Rebate features masterful, boppish soprano saxophone-playing by Roland Alphonso, and restrained guitar interjections by Barry Vincent, with a Spanish tang. The superb hand-drumming on Mount Zion is by Ras Menelik; and it’s Mittoo himself on organ (or just maybe Clive Hunt, Wackies can’t quite remember). More

A fresh iteration of the mid-eighties LP (itself a compilation of recordings from the previous five years or so), replacing two tracks — Dancing In The Rain and All Things — with their full 12" versions. This is a deeply personable, expert, limber blend of roots and lovers, kicking off with an exclusive mix of the deadly Mash Down Babylon; dropping classic, lush, spaced-out Wackies dub science to close; and taking in reworkings of Lickshot, Billie Jean and The Righteous Flames’ I Was Born To Be Loved, along the route. The moniker ‘Chosen Brothers’ is Lloyd Barnes’ spiritual way of sharing the credit for his solo projects. “Anyone in the studio at the time could be a Chosen Brother,” he says. In this case a full crew includes Sugar Minott and Prince Douglas at the desk; Jah Batta, Milton Henry, Wayne Jarrett and Junior Delahaye all on backing vocals; and such dream-team Bullwackies instrumentalists as Clive Hunt, Jerry Johnson, Fabian Cooke and Ras Menelik. More

Combining two sevens — by the studio’s in-house band at this time — originally released on the Wackie’s label in 1981. Creation is an inimitable twist on tough traditionalist roots — sick synth-work takes the horns line, and later jazzily bubbles under the mix, which has the bottom end of a stegosaurus. The dub is cataclysmic and spectacular. Message From Jah is more affable and soulful, the bass-playing funkier, with another ace version. More

Two versions, different dubwise mixes of Sugar Minott’s massive Informer rhythm — both choca with living dancehall vibes and Channel One-style deadliness. A graduate of soundsystems like Gemini and Volcano Hi Power, Little John was twelve years old when he voiced this tune, shifting its sights from snitches and stoolies, straight to the head of all dancecrashers. It appeared in 1983 during Sugar’s stay in London after Good Thing Going was a national pop hit in 1980, coming on the Stoke Newington label M & M — presumably named after Minott and his then-partner, Coxsone Dodd’s niece Maxine Stowe. Appearing first with Wackies’ pink-to-orange labels, Batta’s cut is a different mix again to the version on his album. He bows to U-Roy at the start, before switching to more a more contemporary delivery. Sugar is in attendance throughout, almost as if the pair were taking turns at the mic, before the dub takes over. More

An all time killer classic from Wackies. This 12" features 3 cuts of Lee Perry's immortal Tight Spot rhythm featuring searing vocals by Leroy Sibbles and the great Stranger Cole, together with an instrumental version by the Bullwackies All Stars. An essential purchase, no question. More

Rhythm & Sound inaugurates its Wackies reissue series with 'Lovers Rock', by the Love Joys. For this recording the duo were cousins Sonia Abel and Claudette Brown, originally from Brixton, England. This women's roots album is a milestone in reggae, a refreshing departure in a tradition dominated by men. With the classic Wackies sound magnificent behind them - lovers rock, showcase style, in extended versions - the duo beautifully and skilfully meshes social critique and affairs of the heart, from a woman’s point of view. 'Lovers Rock' is one of the best and rarest albums on the legendary Wackies label. More